· June, 2012

Stories about Arts & Culture from June, 2012

Armenia: Online Petition to Support LGBT Rights

Following the recent firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan as well as homophobic comments from government officials and politicians setting the scene for the aggressive disruption of a diversity rally in the Armenian capital two weeks later, Unzipped draws its readers attention to a new online petition calling for...

Morocco: Theater Group Adapts The Vagina Monologues

The association Théâtre Aquarium has begun the representation of the Moroccan adaptation of the play The Vagina Monologues called Le Spectacle Dialy [fr] in Rabat.  Ali Amar opines that the Moroccan version of the play is a breath of fresh air in the current era of religious conservatism.

Puerto Rico: Indie Music Coming Soon

  25 June 2012

The music blog Puerto Rico Indie announces [es] it's next edition of the video series Archipiélago, in which the bands Las Robertas from Costa Rica and Dávila 666 from Puerto Rico will be performing. Stay tuned.

Guyana: Race Relations

  23 June 2012

“In the past decade or so this demonic cancer of contemporary Guyana has been intensifying with systematic, contumelious frequency. We, as a nation, have not failed to take notice but we ignore it”: Imran Khan blogs about racism.

Greece: Flash Opera in Metro Station

  23 June 2012

To honor European Music Day on June 21, the Greek National Opera organized a small flash concert in Syntagma metro station in Athens, in front of hundreds of surprised passengers, young and old, who enjoyed arias from The Barber of Seville and Faust, as well as the Libiamo duet with...

Debate Over South Korea Forcing Blizzard to Give Diablo III Refunds

  22 June 2012

South Korea’s Fair Trade commission raided online game maker Blizzard’s headquarters in Seoul after receiving complaints about the availability of Diablo 3. It has started a debate in a game community website Massively about Blizzard's decision to offer affected users a full refund, but with a few conditions attached.

Myanmar: Burmese Proverbs

  21 June 2012

Fifty Viss created a Tumblr account called Zagabon, to collect and publish Burmese proverbs and sayings, along with English translations and context if necessary

Azerbaijan: Musical Talent on YouTube

Gultekin Garadaghly continues to post her own renditions of well-known songs on YouTube, including those from this year's Eurovision Song Contest held in her native Azerbaijan. The young singer living in Baku, who also covers Azerbaijani folk songs, has even been featured in the local press with 1news.az [RU] reporting...

Journeys Through Latin America

  21 June 2012

Thanks to a collective of bloggers who are traveling through Latin America, readers from all over the world can get a glimpse of the many facets of this vast region. Here's a summary of the route so far.

Free Children's Books Online in 61 Languages

  19 June 2012

If you have Arab roots but are living in Brazil, you may want to read Abu Ali Counts his Donkeys to your children, a popular story from the Middle East available in Portuguese on the International Children’s Digital Library. Over four thousand children's books are available in 61 different languages for...