David Sasaki · January, 2007

Latest posts by David Sasaki from January, 2007

Brazil: Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

  24 January 2007

“By all rights, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist should have single-handedly delivered a knock-out blow to any popular conception that Latin American literature is ‘good’ literature. The novel is, simply put, execrable tripe.” So begins Posthegemony's ranting review of what it terms Coelho's famous work of “anti-literature”. Still, Jon admits that...

Argentina: Sex Meme

  22 January 2007

Mirko of Weblog de un chico GAY is tired of the ubiquitous “5 things meme” and so rebels by taking part in the more intimate sexual meme [ES]. We learn that he prefers the lights off, wears boxers, and his musical selection? “Bossa, Chill Out.” Could this be the start...

Argentina: Still searching for Julio Lopez

  22 January 2007

“Thursday marked four months from the disappearance of Jorge Julio Lopez, an elderly witness who has been missing since testifying in the trial against a police official from the last dictatorship. Displayed sporadically throughout the city are posters and graffiti serving as reminders that he is still missing. Despite these...

Mexico: Gay rights leader murdered

  22 January 2007

Andres Duque describes the murder of Mexican gay rights leader José Ernesto Leal Rodriguez who was stabbed to death in his Matamoros apartment. Federal deputy David Sanchez Camacho and commenters on Duque's blog are tired of police departments describing the murders of gays as “crimes of passion.”

Argentina: Comet McNaught

  22 January 2007

Both Robert Wright and Jeff Barry were able to photograph Comet McNaught as it passed over Buenos Aires’ Sunday night sky and provide some valuable links for more info on the comet.

Bolivia: One year of Morales

  22 January 2007

Jim Shultz and Boz each give their own analysis of Evo Morales’ first year in office. Mark in Mexico takes a jab at Morales following his claim that Mexican President Felipe Calderón humiliated him at the Mercosur summit.

Chile: A Ride for the Climate

  19 January 2007

Eco-trans-hemispheric cyclist Dave of A Ride for the Climate has arrived to Santiago, Chile where he was featured in the English daily The Santiago Times as well as La Nacion.

Bolivia: Update on a Crisis

  19 January 2007

While Jim Shultz does not believe that protesters either in opposition or support of Governor Manfred Reyes were paid to be there, he does think that “those on the streets (and the families affected who weren't in the streets) were caught in a political power play that none of them...

Colombia: Paramilitary and Politics

  19 January 2007

Forum on Democracy has translated an Op-Ed by anthropologist Aldo Civico which “compares the collusion between politicians and paramilitaries in Colombia, to the Mafia-controlled government of Palermo in the 1970s.”

Bolivia: “Women Creating” Against Evo Morales

  18 January 2007

Francisco Giglio has posted photos from the Casa de la Culture in La Paz by a group of female anarchist artists called Mujeres Creando (“Women Creating”) protesting Evo Morales’ government. Rosario Lizana has transcribed the text [ES] from one of the photographs.

Latin America: Social Movements in 2007

17 January 2007

The weblog of the North American Congress on Latin America has a translation by Teo Ballvé of an article authored by Raúl Zibechi on what Latin America's new political scenario means for the region’s social movements.

Chile: Last Words of Salvador Allende

  17 January 2007

Professor Zero puts up some YouTubed archival footage of the 1973 bombing of the Palacio de la Moneda in Santiago dubbed with the final speech of President Salvador Allende who was killed in the coup attack. An English translation of that speech is also available.

Mexico: IHOP in San Pedro

  16 January 2007

Noting the recent arrival of American restaurants like Chilis and Starbucks, Ocho Cuartos is still a bit surprised to hear that IHOP, or International House of Pancakes, will be making its debut [ES] in the upscale Monterrey neighborhood of San Pedro.

Bolivia: Waiting in Cochabamba, Making Demands in El Alto

  16 January 2007

Writing from Cochabamba, Jim Shultz reports that soldiers are maintaining at least a façade of calm while Bolivia Rising translates an article from La Razón about demands from El Alto for the immediate resignations of Cochabamba Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa and La Paz Prefect Jose Luis Paredes.