POLITICS
Judicial Hits & Misses

John Roberts, 50, gained a clear Senate majority for confirmation as the nation’s next chief justice after Sen. Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, announced he would back President Bush’s nominee. With Salazar’s help, Roberts, an appellate judge who is Catholic, was confirmed as the youngest chief justice in 200 years. The appointment came despite some controversy about a comment Roberts made in a memo back in the ‘80s. Working as a young lawyer in the Reagan administration, Roberts referred to “illegal amigos.”

Days after Roberts’ confirmation, the president nominated Harriet Miers to replace the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor on the high court—and drew more fire from Hispanic groups. Congresswoman Loretta Sánchez summed up the reaction among Hispanic organizations: “Yet again, President Bush has missed a very historic opportunity to appoint a qualified Hispanic to the Supreme Court.”

MEDIA
Spanish-Speaking Housewives Debut

Spanish speakers are now able to enjoy ABC’s hit TV shows in their native language. For the new fall season, programs like Desperate Housewives and Lost—indeed, all of the network’s prime time programming—are being dubbed in Spanish and are available with Spanish-language closed-captions.

MARKETING
Latin Liqueur
For those with a sweet tooth, Diageo, the maker of Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys and Crown Royal, has just rolled out Dulseda, a dulce de leche liqueur created “with Latino taste buds in mind.” Dulce de leche has been popping up in groceries across the country in various incarnations—from ice cream to weight-loss bars-as a way to cater to Latin tastebuds.

Q&A
Walter Alza
Idy Fernández

With a knack for accents and chameleon looks, Argentinian actor Walter Alza chose Canada to pave his way to stardom in television and movies. This month he co-stars in rapper 50 Cent’s biopic, Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

HISPANIC: Why did you move to Canada and not Los Angeles to pursue your acting career?

Walter Alza: My dad moved to Canada when I was 4, so it was either go to Canada, get to know my father and pursue acting there, or never know him at all.

H: You seem to have carved a niche with your ability to play characters that have different ethnicities. When did you start picking up accents?

WA: It happened by accident; at auditions, people realized I speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian and English. Since my background is so mixed, I can look Hispanic, Greek, Italian or even Middle Eastern.

H: Is there a character you won’t play? Why not?

WA: I wouldn’t play a child molester unless there’s a deep reason why. I don’t think mentally I could be induced into an idea like that.

H: Your original role in Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was much smaller; it evolved into a major character. How did that happen?

WA: The original role had no name and only one scene. After the audition, [the casting team] wanted me to play ... a drug lord. When I came to work, they started enlarging the part. I put a lot of fear and insecurities in him to make him real.

H

PASSAGE
An American Soldier

Retired Brigadier General Bernardo Negrete Maza died in a shooting accident at his San Antonio home. For 30 years he served in the Army and participated in high-profile combat tours such as Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait. During his military career, he was honored with prestigious accolades such as the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, among others. Negrete is survived by wife Victoria V. Negrete and his children Christopher and Alexis.

FOOD
Grocery Delicias

Soon, you may not need to make extra trip to the bakery to pick up Latin snack faves such as panqués. They’re becoming increasingly available at your local supermarket.

The same company that brought America Twinkies and Ho Hos—Hostess—is launching a division, Las Delicias de Hostess, aimed at Hispanics. Hostess will market the new pastries in San Diego, Dallas and Phoenix before going national.

LATIN AMERICA
Starbucks Coffee Quenches Thirst, Too

Starbucks is offering a new product—and it isn’t another flavor of coffee. Earlier this year, Starbucks acquired Ethos Water, a bottled water company, and it has been donating five cents of every bottle sold to clean-water projects. The java giant is helping bring potable water to developing countries such as Honduras, where the liquid is scarce. It has pledged donating more than $10 million to the cause over the next 10 years.