miércoles, 25 de julio de 2012

Anuncio:

Are you one of those students that does so well in class but can't figure it out at home? 

Do you have an extremely creative mind, but can't get it out on paper? 

Do you struggle with Noticias y Sociedad? 

Are you exceedingly book smart but can't speak a word? 

Do you toss and turn thinking about the lab that is coming up?  

Then Practica Plática wants to help you! 

We would like to announce that Pepe will be offering FREE tutoring services to all its members! Of course all the material would have to be Spanish related. Help in the following areas will be available:
  • Grammar 
  • Creative Writing 
  • Speech 
  • Verbs
  • Proofreading
  • Projects
  • Reading
  • Study techniques 
Just so you know, all tutors will work on a VOLUNTEER basis. We like to consider Pepe as a community within a community trying to help one another succeed. 

Interested

Feel free to send us an email. Remember that we will only be available to help in SPANISH related courses. 

Are you inclined in any of the above areas? Are you interested in helping out a fellow platicador? Let us know by email or FB! 

lunes, 16 de julio de 2012

Free Salsa Lessons!

In the Austin area for the summer? Love to dance? Then why not stop by Ruta Maya on Sunday evenings for a free salsa lesson with Cubana Instructor Esther Weekes!


Salsa Lessons at Ruta Maya

Esther teaches salsa at Ruta Maya every Wednesday and Sunday at 8pm except the third Sunday of the month.  purchase required

Cuban Salsa "Casino"

The appropriate name for Cuban Salsa is Casino as it is known throughout Latin America. Historically, Casino traces its origin to the dance halls of Cuba from the Cuban Son dancing and its rhythmic body motions from Afro-Cuban Rumba.
Casino is danced in a circular motion as opposed to the linear or slot movement more common to North American Salsa Styles. Culturally, Casino is danced in male and female couples (with emphasis on sexual interplay, teasing, and everyday experience) but is also danced solo (Suelta) and in groups (Rueda de Casino) in which pairs of dancers make a circle (or “wheel”) and execute dance moves when called out by one “Caller” (or Cantante).
The Instructor
The Instructor is Esther M. Weekes, Ed.D., a native of England. She began learning Casino in 2005 and was hooked from the start! She initially studied with Sandra Moro-Sleeper (www.streetsalsa.com), a second-generation Cuban, in her current home town of Austin, TX. She has attended workshops in Casino, Rueda de Casino and Rumba in the US and Mexico and most recently in Havana, Cuba. Her regular teaching schedule includes group classes at Ruta Maya International Headquarters (www.rutamaya.net), group and private instruction at her home studio in South Austin and private events.
Classes and Events
For information on classes and events please check out www.austincasinosalsa.com or e-mail Esther atesther@austincasinosalsa.com.

If you are interested in events and updates like this, be sure to like Pepe on Facebook! This fall with be full of fun and interesting events like this and many others throughout the semester!

jueves, 12 de julio de 2012

Leadership Needed!

Calling all leaders! There are a few spots available for 2012-2013 Líderes de Pepe. 

Se solicitan estudiantes que:

  • Have an intense passion for the Spanish language
  • Pay great attention to detail
  • Are imaginative and crafty 
  • Dedicated and witty
  • Open, warm, and brotherly/sisterly to all peers
  • Sensitive to the thoughts of others
  • Accountable
  • Must be available for the meetings!

We could use a variety of different leaders. A leader is not necessarily someone who makes all the group's decisions, or tells others what to do. Instead, it is a person that can guide others by example, and is a genuine friend to all those around him. 

Do you feel the need to lead? Let us know by email or facebook message! 

miércoles, 11 de julio de 2012

¡Ten cuidado cuando usas el Facebook!


Spam ataca a usuarios de Facebook



México, 11 Jul. (Notimex).- La popularidad de Facebook está siendo aprovechada por los cibercriminales para propagar virus en Internet, a través de enlaces que dirigen al usuario a páginas maliciosas, invitaciones a eventos o videos que contienen algún código malicioso.

Y es que esta semana comenzó a circular en la red social un spam que invita a las personas una reunión llamada “eleventodelsiglo”, reenviada desde la cuenta de un amigo que ya ha sido infectado.
En mensaje de Facebook dice: “Como sé que te va a gustar la idea de vivir un viaje al pasado te lo comento. Entra en google y busca con el texto: eleventodelsiglo…Pero el texto asi todo junto. El primer resultado es para apuntarse. Yo me acabo de apuntar!!! La decada de los 20, gansters”.

Al momento que el usuario realiza la búsqueda y entra a la pagina, el perfil es infectado con un malware que distribuye el spam automáticamente a todos sus contactos con el mismo mensaje, sin que se dé cuenta.

De acuerdo con un reporte de la empresa de seguridad en internet ESET, Facebook es vulnerable al spam por su diseño, ya que los usuarios suele confiar en los mensajes que ven en los muros de sus amigos y no tienen miedo a hacer clic en ellos.

La compañía precisó que debido a los millones de usuarios que tiene la red social en el mundo, se ha convertido en un negocio multimillonario para los cibercriminales, ante la facilidad de propagar virus.

Sobre todo, debido a que los softwares antivirus sólo protegen de la descarga de malware, pero no puede resguardar el contenido de los muros de Facebook, por lo que si se hace clic en un mensaje de spam, la persona podría infectar su equipo y sus amigos.

El usuario por lo general tiene que gustarle el mensaje de spam, responde preguntas o instala una aplicación falsa que requiere el acceso a su información, el cual contiene un código malicioso enmascarado como un códec de vídeo o un mensaje.

“Al confirmar estas acciones, los usuarios de manera voluntaria pueden infectar sus computadoras con malware, por encima de su software de seguridad. Al final de esta prueba, el usuario puede o no puede ser puesto de manifiesto la “impactante video”, que es generalmente falso”, afirmo la compañía.

Del sitio Yahoo! News México 

lunes, 2 de julio de 2012

Mexico elects a new President


MEXICO CITY - Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto pledged on Monday to focus on energy, labor and tax reforms and said he hopes to strike deals with opponents to help shepherd changes through Congress before he takes office in December.
Pena Nieto won Sunday's election with about 38 percent of the vote, good for a lead of about 6 percentage points over his nearest rival, returning his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to power after 12 years in opposition.
But the victory margin was smaller than expected and results suggested the PRI and its Green allies would struggle to win a majority, officials at the electoral authorities told Reuters.
That would leave Pena Nieto reliant on other parties to back his plans to reinvigorate Latin America's No. 2 economy.
Speaking to reporters in Mexico City, the 45-year-old said he was ready to consult with outgoing President Felipe Calderon and bring in policy experts to get work done on the economic reforms and help ease their path through Congress.
His main reform proposals include allowing more private investment in Mexico's state-run oil industry, overhauling the tax system to improve government revenues and liberalizing the country's labor laws to encourage job creation.
Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) had already tried to get similar reforms through Congress over the past six years but the efforts were thwarted by opposition from the PRI, which spent the last 12 years in opposition.
Long regarded as corrupt and authoritarian, the PRI has bounced back under the youthful Pena Nieto, who has vowed to break with the party's checkered past.
He has sought to bring in new blood to the party, and Pena Nieto said his campaign chief, Luis Videgaray, 43, would form part of his government team. Videgaray is well regarded by investors and seen as a possible choice for finance minister.
Pena Nieto has promised to lift economic growth to about 6 percent a year, create jobs and draw the heat out of a war with drug gangs that bogged down Calderon's administration. The conflict has killed more than 55,000 people since late 2006.
Opinion polls in the last days before the election had shown Pena Nieto winning by between 10 and 15 percentage points, but with 95 percent of returns in, the gap with his leftist rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was about 6.3 points.
PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota came in a distant third.
Lopez Obrador said on Sunday night it was too early to concede defeat, but Calderon and U.S. President Barack Obama have already congratulated Pena Nieto on his triumph.
The U.S. State Department said it expected close cooperation against organized crime to continue under Pena Nieto.
The PAN suffered a crushing defeat, hurt by Calderon's failure to ramp up growth and curb the drug war violence.
Pena Nieto will take over at a time when Mexico's finances are in good order and the economy is improving, although it still cannot generate enough jobs for the growing population.
His message that the PRI best knows how to govern Mexico proved a compelling argument for many voters.
"The PRI have learned to listen to the people, they have learned they are not kings ... to engage with people, understand them, and rule in a coalition with the people," said 20-year-old student Hector Perez.
The election result helped bolster Mexico's main share index early on Monday before weak global manufacturing data hit stocks and the peso currency.
LEFTIST RIVAL
Lopez Obrador could still choose to challenge the election, as he did six years ago when he narrowly lost to Calderon and launched months of protests, alleging fraud.
He has said in recent weeks that this election campaign was also plagued with irregularities, raising concerns that he might again call his supporters onto the streets. On Sunday night, he said only that he would wait until all the results are in.
The PAN raised high hopes when it was elected in 2000, but the economy underperformed its peers in Latin America for most of the 12-year rule by the party, which never had a majority in Congress and was unable to push through reforms.
"Nothing has improved since the PAN got in," said Mexico City plumber Raimundo Salazar, 44. "The PRI understands how things work here. And it knows how to manage the drug gangs."
Pena Nieto said he will focus on reducing violent crime rather than targeting drug barons. But after declaring victory he dismissed accusations by opponents that the PRI might try to negotiate with the cartels. "Let it be very clear: There will be no deal, no truce with organized crime," he said.