Rancho Cucamonga crowd sees many sides of Edward James Olmos

There were many sides to Edward James Olmos on Friday night. An audience of nearly 500 got to see Olmos as a stand-up comedian, a Chicano activist, an avid reader and a lover of East L.A. Of course, most fans know him as a seasoned actor, so for good measure, he channeled El Pachuco from "Zoot Suit" for old time sakes.

[geez]

"odalay"? Is there no one who speaks spanish that looks at this stuff before it's printed. ridiculous!

[Voz]

Lol, Orale can sound like it has a "D' in it when spoken over a public address system, especially to someone with the surname of Leung. Apparently she was just spelling it the way it sounded to her. I'm sure some of us might mis-spell a word that we heard spoken in Vietnames or Chinese. Yeah, a dumb mistake, she should have consulted someone who speaks Spanish, but yeah, it happens.

mmmm, besides, I know people who are fluent in Spanish that can't even spell it.

[SAW]

geez wrote:

"odalay"? Is there no one who speaks spanish that looks at this stuff before it's printed. ridiculous!

"Odelay" is, according to Wickepedia, a Hispanic slang word meant to convey feelings of enthusiasm and slang phrases such as "Oh, Cool".

What is your objection to the use of the word? I have always been a fan of EJO, and I think this article is good. I wish I had been there.

[geez]

Voz wrote:

Lol, Orale can sound like it has a "D' in it when spoken over a public address system, especially to someone with the surname of Leung. Apparently she was just spelling it the way it sounded to her. I'm sure some of us might mis-spell a word that we heard spoken in Vietnames or Chinese. Yeah, a dumb mistake, she should have consulted someone who speaks Spanish, but yeah, it happens.
mmmm, besides, I know people who are fluent in Spanish that can't even spell it.

I agree. I would probably misspell a word I heard that was in a language I don't speak, but if I were going to be published in a newspaper, I'd be sure to confirm correct spelling on it first. I'm guessing that those who speak Spanish and can't spell it aren't writing for the Daily Bulletin.

[Joey Nguyen]

Eddie Olmos is a nice guy. I truly believe he means well. But like so many others that mean well, he makes some stupid mistakes. First off, he speaks of divisiveness. Yet it seems to escape him that the first word out of his mouth was divisive. He yells "Orale". Instead of walking out and having his first word of greeting to the crowd be inclusive to all who live here in American he deliberately pics a word closer to the hearts of Latinos. Everyone, including undocumented immigrants who have only been here a day understand what the word "Hello" means. It would have been a greeting that EVERYONE would have felt was directed at them.

I myself am Vietnamese-Laotian. And my friend was Caucasian American. To me standing there, and I am sure to my white friend that greeting made me feel like he was first giving a greeting to his Latino brothers and the rest of us secondly. To begin like that from the very first second was very disappointing in a speech that was supposed to bring everybody together. It was obvious that it was meant to bring instant recognition to the fact that he is Latino and to give an instant bond to everyone there that was also Latino. Why was that necessary?

I've always admired and respected Eddie Olmos. But I lost some of that respect and feel a little disappointed. I guess it only shows that even people like him can make bone-headed decisions.

[mynameismud]

you babies take every word personal...blow it off..like a true american.enjoy your freedom while you can.

[SAW]

Can we please go back to square one? I erred--it is in something called "Urban Dictionary" on this computer. The word is "Odelay"--a fairly, recently coined slang word used in the Hispanic culture. So, is it not probable that EJO was greeting his "own" in slang, and that is how the reporter heard it?

Mr. Nguyen, not everything has to be so politically correct, does it? I would have loved to have been in the audience, and I am not Hispanic. EJO's reaching out specifically to those of his culture, on a special occasion, would not have offended me at all.

[Mary Faheem]

Mr. Edward James Olmos talked frequently about the empowerment of giving. Before people even left the theatre, the giving started. Councilman Rex Gutierrez and his wife gave up their VIP tickets to my brother Marcos and I so we could meet the man that inspired us to perform in S.T.A.N.D.(Socially Together And Naturally Diverse). Since 2004 my sister Rebekah,
my brother John, Marcos and myself have traveled all over California with Mr. Jeffrey from Los Osos High School to teach tolerance and promote "One Humanity." We plan to invite Mr. Olmos back to Rancho and honor him for all his contributions to Humanity. Thank you Edward James Olmos, you truely are an inspiration to all and you will always be remembered as a "Hero" to me.

[read]

who

[halkshaw]

I think it was great. We need to meet the demand of the majority in Ca.

[JBinP-Town]

Olmos is similar to Paul Rodriguez... A washed-up entity who once had a franchise but has since become known more for activism. Rodriguez is on the Water rights campaign in the Central Valley and - evidently Olmos is squandering his talent by using gangster buzz words... Orale'in Rancho Cucamonga. If Olmos had been even a bit in tune with the history of Rancho Cucamonga, he could have talked about the thousands of Braceros who came to Cucamonga, Alta Loma, and Etiwanda to harvest the rich citrus and grape crops that are the fabric and history of Cucamonga. Olmos could have talked about the Labor Camp that once stood on Arrow Route, from where the Braceros were dispatched to do this hard-grueling work. No, Olmos pandered to the soccer moms, the middle-manager dads who maintain Rancho Cucamonga as a now urban landscape whose time came and went. Rancho Cucamonga, home to far too many gas-guzzling Hummers, Mercedes, and the token Prius'. Eddie, sorry the band didn't work out... Too bad screen credits are now hard to come by... Thanks for giving Rancho Cucamonga 90 minutes of your time, now go home.

[Javier]

SAW wrote:

Can we please go back to square one? I erred--it is in something called "Urban Dictionary" on this computer. The word is "Odelay"--a fairly, recently coined slang word used in the Hispanic culture. So, is it not probable that EJO was greeting his "own" in slang, and that is how the reporter heard it?
Mr. Nguyen, not everything has to be so politically correct, does it? I would have loved to have been in the audience, and I am not Hispanic. EJO's reaching out specifically to those of his culture, on a special occasion, would not have offended me at all.

Not sure that reaching out to greet "his own" when he is addressing a multi-cultural crowd is really the way to bring unity to all races. And being Latino, I can understand why he did it. I probably wouldn't have thought anything about it until Mr. Nguyen made his comment. And looking at it from his perspective I completely understand how he viewed it. Politically correct or not, it seems to show that he (EJO)really doesn't see everybody as one as he would like to be portrayed. I agree with Mr. Nguyen, and I think to put it more into perspective, if a caucasian entertainer was speaking to a mixed crowd about bringing everyone together it would also be awkward if he greeted the crowd in a term that specifically was a term only or primarily used by and for "white folk". Do you get it now?

[Javier]

SAW wrote:

<quoted text>
"Odelay" is, according to Wickepedia, a Hispanic slang word meant to convey feelings of enthusiasm and slang phrases such as "Oh, Cool".
What is your objection to the use of the word? I have always been a fan of EJO, and I think this article is good. I wish I had been there.

Your confusing it with Orale. Odelay is an album by Beck. The word is Orale, not Odelay no matter how it sounds or is wrongly or incorrectly spelled in any dictionary of slang.

[JBinP-Town]

From Javier: "I agree with Mr. Nguyen, and I think to put it more into perspective, if a caucasian entertainer was speaking to a mixed crowd about bringing everyone together it would also be awkward if he greeted the crowd in a term that specifically was a term only or primarily used by and for "white folk". Do you get it now?" I agree with what you are saying... Like if Jay Leno or another white comedian were to stand in front of a group and say; "Yo, how's my Crackers out there?" In truth though, it is not the responsibility of Olmos or any other person to try to bridge divisiveness in any quarter. You either get it or you don't. So Rancho can lay claim to Olmos showing up at a community center, what else did he have going that night... Not like he was booked up. Personally, I think that Ms. Killmurray from the old Cucamonga library is more notable than Olmos, at least she promoted a love for books and reading.

[Javier]

JBinP-Town wrote:

From Javier: "I agree with Mr. Nguyen, and I think to put it more into perspective, if a caucasian entertainer was speaking to a mixed crowd about bringing everyone together it would also be awkward if he greeted the crowd in a term that specifically was a term only or primarily used by and for "white folk". Do you get it now?" I agree with what you are saying... Like if Jay Leno or another white comedian were to stand in front of a group and say; "Yo, how's my **** out there?" In truth though, it is not the responsibility of Olmos or any other person to try to bridge divisiveness in any quarter. You either get it or you don't. So Rancho can lay claim to Olmos showing up at a community center, what else did he have going that night... Not like he was booked up. Personally, I think that Ms. Killmurray from the old Cucamonga library is more notable than Olmos, at least she promoted a love for books and reading.

Well, I see it as if a white movie star addressed a crowd of people and greeted the crowd by using a word that was obviously meant for all the white people in the crowd and excluding all the rest. As far as Mr. Olmos was to know, most of the whites, asians and blacks probably don't even understand the meaning of Orale. So it was obviously a greeting that was meant to embrace all the Latinos and exclude the rest of the crowd. But in reality it was probably meant even more just to kiss butt to all the Latinos in the crowd. Some of us (Latinos) who are celebrities make a point of shoving their "Latinicity" in the faces of everyone when they appear in public programs. Not sure why they feel a need to do that other than to appeal to a certain segment of society. Most whites don't try to broadcast their "whiteness" and most asians don't feel the need to broadcast their "asian-ness". Most blacks don't do it either unless they happen to be Reverend Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.

Lol, I'm Mexican-American, and look it. So when I meet people I figure they already can see that I'm Latino. So I don't feel a need to make a point of drawing attention to my ethnic background every time I meet people.

[SAW]

Javier wrote:

<quoted text>
Your confusing it with Orale. Odelay is an album by Beck. The word is Orale, not Odelay no matter how it sounds or is wrongly or incorrectly spelled in any dictionary of slang.

I was just using the resource at hand because the first poster complained, and I was curious. Finding the word listed in a so-called dictionary of Hispanic slang seemed to make sense of it.

[SAW]

Javier wrote:

<quoted text>
Not sure that reaching out to greet "his own" when he is addressing a multi-cultural crowd is really the way to bring unity to all races. And being Latino, I can understand why he did it. I probably wouldn't have thought anything about it until Mr. Nguyen made his comment. And looking at it from his perspective I completely understand how he viewed it. Politically correct or not, it seems to show that he (EJO)really doesn't see everybody as one as he would like to be portrayed. I agree with Mr. Nguyen, and I think to put it more into perspective, if a caucasian entertainer was speaking to a mixed crowd about bringing everyone together it would also be awkward if he greeted the crowd in a term that specifically was a term only or primarily used by and for "white folk". Do you get it now?

It was not a political meeting. It was entertainment. I have always been a fan of EJO, and if I had been in the crowd, I would not have cared how he addressed it, as long as he had no sinister motives.

[geez]

my one and only point was that if you're gonna use a word in a newspaper article, spell it correctly! i noticed that it was corrected in the print version.

[SAW]

geez wrote:

my one and only point was that if you're gonna use a word in a newspaper article, spell it correctly! i noticed that it was corrected in the print version.

I understand--I was unfamiliar with the word, so out of curiosity, I typed it in and up came the word "Odelay" with the information that it was a relatively new Hispanic slang word. I do agree that words should be spelled correctly.

[Peter Griffin]

Uncle_vito wrote:

Olmos is one ugly looking latino. Those acne scars. Amazing that guy got on TV. Guess there is hope for all of us.
Vito

Yeah an ugly latino with a wife in her 20's...not ALL of us can have that at his age.