Giveaway

Meet and Greet Daddy Yankee & Enter For a Chance to Win The Ultimate Quinceañera

Jun 20, 2012

What quinceañera wouldn’t want Daddy Yankee performing at her big Quince? Even better, what parents of a quinceañera wouldn’t want all of the expenses of this costly rite of passage celebration covered by someone other than themselves?! ¡Así sí tiramos la casa por la ventana! Well, apparently that’s exactly what the folks over at Verizon were thinking when they came up with their “fabulous” Mis Fabulosos Quinces Expo and Giveaway. That’s right, I said giveaway!

From now until June 31, 2012, young girls across eight different US cities will have the opportunity to enter to win an all expenses paid Quince from Verizon, as well as the privilege of having Daddy Yankee perform at their quinceañera!

daddy yankee verizon houston meet and greet

You could have Daddy Yankee performing at your Quince!

Specifically, the Grand Prize will include the dress, the cake, a limo, and a party planner – pretty much the works! The Grand Prize winner will also receive 4 Verizon smartphones, four $250 Verizon Wireless gift cards, and a college scholarship. Not too shabby eh?! I’d enter if we had a quinceañera, LOL!

Last year, hundreds turned out for a similar event in Houston.

In order to enter for a chance to win, contestants must submit an essay to the wireless service provider answering the following questions: 1) What does a Quince mean to you? 2) What are you planning to accomplish after high school? 3) How would you use technology to make your Quince dreams come true?

Full contest details may be found Here.

daddy yankee verizon meet and greet houston

Lots of young ladies in line to try their luck at the ultimate quince!

In addition, at each of these eight cities Verizon will be offering free Mis Fabulosos Quinces Expos, which will include a Quince fashion show, local vendors (flowers, dresses and more), technology and social media workshops, a photo station, scavenger hunts, prizes and raffles, as well as a special parent’s lounge with fun and exciting activities just for parents. Not to mention the chance for attendees to meet Daddy Yankee in person and to get his autograph.

Anyone can attend. All members of the public have to do to obtain a special VIP pass to meet Daddy Yankee is donate an unused cell phone device the day of, at any one of the eight different locations. These cell phones are used to support Verizon’s HopeLine against domestic violence.

The dates and times for each city are as follows:

Chicago
Wednesday, June 13, 2-6 p.m.
6451 Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL 60707

New York
Saturday, June 16, 2-6 p.m.
200 Mill Creek Dr., Secaucus, NJ 07094

Miami
Saturday, June 23, 2-6 p.m.
1599 West 49th St., Hialeah, FL 33012

Dallas
Saturday, June 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
2420 N. Belt Line Road, Suite 150, Irving, TX 75062

Houston
Sunday, July 1, 2-6 p.m.
10721 North Freeway, Houston, TX 77037

El Paso
Saturday, July 7, 4-8 p.m.
9010 Viscount Blvd., El Paso, TX 79925

Los Angeles
Saturday, July 21, noon to 4 p.m.
3825 Grand Ave., Chino, CA 91710

San Francisco
Sunday, July 22, 1-5 p.m.
2654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

**Dates and times are subject to change. For full contest details visit verizoninsider.com/myfabulousquince.

Mother’s Day Giveaway: Roses and a Cell Phone for your Má

Apr 30, 2012

It’s definitely no secret that my mother holds a very special place in my life and my heart. She always has and always will. Cómo dirían algunos, I guess you could say I’m a big old momma’s boy at heart, LOL! So, of course, when Cricket Wireless approached me about a potential Mother’s Day partnership, this year, I immediately wanted the ramo de flores to go with this giveaway. So here’s what I would very much like to send your madrecita:

A dozen roses, plus Cricket's newest Smartphone.

- The brand new Huawei Mercury Smartphone by Cricket

- One month’s free service on this phone with talk, text and data included

- As well as one very colorful and scentful bouquet of flowers

I’m trialing this very phone by Cricket Wireless, which the company itself calls “the best Cricket Smartphone to date, and is the third Cricket smartphone from Huawei.” Last week, at the Latin Billboard Awards in Miami, the Huawei was definitely a lifesaver. Even though it’s much cheaper than my Infuse Smartphone and smaller in size, it has a lot of cool features that so far have really impressed me. For one thing, the battery life is a lot longer than my regular droid. The Huawei also takes way better pictures than my Infuse… kind of sad when you think about it. And then, there’s the whole ease of usage. This phone is really not what I expected from the prepaid provider. There’s literally no difference in the apps I can download and how they function on my Infuse or the Huawei Mercury. In fact, the only thing I would change on this phone is that it would function on a 4G network rather than a 3G one. Pero bueno, that’s not such a huge deal to me anyway.

The other great thing about the Huawei is that it comes with the signature Muve Music app as an add on option to the phone so that you can always take your music with you on the go.

So how do you enter for a chance to win?

It’s simple really. For Mother’s Day, May 10, 2012 (note this is the date the holiday is celebrated in Mexico and the date that we have always celebrated the occasion in my family) we’re compiling a list of the best and/or favorite songs to dedicate to our madrecitas on their day. All you have to do to officially enter for a chance to win this Juan of Words prize pack is leave a comment on this blog post with your favorite Mother’s Day song in any language, as well as your email address where I can reach you if you win, before Friday, May 4, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. If you win you will have until the following Monday to claim your prize.

¡Así que buena suerte a todos!

Disclosure: The prize was provided by Cricket Wireless, but Cricket Wireless is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of Cricket Wireless.

Write The Caption: What The Whatchamacallit?

Mar 28, 2012

What do you call this?

You know how they say necessity is the mother of all invention? Well this little gem I found online just made me crack up about how ingenious we really can be when push comes to shove. In this case I’m assuming there just wasn’t a cooler or a refrigerator anywhere in site. Either that or the folks at Laugh It Out really have an incredible sense of humor and a wickedly great creative side. I’d say probably both, but it also got me thinking about something else.

Why don’t we play a game with this picture? You write the caption – make it as funny and clever as you can – and the winner, according to how hard you make me laugh, will win a special Juan of Words goodies bag. Nothing sponsored or brand oriented, just a couple of hand selected goodies from yours truly that will hopefully put a smile on your face.

¿Estamos?

Leave your comment and an email address where I can contact you here, on or before midnight on Friday, March 30, 2012, and I’ll let you know if you should expect a special prize pack from me in the near future.

Happy miercoles!

Bedtime Stories for Bilingual Kids: Book Review & Giveaway

Mar 9, 2012

I know the author! It’s always fun to be able to say that. Even more thrilling when it is someone who has always been nothing but compassionate and supportive to all writers they come across. Rosalinda Vargas, my friend and author of this new bilingual book, Sometimes I Don’t Want to Sleep, is definitely a woman who fits the bill! Rosalinda has always encouraged my own writing, so of course, it is a real pleasure to now be able to introduce this, her latest book, to all of you!

Sometimes I Don't Want To Sleep by Rosalinda Vargas

Dancing instead of sleeping.

First off, I have to say that the illustrations by Deborah Eve Alastra are gorgeous! Their deep and vibrant colors are so culturally significant that they evoke a sentiment of familiarity to the reader. I feel like I could have grown up in any of these images.

Working instead of sleeping.

The story itself deals with the all-too-familiar excuses of why the purposely-unnamed main character – the author allows the reader to be a part of the story by choosing not to make the book about any particular character – does not want to go to sleep yet. She wants to see, hear, and live life. Not go to bed!

Finally sleeping.

Finally, she can’t help herself anymore and has to go to sleep, reminding the reader that tomorrow is another day, and another opportunity to continue exploring the world. Sometimes I Don’t Want to Sleep is completely bilingual and includes a list of Spanish words to explore and learn at the end of the story. Definitely a great resource for parents and educators working with children on their bilingual fluency.

Sometimes I Don't Want To Sleep by Rosalinda Vargas

As part of this book review, I am also giving away one copy of Sometimes I Don’t Want to Sleep. If you would like to enter for a chance to win this book please leave a comment on this post with your email address (don’t worry it won’t be published anywhere) by no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2012. The winner will be announced on this blog post by the end of next week.

You can also purchase a copy of Sometimes I Don’t Want to Sleep by visiting Rosalinda’s Book Shelf.

Rosalinda Vargas

About the Author: Born and raised in Texas, Rosalinda Vargas is a new up and coming bilingual author. She writes children’s picture books and has started a new English/Spanish poetry collection for YA and Adults. Her poems are deep. They are written from childhood memories.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book from the author as part of a book tour. Juan of Words was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

¡Súbele al Suave! Downy Wants You Dancing for Clean Clothes

Mar 5, 2012

It’s taken everything in me not to run down to the neighborhood washateria and dance to this track after inserting a quarter into one of the machines! That was the first thing I thought after the folks at Downy shared with me these awesome new videos for their ¡Súbele al Suave! campaign. I actually tried to convince Anjelica to record me dancing over the weekend… she didn’t really say much about the idea other than uh-huh.

We didn’t because we didn’t have enough time, but something tells me someone must have told Downy that I’m a big fan of marketers reaching out to the U.S. Hispanic population the right way! These commercials are so hilarious…

Because what else are you going to do when your washing machine starts jamming out?!

Because this guy’s a little to good for an amateur. Show off!

Because this one, sadly, dances a lot more like me in real life.

And of course, because you can’t do a dance video at the washateria without doing at least a little bit of ‘the washing machine’!

Downy says this new wave of funny videos is just the beginning of a new series of activities they are planning – some of them interactive – to celebrate “the softness of just-washed clothes.” According to a recent survey by P&G, soft clothes make consumers experience positive feelings, for example, 80 % of consumers feel happy when they touch the softness of their clothes.

I’d agree. Clean clothes makes me happy.

Now, who wants to see me dancing to ¡Súbele al Suave!?

Here’s the track just in case you might want to make your own video too.

This is not a sponsored post. I did not receive any compensation for the content of this entry. All of the opinions are my own.

People En Español Searching for This Year’s 51st “Más Bello”

Feb 20, 2012

Austin's own Elizabeth Flores as People En Español's 51st Beauty last year.

You’re sexy and you know it?! Well now the world can know it too! People En Español is once again looking for their 51st Most Beautiful Person in the world and you could be among the finalists being considered if you submit your picture before Thursday, February 23, 2012. This is the 5th year in a row People En Español has partnered with Yahoo! Inc. for their “50 Más Bellos” edition.

What are they looking for?

A previously undiscovered beauty that they can feature in their print and online editions later this year – you can submit a picture of yourself or nominate someone else who you think would be worthy of such a title. On February 24th the top 25 finalists from all the entries will be announced. These folks will have about a month to garner support in the form of votes, and on March 23rd Yahoo! En Español will announce the “Bello 51.”

What does the winner get?

The 51st Beauty will share print and online space with this year’s 50 most beautiful celebrities, as well as travel to New York (all expenses paid) to attend the “50 Más Bellos” gala where many of the other super star beauties will also be in attendance, and will partake in a professional photography session for their magazine photo. A makeover is part of the deal too. Oh yes, and did I forget to mention the winner also walks away with $5,000? Now you’re listening, huh?

How do you enter?

It’s very simple. Just visit 51bello.com and upload your pictures. You can also visit the Official Entry Rules while you’re there.

Last year’s winner, Elizabeth Flores says the experience of being selected as the “Bello 51” was unforgettable – the mother of two, a third on the way, used part of her earnings to purchase a professional camera and to take acting classes.

“It definitely was a fun 15 minutes (of fame),” she concludes.

If you do enter let me know! I’d love to keep track of your entry and help you garner some votes. Beautiful people, go upload your pics!