· January, 2012

Stories about Latin America from January, 2012

El Salvador: New Attack Against Anti Mining Activists

  25 January 2012

Voices from El Salvador reports on a new attack against anti mining activists in Cabañas. This time, Father Neftalí Ruiz was attacked by “several young men [who] tied him up in his home and proceeded to search his home, computer files, and cellphones for information and supposed weapons.” Grit and...

Elizabeth Rivera, Global Voices Author and Translator

  25 January 2012

In this interview, Elizabeth Rivera, Global Voices author and translator, tells us a little bit about her life and the motives that drive her to voluntarily collaborate with Global Voices. She also discusses the Chilean student movement and other current events.

Cuba: “Bad” Reporting on Hunger Striker's Death

  24 January 2012

“Wilman Villlar was a political activist accused of murder, contempt and who knows what other charges. Now we can expect our press to report it, belatedly and badly”, says Bad Handwriting, while Havana Times links to that “belated and bad” reporting here and republishes a counter-argument here.

Chile: Crowd Funding a Mapuche-Inspired Mobile Game

  24 January 2012

Digital communication and social network consultant Paloma Baytelman [es] explains crowd funding in her personal blog. She shares the experience of “Pewen Collector” [es], a mobile game inspired by the Mapuche indigenous people that was financed using a crowd funding platform.

Latin America: Museum Releases Digital Archive of 20th-Century Art

  24 January 2012

The International Center for Arts of the Americas (ICCA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has released a digital archive of 20th-century Latin American and Latino art, which, “is now available, free of charge, to the research and teaching community as well as to the public at large.” Culture...

Video: One Year, One World and 52 Different Stories

  23 January 2012

Video journalist Maggie Padlewska will travel alone for one year, visiting a country each week for a total of 52 countries. During her journey she'll be recording, editing and producing videos of her interactions with communities, organizations and people under-represented by mass media and uploading them to the web.

Guatemalans Climb to Raise Awareness About Domestic Violence

  23 January 2012

“On January 21, Under the name of Subida por la vida [“Climb for life”], there were over 8,000 people climbing Volcán de Agua (Water Volcano) to form the largest heart in the world at 12,335 feet as part of campaign to bring awareness and to reduce domestic violence,” Antigua Daily...

Cuba: The Loss of a Decent Man

  23 January 2012

“We are 11 million common criminals, whose misdeeds range from buying milk on the black market to having a satellite dish”: Generation Y says that “now, with the death of Wilman Villar Mendoza, once again the old system of State insult repeats itself…[because] it would be very dangerous if people...

Brazil: Occupation dwellers surprised by violent illegal eviction

  22 January 2012

Solidariedade Pinheirinho [pt] recounts the surprise with which the Pinheirinho occupation, in Sao Jose dos Campos near Sao Paulo, was surprised this morning: “Pinheirinho is being evacuated in a violent and ostentatious way by the Military Police despite the court ruling to the contrary! THE ACTION IS ILLEGAL! [There are] Helicopters, bombs, shootings rubber, everything imaginable. “

Colombia: Hip hop and rap artists unite for peace

  21 January 2012

The Conspiracy for Peace is the new video the local rap and hip hop artists have made with the support of the local TV network Telemedellin. The song was written collectively by the artists of Medellin and the surrounding cities for the Peace One Day and is a message of...

A Guide to Crowdsourcing in Latin America

  21 January 2012

Crowdsourcing allows anyone with an Internet connection to generate useful content for the masses. In Latin America, numerous crowdsourcing projects have arisen that respond to the needs and emergencies that the continent is facing. Jacinto Lajas on Periodismo Ciudadano presents examples of these initiatives in the region.

Cuba: On the Death of Wilmar Vilar Mendoza

  20 January 2012

Regina Coyula reflects on the death of the jailed dissident Wilmar Vilar Mendoza [es], who died following a 56 day hunger strike. Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo also blogged [es] about Vilar Mendoza's death.

Cuba: TV and “Women's” Programs

  20 January 2012

Blogger and activist NegraCubana offers a reflection and a critique of the TV program [es] Ecos de Mujer (Echoes of Women) being transmitted on the state-run channel Cubavisión.

Cuba: “Free Isn't Easy”

  20 January 2012

Blogger and Global Voices author Ellery Biddle reflects on freedom of speech in thinking about the recent struggle against the United States proposed anti-piracy bill Stop Online Piracy (SOPA) and Cuba: “As I juxtapose SOPA and Cuba’s limitations on free speech, it may sound like I’m comparing apples and mangoes—on...

Puerto Rico: The 365 Project

  20 January 2012

The online edition of the magazine Cruce has published some of the photographs the photojournalist José Rodrigo Madera [es] shot as part of his 365 project: a photo for every day of the year 2011. (All of the photos were originally posted on his Facebook account)

About our Latin America coverage

Gabriela Mesones Rojo
Gabriela Mesones Rojo is the Latin America Spanish-language editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Fernanda Canofre
Fernanda Canofre is the Brazil editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.