I am the Latin America Editor of Global Voices. I also write Undertones, Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory's newsletter.
These past few years I have been a freelance journalist covering Central America, religion, human rights and the environment for different international media. I also founded the newsletter Central American News.
Latest posts by Melissa Vida
Liked Shakira's new hit? Listen to these other empowering songs from the same DJ
Bizarrap and these artists are helping shape pop culture for a safer and empowering space for all women and LGBTQ+ people.
‘Hacking should be used to wake up and rebel,’ says hacker group Guacamaya
'Hacktivism is a tool of resistance of this time.'
Welcome the new year with these joyful traditions from Latin America
We share some cheerful, curious, superstitious, and adventurous customs from Latin America to say goodbye to the old year and open a new chapter in our lives.
‘The Balkans are Europe's Latin America in many beautiful ways,’ says Albanian writer
Cultural mediators between the Balkans and the Hispanic worlds are scarce. Elvi Sidheri is one of them. As an Albanian author and translator, he has traveled across countries and literary fields.
Transgender women are despised, like the Virgin Mary in her day
"I am a mother raising her child. There was no conception in my womb, but for me, it's really a miracle."
Woman dubbed ‘Messi's grandma’ goes viral in Argentina following World Cup win
The tune "Abuelalalalalalala" became Argentina's World Cup anthem
The Venezuelan diaspora in London seeks ways to save lives in Venezuela
"It is as if the heaviness of migratory grief for so many losses and even regrets has been transformed into a source of honor and an impetus of solidarity and brotherhood."
Does Messi speak Spanish or ‘Argentine’?
Focusing on a "stammering" Lionel Messi returns Americans to the colonial status of children.
Young Indigenous women from Mexico and Morocco unite for COP27
Women of Purépecha and Amazigh descent fight for the land of their ancestors and everyone's climate
Twitter and Facebook have suspended accounts affiliated with the Cuban government
For the first time in Cuba, Twitter has also marked some accounts as "government-affiliated"
How does Xi Jinping's re-election in China affect Latin America?
With Xi Jinping assuming his third term as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the subcontinent wonders: how could China's policy towards the region change?
Cubans initiate new wave of protests over blackouts and hunger
Protests happen with "cacerolazos" and Cuban mothers playing a leading role.
We must question colonialism in legal discourse, says Colombian lawyer
"I believe that we need a legal system that takes into account the land that we share with multiple beings (...) and that includes in the legal analysis the knowledge of the ancestral peoples."
Five songs to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Music is a way to push back against threats to Indigenous peoples' way of life, languages, and culture due to settler colonialism and violence, climate change, economic and racial discrimination, and cultural assimilation.
Controversial Guatemalan video game seeking to boost army's image cancels its release
In a country grappling with bringing elite military forces to justice for war crimes, this video game seeks to make the Army seem more likeable.
Will Latin America follow in the wake of Roe v. Wade?
The repeal of Roe v. Wade "is a reminder that all over the world, rights can be challenged at any time and may be at risk of being rolled back in a conservative regime."
The forgotten story of the women who changed the history of computing in Latin America
Only a few years after women were allowed to vote in Argentina, a group of recently graduated women students built the country's first programming language.
Colombians react to the elections in memes
These seven famous memes and caricatures give insight into some of Colombia's public opinion on the historic triumph of the political left.
The failed regional integration of the Summit of the Americas
"Just when it needs it most, the continent's integration collapses"
US-Cuba immigration talks, explained
Answers to questions to understand the changes made in the last month in U.S. policy toward Cuba.
8 photos to revel in the beauty of nature in Central America and Peru
"You can complement science and conservation through photography."
