Stories about Spanish from July, 2012
Mexico: Tijuana's Unexpected Cinema Movement
Mexican border city Tijuana has an international reputation as both a dangerous town and a temptingly thrilling spring break destination. However, it is now in the international spotlight for a whole different reason: its local cinema movement.
Colombia: “Are We Truly Independent?”
On Colombia's Independence Day, bloggers and Twitter users expressed all sorts of opinions on the Internet. While some commemorated the day by showing their pride for being Colombian, others commented on the situation regarding the indigenous people of Cauca, the presence of multinational corporations, and other current topics.
Spain: King's Controversial Son-in-law Gets Salary in Millions
Amid austerity cuts, the Duke of Palma and son-in-law of the King of Spain Iñaki Urdangarín's new salary has caused a scandal in the country. Urdangarín will receive a 1.5 million euro salary as well as 1.2 million euro in-kind this year, after renewing his contract with the telecommunications company Telefónica. Urdangarín is also currently being investigated for misappropriating public funds, for which he could be sentenced up to 18 years in prison.
Paraguay: Tweets for Federico Franco on his Birthday
E'a [es] aggregates tweets dedicated to Federico Franco on his birthday. Federico Franco is the new President of Paraguay after Fernando Lugo was removed from office on June 22, 2012....
Peru: Gearing Up for the London 2012 Olympics
Just a few days before the London 2012 Olympic Games kick off, Peruvian netizens share their views and thoughts about this important sports event.
Colombia: Scientific Community Concerned Over Resignation of Top Official
The resignation of Jaime Restrepo Cuartas, director of the Administrative Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Colciencias, has raised concern among the scientific community about the future of Colciencias (the main source of funding for most Colombian scientists) and the future of research in general in the country.
Spain: Street Protests are Unstoppable
Since the miners arrived in Madrid on strike against the 63% cuts to their sector, demonstrations haven't stopped in Spain. We share images of the protests in Madrid, the capital city.
United States: Weaving Poetry on the Streets of New York
The most recent edition of the multimedia poetry series "El Tejedor" [The Weaver] features the work of Latin American and Caribbean poets in New York City.
Colombia: A Lab for Social Sciences
Blogger Luis Ángel Pérez writes about wanting to create a lab for Social Sciences, just like there are labs for chemistry or physics. He imagines the lab [es] with many...
Peru: Court Reduces Sentence for Members of Death Squad
On Friday, July 20, the Peruvian Supreme Court announced its decision to shorten from 25 to 20 years the imprisonment sentence for top members of the Colina Group, a death squad involved in human rights violations. They were also acquitted of having committed crimes against humanity.
Colombia: #Yodigoaquiestoy, a Tool for Denouncing Child Labor
"Yo Digo Aquí Estoy" ("I say I am here") is the title of an interesting project by Fundación Telefónica which aims to put an end to child labor in Colombia, counting on citizen participation. We hereby reproduce an article by Paula Gonzalo, published in Periodismo Ciudadano, where she tells us more about this tool.
Peru: Graffiti Overshadows Coverage of Anti-Mining Protests
During a recent protest march in Lima against the Conga mining project, the monument to the liberator Jose de San Martin was defaced with slogans against the government and the mining project. The media attention, and even in the blogosphere, was more focused on this "graffiti", obscuring the message of the protests.
Colombia: Locals Demand End to Cauca Conflict
For years, the indigenous people of the municipality of Toribio in Cauca have put up with hundreds of battles provoked by the guerrilla, paramilitary groups, and the military. The conflict has generated the displacement of thousands of indigenous people. Now, the indigenous people of the area have decided to intensify their struggle to expel these armed groups from their territory.
“Copy, Paste, Create”, a Free Online Book in Spanish on Open Culture and Piracy
Venezuelan writer, lawyer and Global Voices contributor Marianne Díaz Hernández has published the first installment [es] of her book “Copy, Paste, Create: Why I defend piracy and think that open...
United States: Spanish TV Series on Pablo Escobar Breaks Ratings Record
Telemundo, the second largest Spanish-speaking TV network in the United States, premiered a new series “Escobar: The Evil Patron,” about the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. During its first days, the series rated an average of 2.2 million viewers, sparking lots of comments, in favor and against, on social networks.
Spain: Deputy Apologizes for Insult
Due to the outcry produced by parliamentarian Andrea Fabra's declarations, she had to publicly retract [es] (PDF) and present a written apology after having declared “¡qué se jodan!” (“Fuck them!”) when President Mariano Rajoy announced...
Puerto Rico: Strong Support for Land and Agriculture
Various organizations have warned about the food dependency of Puerto Rico and the urgency of revitalizing the agriculture of the country. It was with this reason that a demonstration was held to demand that the University of Puerto Rico not be forced to give part of its agricultural land to the municipality of Gurabo for the construction of infrastructure.
Paraguay: From Forced Labor to Indigenous Leader
Meet Margarita Mbywangi, at the age of five, she was taken from her parents and sold several times into forced domestic labor. Since then she has become a key Aché indigenous leader and even a Cabinet Minister. Mbywangi is now sharing her personal story through Rising Voices.
El Salvador: President Funes Airs First Weekly Radio Program
“Conversando con el Presidente” (Talking with the President”) is a “weekly radio call in program to let citizens call and talk to their president,” as Tim's El Salvador Blog explains....
Colombia: “We are going to end with darkness in Congress”
On Facebook the Primary Constituent movement [es] is calling [es] for a gathering at Plaza de Bolívar (Bogotá's main public square) to protest corruption of politicians and demand that Emilio...
Spain: Controversy After Supreme Court Nullifies Catalan Immersion
The debate over language in Catalonia has heavily occupied the blogosphere, ever since Spain's Supreme Court nullified linguistic immersion for children between three and six-years-old. Linguistic immersion used to guarantee proficiency in Catalan for native speakers of other languages.
