Stories about Latin America from August, 2010
Mexico: Miss Universe 2010 Gets All the Attention on Twitter
Miss Mexico 2010, Jimena Navarrete, won this year's Miss Universe contest. Mexican Twitter users expressed enthusiasm for Navarrete's victory; however, some criticized the amount of attention the event was getting compared to other, more important issues. Navarrete also tweeted, thanking everyone for their support.
Argentina: Remembering Borges on His Birthday
Juan Carlos Lynch reminds [es] his readers that today, August 24, is Jorge Luis Borges’ birthday. To honor the writer's memory, Juan Carlos shares a short story about Borges written by his friend and award-winning writer Adriana Romano [es]. Borges died in 1986.
Chile: 33 Trapped Miners Are Alive
33 miners trapped inside a collapsed copper and gold mine in northern Chile confirmed on a small note that all of them are alive inside a shelter, thus revitalizing search and rescue efforts when hopes of finding them alive were fading. The note surfaced inside a bag attached to one of the drills that managed to reach the exact location where they are located, 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground.
Costa Rica: Assessing 100 Days of Laura Chinchilla's Government
Marcelo shares [es] his concise and straightforward opinion on the first 100 days of Laura Chinchilla's presidency.
Colombia: President Santos and Human Rights
Valentina Díaz Gómez writes [es] about President Juan Manuel Santos and human rights in Colombia on her blog Realidades Colombianas. She hopes the media will report on human rights violations rather than cover them up, and that Santos and organizations like Human Rights Watch will find a way to work...
Colombia: Technology as Synonym for Jobs and Development
Carlos Correa writes [es] in his technology blog, Blog de Kloscorrea, about technology as a synonym for development and job creation in Colombia. He says the government needs to make regulations and policies that benefit the technology sector, and that Colombians need to stop feeling “small” next to other countries...
Peru: SUVs Taking Over Sidewalks
Cyrano writes [es] about his friend Edgardo, who uses a wheelchair, and his encounter with an SUV which was taking over most of the sidewalk. The SUV made it impossible for Edgardo to go through with his wheelchair, even with the help of his friends. They couldn't find a policeman...
Cuba: Empty or Full?
“The truth is the rules of democracy and human rights agreements are instruments against which the government in Havana holds grudges”: Iván's File Cabinet wouldn't be surprised if Cuban prisons were to be filled once again.
Bolivia: State of Emergency Due to Wildfires
Bolivia is in a state of fire emergency, with 25,000 blazes affecting 1.5 million hectares. Pablo Andrés Rivero writes [es] about the lack of resources to put out the fires; he also expresses his unbelief at declarations from the Minister of Rural Development, Nemesia Achacollo, who said that only rain...
Venezuela: Rapper Defies New Ban Against Violent Images
Venezuelan rapper OneChot is using social media to distribute his video criticizing the violence in Venezuela in days after president Chavez declared a month long ban on media's use of violent images, triggering an investigation surrounding the video's release.
Guatemala: Almost 1,000 Children Live in Temporal Government Housing
In his blog Carpe Diem, Luis Figueroa wonders [es] what will happen to the almost 1,000 children who live in temporal government housing while they wait to be adopted into a home or return to their own.
El Salvador: Climate Change and Migration
Tim's El Salvador Blog recommends an essay by his friend Beth, “who works with a local community on reconstruction projects necessitated by weather disasters” in El Salvador. The essay is called, “In Search of Shelter and Protection: Environmental Migration and Climate Change.”
Colombia: Siblings Create Dining Hall for Hungry Children
María Eugenia, from the blog La Mariposa, writes [es] about María Cenelia and Carlos Hernán, a sister and brother who created a dining hall for children in Cali, Colombia. The hall became foundation Funcreamor, serving children that would otherwise go hungry. The foundation has a Facebook [es] profile where they...
Colombia: Ongoing Online Reactions to Mass Grave La Macarena
The discovery of a mass grave holding more that 2,000 bodies next to a military base in Colombia has sparked a heated and ongoing debate. Although the story was reported months ago, the lack of transparency and clear facts from the media and the government have kept the online discussion going. Colombians have turned to social networks to try to make sense of the macabre discovery.
Honduras: Police Brutality Toward Resistance Group
Juan Carlos Rivera in Mirada de Halcón provides a personal account [es] (including photographs) of what he calls a police “attack” on a bridge blockade by the Resistance Front (Frente de Resistencia). Juan Carlos says he had to run away to avoid tear gas from police and bullets from civilians;...
Cuba: Youth in Prison
Iván's File Cabinet blogs about the majority of “common (non-political) prisoners in Cuba [being] black or mestizo”, saying: “The environment in which these youths grow up is fertile ground for delinquency. The worst part [is] that the Cuban State doesn’t have a solution for the problem of a society that...
Paraguay: Soaring Soybean Production Prompts Clashes
As the global demand for soy rises, Paraguay has become the world's fastest-growing producer of the crop. But with resulting riches have also come battles over land rights and environmental concerns.
Brazil: Dona Delma on Twitter
“Dona Delma” has been on the worldwide Trending Topics for a week and , so far, most Twitter users haven't figured out the real meaning of it. Blog Hiper-Tension, copies [pt] the original post [pt] from a Brazilian Orkut's community, explaining the practical joke which consists of simply adding “Dona...
Nicaragua: Blog Informs About LGBT Community
Grupo de Diversidad Sexual de Carazo (Sexual Diversity Group from Carazo) keeps a blog [es] called Espacio Comunicación Alternativa (Space for Alternative Communication), where they aim to, “Create alternative and accessible processes to inform, communicate and teach LGBT youth, to achieve empowerment, recognition and respect for different sexual orientations and...
Venezuela: Violent Images Censored for a Month
The Devil's Excrement shares images of Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional with the word “Censurado” (Censored) over the space where images would normally appear. In a previous post, the blogger explains, “a Judge issues the following prohibition [es] ‘For the next four weeks, no newspaper, magazine or weekly of the country...
El Salvador: Cheerleaders Banned from Independece Celebrations
In the blog Gatos Frentudos [es] Chambita Hernandez writes about a recent decision to ban cheerleaders from independence celebrations, starting with the bicentennial. Since 1960, cheerleaders have been part of annual independence parades.
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