Stories about Spanish from September, 2012
Bolivia: Miners’ Dispute Holds La Paz Under Siege
Hundreds of miners are continuing to block the main access roads to La Paz. The blockade was sparked by a dispute between private cooperative miners and unionised miners over which group should control the recently expropriated Colquiri mine.
Ecuador on Alert over Forest Fires
Ecuador is in a state of emergency due to forest fires that have been burning since June. As soon as the warning signal was given by citizens and authorities, the hashtag #incendiosforestales (forest fires) became a local trending topic in Ecuador.
Peru: Gastronomy and Culture in Mistura 2012 Fair
"Mistura", Peru's Gastronomy Fair, opened its doors in Lima for the fifth consecutive year. On social networks, Peruvians and foreigners alike share their opinions and offer their advice.
Argentina: Blog Covers Trial for Crimes Against Humanity
The blog Juicio V Cuerpo Ejército Bahía Blanca [es] has been following a trial over crimes against humanity committed in the city of Bahía Blanca during Argentina's military dictatorship. In...
Mexico Also Remembers September 11 Attacks
Eleven years have passed since the attacks on the World Trade Center in the city of New York and on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. in the United States of America. In commemoration of an event which had global repercussions, the whole world has spoken out in cyberspace to remember the attacks. Mexico has been no exception.
‘Diversity Within the Unknown’, a Conservation Blog in Bolivia
Few media outlets- mainstream, alternative or citizen-lead-, pay careful attention, or devote themselves fully, to the subject of conservation in Bolivia. Diversidad entre Pendientes is a blog that offers direct contact with the Bolivian biodiversity, home to mountains and sub-tropical valleys. The blog's author, Mauricio Pacheco, spoke with Global Voices about his work, and the state of thematic blogs in Bolivia.
Ecuador: Orlando Ibarra Escapes After Two Years of Captivity
Orlando Ibarra, a 39 year old Ecuadorian businessman, was reunited with his loved ones on Monday, September 10 in a military base in Quito, Ecuador, after 766 days in captivity in Colombia.
Chile: 1973 Coup d'etat in 140 Characters
How would netizens have followed the coup d'etat of September 11, 1973 in Chile if Twitter had existed?
Cuba: For a Census in Which All Unions Count
As the National Census of People and Households approaches, activism on blogs and social networks has intensified after a supposed change in the instruction manual came to light: it appears as though same sex unions were originally to be included, but this later changed. Now the question revolves around why it was eliminated.
Cuba: Blackout Leaves 5 Million People in the Dark
An interruption of an electrical transmission line left five million people from Pinar del Río to Camagüey, including the Cuban capital, Havana, in the dark. Various Twitter users residing in Cuba used the battery life they still had on their laptops and dial-up connections to report what was happening.
Spain: Storming the Streets (and Web) on Catalonia's National Day
A mass meeting under the separatist slogan 'Catalonia: new state in Europe' has been organised for today (September 11) in Barcelona and huge participation is expected.
Colombia Answers with New Promotional Campaign and Slogan
"Where are foreigners welcomed with courtesy, friendship and love? #TheAnswerIsColombia." A new promotional campaign and video was launched by the Colombian government with the slogan "The Answer is Colombia." Countless responses, positive and negative, have been appearing under the hashtag #LaRespuestaEsColombia.
Spain: Investment Scheme of the Rich and Famous Makes Headlines
Discussion of the SICAV investment scheme reignited this summer in Spain, with the debate focusing on some of the well-known people and companies that take advantage of this fiscal tool in order to avoid paying taxes, such as the sister of King Juan Carlos, Infanta Pilar, and filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
Uruguayan Netizens in Numbers
Gabriel Budiño from the blog DTodo1Poco [es] summarizes some of the key findings in the ninth edition of an investigation [es] entitled ‘Profile of the Uruguayan Netizen.’ Facebook users [in...
Cuba: Blackout Leaves Millions in the Dark
The digital magazine Café Fuerte informs of the major blackout on September 9, 2012 that left almost half of the Island–from central to western Cuba– and 5 million people without...
Video: San Cristobal Volcano Eruption in Northern Nicaragua
YouTube's Citizentube has a playlist of user submitted videos showing the dramatic volcanic eruptions of September 8th in Nicaragua. The San Cristobal volcano, the tallest in this Central American country, erupted at 9:02 am on Saturday, releasing steam and ash and causing authorities to evacuate more than 3000 people from Chinandega.
Cuba: Police Detain Blogger, Disrupt Independent Scholarly Forum
Well-known Cuban author and blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo was recently detained by state police on September 1, 2012. Pardo Lazo had been slated to moderate a session of Estado de SATS, an independent, informal scholarly forum in Havana later that day.
Bolivia: Former Minister Demands Investigation of Indigenous Repression
Bolivia's former Minister of Defense, María Cecilia Chacón, wrote a Facebook note breaking the silence after almost one year of her resignation. The note criticizes the appointment of former Minister of Interior, Sacha Llorenti, as ambassador to the United Nations, while the repression of indigenous TIPNIS remains unenlightened.
Venezuela: Is a Natural Disaster Looming Over Mata Redonda?
Neighbors of the Mata Redonda community, in the Venezuelan city of Maracay, are using citizen media to denounce a possible natural disaster if the contention wall that separates the zone from Lake Valencia were to collapse.
Costa Rica: Shaken Bloggers Share Earthquake Stories
Now that the shaking after Costa Rica's 7.6-magnitude earthquake on September 5, 2012 has stopped, Costa Rican netizens are using their blogs to share their experiences during the quake.
Spain: Ecce Homo Cheers Up the Summer
Cecilia Giménez, an old parishioner from the Aragonian town of Borja, Spain, decided to restore on her own a damaged painting of an Ecce Homo by the artist Elías García Martínez in the Sanctuary of La Misericordia. However, the restoration ended up in a terrible mess...
