Stories about History from January, 2012
El Salvador: Top Stories of 2011
Tim's El Salvador Blog summarizes the top stories from El Salvador in 2011.
Peru: Cápac Raymi, The Andean Christmas
Before the introduction of Christmas festivities to Peru, the Incas celebrated Cápac Inti Raymi Killa, a religious festival that took place in honour of the Sun. Cápac Raymi is no longer celebrated as it once was, but today Inca an Christian elements mix during the end of the year festivities in various towns of the Peruvian Andes.
Estonia: The SS-Trap Revisited
Kloty of Gedanken über Estland portrays [ger] Estonia's ambivalence over its historic past, as rumours and denials recur that the government wants to declare Estonians who fought in German uniform during the Second World War freedom fighters.
Bangladesh: The Treasure Chest At Wari Bateshwar
Bangladesh Unlocked reports that the 11th season of excavation has opened at Wari Bateshwar archaeological site, in Narshingdhi near Dhaka.
Philippines: Revolutionary heritage
The Museo de Santisima Trinidad curator reviews Angela Stuart-Santiago’s Revolutionary Routes: Five Stories of Incarceration, Exile, Murder and Betrayal in Tayabas Province, 1891-1980. The book is a history of her family and the revolutionary struggles against the Spanish, American, and Japanese colonizers up to the early years of the Philippine...
The Balkans: Potential Reactions to Angelina Jolie's Film
Back in Dec. 2011, Belgraded wrote on how Angelina Jolie’s In the Land of Blood and Honey is likely to be received in Serbia.
Ukraine: Gasprinsky Crimean Tatar Library
Back in Nov. 2011, Peace Corps volunteer Barb Wieser guest-blogged about her work at the Ismail Gasprinsky Crimean Tatar Library in Simferopol, Crimea, at Uncataloged Museum blog.
Cuba: Dramatists Pass Away
Havana Times says that the Cuban theater world is in mourning, having lost, “only day’s apart, two of its finest exponents: Ramiro Herrero Beaton and Vicente Revuelta Planas.”
What it means to be “Chinese” in Hong Kong
Zhongnanhai looks into the identity politics in Hong Kong in relation to mainland China, a motherland and a new colonizer.
Cuba: Ahmadinejad's Visit
The Iranian president's visit to Cuba has caused much discussion among bloggers, here, here and here.
Trinidad & Tobago: Drum Culture
In a guest post at Trinidad and Tobago News Blog, rapso artiste Brother Resistance remembers one of the country's “musical pioneers”, percussionist Ja Jah Oga Onilu, who recently passed away.
China: Transformation Snare
China Media Project has translated a news article on an academic report, authored by sociology professor Sun Liping, the former doctoral adviser to now vice-president and successor apparent Xi Jinping (习近平), which argued that China was in the midst of a “transformation snare” in which the energy and impetus to...
Online Chat with Angelina Jolie About Bosnian War Film
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, will be answering questions in a live online chat on January 12, 2012 (8pm EST) about the new film she wrote and directed about the Bosnian war, “In the Land of Blood and Honey”. Questions can be submitted in advance on the Facebook page for the...
Cuba: Rediscovering “Trova”
Generation Y blogs about the musical genre of Trova, noting that for many Cubans, “those ideological tunes — alluding to the New Man or the society he will inhabit — have been thrown into the well of forgetfulness.”
Bahamas: Majority Rule
Blogworld is celebrating Majority Rule Day, “a day that made it possible for [her] father, mother…uncles and aunts to hold the positions they held in the late twentieth century, and for which basic freedoms our forefathers fought.”
Dominican Republic: Farewell to El Goyo & Sención
Repeating Islands acknowledges the deaths of “outstanding Cuban dancer, singer and percussionist Gregorio Hernández” and Dominican writer Viriato Sención, whose “work was marked by its commitment to historical truth and cultural engagement.”
South Africa: On #ANC100 Debate
Mohammed Keita shows how #ANC100 debate lays bare divisions over South Africa media: “The lively social media debate illustrated both the discomfort many Africans feel toward criticism of their leaders, and the role as scapegoat that the media is currently playing as the ANC struggles to hold onto a decisively...
Philippines: Filipina Amazons
Vina Lanzona's new history book, Amazons of the Huk Rebellion, tells the many stories of Filipina women involved in the Huk Rebellion from the 1940s up to the 1950s. This is reviewed online at The PCIJ Blog.
Russia: The Russian Orthodox Church Re-Enters Politics
The Russian Orthodox Church has made an entrance into Russia's modern political climate through the contrasting speeches of two church officials- one called for war, the other for peace.
Cuba: Communist Party Conference
As the next Communist Party Conference approaches, Generation Y says: “The time ‘purchased’ last April during the Party Congress is about to end. The political reforms are urgent and even the system’s most faithful have begun to despair.”
Greece: Traditions and Customs on the “Day of Lights”
Epiphany or Theophany is when Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. In Greece, January 6 is traditionally known as Phota ("lights"). Join us in a small virtual tour of folk traditions around Greek islands and villages.
