Día de Muertos: Tips to enjoy the tradition

Posted on 1 November, 2013 by Mayitzin

Probably you know a bit about this tradition due to the curiosity about the “celebration of Death”. Well, Death is a topic with different points of view in the world.

As a Mexican there are many things that still surprise about this festivity, mainly because it is celebrated in different ways all along Mexico. Oh yeah, last year I made a video with the historical background and main topics of it. I recommend you to watch it before proceeding with the lines below.

I assume that you now understood that Mexicans are not celebrating Death, in the same sense that we are not having parties to say good-bye to our beloved dead. Continue reading →

When prankers don’t prank

Posted on 20 September, 2013 by Mayitzin

Youtube is an amazing (relatively) new tool in Internet. Besides kittens and music videos, the website will throw countless viral videos every day.

Pranking is one of the most famous concepts for a channel in Youtube, and there are already famous people doing it for some time. Their channels have hundreds of thousands or even millions of subscribers, which shows how succcessful they are.

But recently these famous channels have done something different. They know that their videos are seen by millions around the planet, so they decided to offer something different than just pranks: Philantropy. Just a simple act that can inspire.

I think is a great idea. These guys are known worldwide because of their pranks and millions watch every step they do. Well, now some will be inspired by a single 5 minute video.

Simply by coming with these ideas once in a while, it reminds us that we can also go out of our routine and inspire, if not millions, at least to the ones around us. This really restores faith in humanity, because shows that anyone can help at any time. Continue reading →

Los supercívicos (The supercivics)

Posted on 16 September, 2013 by Mayitzin

It is always a joy to watch shows like these. In part makes me feel good and also makes me go out and do the “right thing”. Feels good.

The first time I saw this show was, I think, 5 years ago. It was transmitted in a nationwide TV station (Tv Azteca) but it was unfortunately cancelled after some episodes.

I don’t know if they didn’t get enough audience or they were just cancelled by a bigger boss. Years later, was transmitted in the cable television network 52MX, but then cancelled again. They said due to budget problems, but it’s kinda weird because they became No. 1 show in a couple of weeks… no budget for success?

They are back and with an increasing audience, because since their beginning in 52MX, they also updated their videos in Youtube, where they became suprisingly famous in a couple of months. Continue reading →

Mexican-American comedians

Posted on 17 June, 2013 by Mayitzin

It’s no secret that the Chicano community is quite huge and one of the most complicated societies in the world, not only by their heritage, but because they always try to fit in the United States, while preserving their Mexican roots.

There is no easy analysis from this, but there is always something distinguishable from the Chicanos: comedy. Mexicans are brought up surrounded by laughter and celebration at any time (including Death), and that is one of the biggest legacies to the Chicanos.

Continue reading →

VHS mode in Youtube

Posted on 15 April, 2013 by Mayitzin

Not sure if a late Easter egg, a passing joke or a permanent feature (would be fun), but Google gives us again the opportunity to play around with the common things on the internet.

This time comes all through Youtube. A new feature was added to the player of Youtube: the “Tape Mode”. You click it and your image will seem like an old VHS-cassette-like video. Quite nostalgic, I would say. I just discovered it watching some Ellen videos (I admit it, goddamit, that woman’s jokes are funny for me), and discovered this one with Steve Carell (better if you watch it in Youtube‘s website):

The legend says that they do it because of the 57th Anniversary of the commercial realease of the first VHS cassette. Well, quite a random number for me, but anyways. Not all videos have this feature. Apparently you just have to randomly find them too. Buuuu!!

Oh yeah, click “Pause” and it will keep the old effect of the cassette. These hipsters are everywhere with the electronic vintage effects. First their instagram, now this. I don’t think is gonna last, but I’d activate it for fun only.

Find a nice video and give it a try!

Treasure Hunt in Google Maps

Posted on 31 March, 2013 by Mayitzin

And the guys in Google seem to have lots of free time. Following the concept they created last year with an 8-bit Google Maps, this year they come with a new idea for April’s fool: an old style Treasure Hunt. I don’t know for how long it’s gonna be available but this trick looks very odd (tho funny).

When you open Google Maps for the first time you can see on the upper right options of visualization, an option that states ” Treasure”. Click it. That’s it, you can see now your map as an old middle aged map. They say you can find some hidden treasure chests, but I think it’d be very hard and time-consuming.

But what happens when you wanna have a closer look? Well, unfortunately it zooms in until a definite distance, as they didn’t rendered all buildings and streets, just the main ones. However, if you choose the “Street view”, you will have a surprise having an old telescope-like look.

Aaaaand, that’s this year’s Easter Egg from Google Maps. Maybe not so special but, quite creative and entertaining. Have a look at your city. How much stuff is in it? Did you see the most interesting things?

Naquito Abroad: The Oktoberfest Challenge

Posted on 28 March, 2013 by Mayitzin

Finally my first video of “Naquito Abroad” is out. And after days of editing, I finally got some material out. The language of that series of videos is most of the time Spanish. But, as in my other videos, you can find the subtitles in English. Actually, a big portion of the video is also in English (when I was rambling in the tents of Oktoberfest).

This is the product of a day in the biggest Beer festival in the world. I show you here the history and organization of the Oktoberfest, so you can have a look into the event as everyone else.

For a deeper and more detailed information of it, you can read it (although in Spanish) in my other post “Bienvenido al Oktoberfest“.

So, come this year, but in the meantime, Proooooost!

Song of the day: Matando Güeros – Brujería

Posted on 13 February, 2013 by Mayitzin

Today is a special day and I want to share one of the funniest songs. Many people might not understand it, but there is a band named “Brujería” (“Witchcraft” in Spanish) that has some powerful songs. This is a Gore Metal band, so don’t expect it to be a pussy-ass rock. It is heavy and brutal.

Now, the thing here is that they have very cool songs, that are not supposed to be taken seriously. That is an important part of their personality as a band. Their lyrics are surrealist, as they are also part of this cruel music and raged feeling while playing. They sing in Spanish or Spanglish, as the band was created mainly by Mexicans (or Chicanos).

The song today is “Matando Güeros” which means “Killing Blondes”. This song gave the band a big success worldwide because of the lyrics, but most of all because of the cover of the album. A bit crude for sensible eyes, it shows a partially burned head being held in the middle of the album cover. It is about Mexicans calling to arms and kill blonde people in the United States. Continue reading →

Naquito abroad!

Posted on 6 January, 2013 by Mayitzin

Good day, my people, this time I want to share with you the trailer of a new project I’m starting. This 2013 I decided to record my adventures around Europe for you to see what can you find in these places.

As I’m going to live it totally with the Mexican mentality that I have, I decided to name it “Naquito abroad”. Naquito is the diminished word in Spanish for “naco”, one of the many interesting subcultures of Mexico. A naco is basically a person without cultural background nor proper education. Well, I wouldn’t consider myself as uneducated, but I do consider myself as an apprentice in this world. Besides, I take it in the funniest way.

“Naquito abroad” will be my personal videodiary in all these journeys. I hope you like it and you feel attracted to visit those places. I’ll offer certainly lots of information (historical and cultural) about the places I’m going to. I’m gonna meet new people, and most of all, I’m looking forward to have fun here.

Thank you very much for watching. Feedback is always welcome and Happy new year!

The playlist of the nerds

Posted on 6 December, 2012 by Mayitzin

It is like a spell to get my attention, and work perfectly. Jazz music and the concepts of Numerical Computation, Machine Learning and Image Understanding might seem very difficult to mix, but it happens and it is entertaining as nothing else.

First of all those topics entertain me a lot and, being a big fan of Jazz, I actually love the many people try to involve the listeners to my passions, like if they know what I like and put them together for me. For sure many people feel like me.

Well, many versions of these Nerd songs are rolling in internet. Following you’ll find a Playlist I made dedicated for the classic songs of the most used Numerical Computation Methods. A nerd list among the nerdiest things. Enjoy it! Continue reading →