NPR: Mandalit del Barco

Background Singers Hit Center Stage In 'Twenty Feet From Stardom'

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:16:00 +0000

Twenty Feet from Stardom, filmmaker Morgan Neville's new documentary, is a reminder that most of pop music's catchiest hooks, riffs and refrains were sung by voices harmonizing in the background.

Jose-Luis Orozco: Capturing Kids' Attention In Two Languages

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 06:01:00 +0000

For the past 42 years, José-Luis Orozco has been entertaining children with songs he sings in English and Spanish. He's passionate about teaching children to be bilingual through music, and he's also written books for kids.

"Let's say hello to each other," he says to a crowd of preschoolers at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. "Buenos días," he sings.

"Buenos días," they repeat in unison.

"Good morning," he sings back.

Orozco manages the near-impossible: getting hundreds of small children to pay attention.

The Doors' Keyboard Counterpoint Goes Silent: Remembering Ray Manzarek

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:15:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvVCCMG-JoQ

Nostalgia For Sale As Captain Kangaroo's Pals Are Auctioned Off

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:06:00 +0000

The classic children's show Captain Kangaroo aired on TV for nearly 30 years, starting in 1955. After its creator and star, Bob Keeshan, died in 2004, his estate donated a few of his beloved hand puppets to the Smithsonian.

But if you're like me and grew up in the 1960s and '70s, you have hazy memories of Captain Kangaroo telling stories, drawing pictures and palling around with a whole cast of sidekicks, including the bespectacled Mr. Bunny Rabbit, a dancing bear, farmhand Mr.

Draco Rosa: A Pop Survivor Returns From The Brink, With Friends

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHRjWauwpvE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3UVw3a7qIQ

A Tip Of The Mouse Ears To Annette Funicello, 1942-2013

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:27:00 +0000

Now it's time to say goodbye to former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.

Will 'Oz The Great And Powerful' Live Up To Emerald Status

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:48:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

"The Wizard of Oz" means to a lot of people, a young Judy Garland in sparkly ruby slippers. But in the hundred years since L. Frank Baum wrote the Oz stories, they, or stories featuring Oz characters, have been produced dozens of times. The latest, a prequel that opens in theaters this weekend, called "Oz the Great and Powerful."

NPR's Mandalit Del Barco has more.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: This newest version begins like the classic 1939 "Wizard of Oz" movie, in Kansas, black and white, a tornado.

'Argo,' 'Life Of Pi' Win Top Oscars

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:11:00 +0000

The movies Argo and Life of Pi and actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence were among the winners at Sunday's Academy Awards. But no one movie swept the show.

The Story Of 'No' Is The Story Of Modern Chile

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 07:31:00 +0000

The film No revisits the moment in Chile's history when 56 percent of the country voted to oust a dictator from power. It's the tale of the ad campaign that helped persuade Chileans to cast their ballots against Gen. Augusto Pinochet in a national referendum.

"This is an epic story, the story of a triumph," says Director Pablo Larrain. "It's how they defeat a dictator — probably one of the biggest bastards that we ever had in humankind."

A CIA-backed coup d'etat got Pinochet into power in 1973.

Why Al Walser Got A Grammy Nomination And Justin Bieber Didn't

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:29:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80DSWGcFIg

South L.A. Teens Doubt New Laws Will Change Gun Culture

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:05:00 +0000

On 53rd Street and Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles, violent members of at least six gangs run the streets. A landmark church is boarded up and tagged. There are liquor stores and abandoned lots. On Tuesday night, there was a drive-by shooting two blocks away, and folks are expecting retaliation. This is an area where murders, robberies and rapes are common — and so are guns.

"There's too many guns out there," says Randolph Wright, 18. "I can tell you right now, every hood has an AK[-47].

Porn Industry Turned Off By L.A. Mandate For Condoms On Set

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:19:00 +0000

In November, more than 1.5 million Los Angeles County voters passed the Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act.

In Pursuit of Recognition: An Undocumented Immigrant's Resilient Fight

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:04:00 +0000

Unlike many undocumented immigrants, Sofia Campos is not afraid to give her real name.

"It's deliberate, and it's liberating," she says. "It's kind of a shock to hear somebody say, 'I am undocumented' or wear the 'I am undocumented' T-shirt, just in your face."

The 22-year-old is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and heads United We Dream — a national network of youth-led immigrant organizations.

A&M Records: Independent, With Major Appeal

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:17:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16B5Xm8_IKw

California Keeps Death Penalty, Amends 3-Strikes Law

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Several thousand prisoners in California may be eligible to apply for sentence reductions, after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative Tuesday that alters the state's controversial three-strikes law.

But voters also rejected a proposition that would abolish the death penalty in the state.

The Straight-To-DVD World Of 'Mockbusters'

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Dreamworks' animated movie Puss in Boots was a big deal. It won an Oscar, and its swashbuckling, sloe-eyed kitty was voiced by Antonio Banderas.

The meticulous computer-generated animation took four years and something like $130 million to make. But another cartoon, Puss In Boots: A Furry Tail, was hand-drawn in six months for less than $1 million. It went straight to DVD — one of the many low-budget productions riding the coattails of Hollywood blockbusters.

Animator Darrell Van Citters once worked at Disney and Warner Bros.

L.A.'s Ban On Marijuana Dispensaries Halted For Now

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:53:00 +0000

Thursday was supposed to mark the end of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, after the city council approved a ban on them this summer. But patients and advocates have managed to halt the ban, and some dispensary operators are suing the city.

For years, Los Angeles has been a mecca for medical marijuana dispensaries. Anyone with a doctor's recommendation could stop in at chic storefronts offering cannabis-laced desserts or at the more underground clinics, labeled only with a green cross.

Juanes: A Superstar Slows Down, Shifts Gears

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:29:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR9L9Dc1i8k

Sherman Hemsley, TV's George Jefferson, Dies

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:27:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

George Jefferson was an upwardly mobile black businessman with a longsuffering wife, equal parts pride and frustration when it came to his family and neighbors. Actor Sherman Hemsley brought that vivid character to life on television in the 1970s and '80s. He was 74 when he died yesterday at his home in El Paso, Texas.

'Dark Knight' Events Canceled, Theaters Add Guards

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:50:00 +0000

In the aftermath of the mass shooting in a Colorado theater, the hoopla surrounding a blockbuster movie opening was toned down, and theaters around the country began beefing up security.

Warner Bros., the studio behind The Dark Knight Rises, canceled Friday night's red-carpet premiere in Paris. It also called off a press conference with the director and the stars.

The studio issued a statement extending sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims of the shooting in Aurora, Colo.

Seinfeld Hits The Web, Still Talking About Nothing

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Jerry Seinfeld's new series is called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and the promos promise exactly that. The comic toodles around in his vintage wheels, drinking java with his pals Alec Baldwin, Michael Richards and Larry David, and discussing (among other things) the effrontery of ordering herbal tea when invited out for coffee.

But the next act from the man behind the most popular sitcom on television won't be on television.

Program On Ariz. Immigration Part News, Advocacy

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

The U.S. Supreme Court is getting ready to rule on Arizona's controversial immigration law and a lot of people in that state are watching closely. Tonight, nearly two dozen Spanish language radio and TV stations in Arizona are scheduled to run the same program about the immigration law. As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, they're walking a fine line between journalism and advocacy.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: In Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma, 23 TV and radio stations are running the half-hour program simultaneously.

Microsoft Debuts Surface Tablet To Compete With iPad

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:58:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now in Hollywood last night, Microsoft unveiled its newest product: a tablet computer to compete with the iPad.

Is Deportation Freeze A 'Big Relief' Or 'Cynical Ploy'?

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 09:57:00 +0000

At the University of California, Los Angeles, Labor Center in downtown L.A., more than 100 student leaders from around the country hugged and cheered as President Obama delivered his immigration announcement Friday.

Obama outlined a new policy to temporarily stop deporting some young illegal immigrants and make them eligible for work permits.

Diego Sanchez was born in Argentina and brought to Miami 12 years ago. He's working on getting his MBA. He welcomed the president's announcement.

"It's a big step, a big relief for our communities, especially as students," Sanchez says.

English-Language News Launched By Univision, ABC

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:02:00 +0000

The joint venture will create a multi-platform news service for English-speaking Hispanics. The venture will feature a 24/7 cable channel, as well as digital media platforms.

Silence Is Golden For 'The Artist'

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:52:00 +0000

The Artist became the first silent film to triumph at Hollywood's highest honors since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago. The film's lead actor, Jean Dujardin, also took home an Academy award for best actor while Michel Hazanavicius, the film's director, also won.

Moreno, Leguizamo Talk Latin Life In 'Hollywouldn't'

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:21:00 +0000

Rita Moreno — the only Latino performer to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — is reprising some of her most memorable characters in a solo show at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Up the coast in Los Angeles, John Leguizamo, who co-starred opposite Al Pacino in Carlito's Way and voiced Sid the sloth in the animated Ice Age films, is performing another of his acclaimed solo shows.

A New Destination For Kayakers: The L.A. River?

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:24:00 +0000

The once-polluted and often ridiculed Los Angeles River is now open to kayak and canoe adventures. City officials and the Army Corps of Engineers are running a pilot program that allows people to explore the river.

In the South American rain forest, I once paddled in a dugout canoe through the lush Amazon River, filled with pink dolphins and flesh-eating piranhas.

Ex-L.A. Gang Member Trades Streets For Family Life

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Los Angeles is arguably the epicenter of street gangs stretching back for generations. NPR's Mandalit del Barco has been documenting the lives of gang members in the city for nearly two decades. For the series "The Hidden World of Girls," produced with the Kitchen Sisters, del Barco revisits one gang girl she profiled for an NPR documentary in 1995.

When I first met up with BooBoo, she was living with her homegirls Nena and Chunky in a seedy one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles.

L.A. Drivers Ecstatic I-405 Re-Opens Early

NPR: Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles officials have reopened a major interstate freeway that was closed for construction. Fearing traffic jams of epic proportions, many drivers stayed off the roads over the weekend. But cars were back on Interstate 405 a day ahead of schedule.

At noon on Sunday, the first cars and motorcycles of the weekend drove honking and cheering through a stretch of I-405 that was closed at midnight Friday.