Stories about Latin America from August, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba: Olympic Medals
Caribbean Beat Blog congratulates Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago on their gold and silver medals in the Men's 4 x 100 Relay, while Child of the Revolution thinks that “Fidel Castro won’t be happy” with the Cuban Olympic medal count.
Brazil: Longer maternity leave causes media outcry
A law that extends paid maternity leave from 120 to 180 days has just been signed by Brazilian President Lula. Private companies will be able to opt out, but the government will grant tax breaks to those that adopt it. Altamiro Borges [pt] comments on the outcry: “the hegemonic media,...
Brazil: Exploring the “New MPB”
For those who like Brazilian Popular Music, Isaías Camanducaia [pt] picks the top 10 of the “new MPB“, which he defines as “everything that came after Marisa Monte“.
Brazil: Funny videos educate people about voting
Leonardo Fontes [pt] is having fun creativity of the lastest TV campaigns in Brazil to raise awareness about the importance of voting. “I can't remember having seen such a good humorous, non sense series linked to politics”. You can see the ads in Portuguese on his blog.
Mexico: Protests About Insecurity in the Capital
A large crowd assembled outside the National Palace in Mexico City to protest the insecurity in the city. Daniel Hernandez of Intersections [es] was present and writes that “they were protesting the fact that it took the death of the son of a wealthy and connected figure for political leaders...
El Salvador: The Strategy of Fear in the Presidential Elections
Hunnapuh [es] compares the current FMLN candidate for the Salvadoran presidency, Mauricio Funes, with the late Shafick Handall and how the rival party used the strategy of fear to defeat the candidate and would seek to do the same with Funes.
Mexico: Thoughts from A Grandfather
Soron of La Vida es Sueño [es] writes a tribute to his grandfather, Germán, who spoke about life in Mexico City back when, “one could see on a daily basis the volcanoes that surrounded the Mexican Valle, the sky was always blue and there were even rivers in Mexico City,...
Venezuela: Antonio Lauro and His Classical Guitar
Antonio Lauro is well-known for composing waltzes for the classical guitar. As part of the group Trio Cantores del Trópico, Lauro managed to contribute to the Venezuela's musical heritage converting original European structures into melodies that sound very much like the Venezuelan idiosyncrasies. He toured extensively around neighboring countries to spread the sounds of Venezuelan music.
Dominican Republic: Gold Medal in Boxing
Duarte 101 [es] celebrates the gold medal of Félix Díaz for his win in the Olympics. It was the first time since 1984 that a boxer from the Dominican Republic brought home a gold medal.
Brazil: Micro stories contest via Twitter
“140letras is the first micro stories contest in Brazil, held through Twitter. Entry is now closed and we can track the competitors’ stories. The winner will be announced on September 30″, Luciana Mielniczuk [pt] reports.
Argentina: Weblogs Day 2008 in Buenos Aires
The 2008 version of Weblogs Day recently took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This year, topics went beyond the discussion of blogs, and included information about web 2.0 entrepreneurs and other online events. Global Voices Online was also presented by Argentina author Jorge Gobbi.
Bahamas, Cuba: Inconvenient Truths?
“The Bahamas standard of living reflects the effect of free trade and a relatively limited government. Citizens here are still far better off than in many countries in the region and the world. However, every now and then The Bahama Journal editorialises about the virtues of Cuba. And frankly this...
Peru: Government Attempts to Halt Protests in the North
The news media has started to provide more coverage of the protests taking place in Northern Peru. The newspaper La República writes that the commission headed up by Environmental Minister Antonio Brack did not accomplish much. More and more indigenous groups are joining the cause and guarding important state petroleum...
Mexico: Videos raise awareness of kidnapping crisis
Mexico has seen a steep rise in kidnapping for ransom cases this year, and a group of videobloggers have decided to take a stand and make videos proposing solutions for this problem. According to the Analisis a Fondo blog, according to the Dutch NGO Pax Christi and local authorities, Mexico has surpassed Colombia in the number of kidnappings, which take place mostly in the capital and neighboring areas.
Colombia: Narcotours in Medellín
In Medellín, Colombia, “narco”-tours are being offered for foreigners to visit sites associated with the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, writes Jorge Gobbi of Blog de Viajes [es].
Chile: Campaign Propaganda Out of Season
Elections are fast approaching in Chile, and Marcelo Aliaga of Bloggeando La Vida [es] is noticing the ways that candidates are getting around the regulations for the dates in which campaign propaganda is allowed.
Uruguay: 2nd Ceibal Jam for the XO Laptop
Pablo Flores announces the 2nd Ceibal Jam in Montevideo, Uruguay [es], which is an informal get-together of programmers in order to develop open-source applications for the XO laptops.
Cuba: Corrupt Survival
“At his young age, he already understands that it doesn’t matter how many times you cross the line of illegality as long as you keep applauding. For him, if they let him continue to line his pockets, socialism could well be eternal”: Yoani Sanchez blogs about corruption and its strong...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Watching the Games
“Cuba is a sports-loving country, and interest extends beyond the island’s participation, to that of athletes from other latitudes”: Circles Robinson writes about the experience of watching the Olympics from Havana, adding that “there could be nothing more diametrically opposed than Olympics sports coverage in Cuba and the United States.”
Peru: On Being Peruvian
The blog Choledad Privada [es] publishes the fifth post in a series that attempts to humorously unveil the pure essence of being “Peruvian”, however, not everyone agrees.
Nicaragua: Otakus, the Community of Fans of Anime
Nimrod of Y ahora ¿de qué vamos a hablar? [es] thinks that the recent article in La Prensa is a positive step forward for the growth of the community of fans of Anime called “Otakus” in Nicaragua.
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