Latest posts by Silvia Viñas from June, 2011
El Salvador: Facebook Reaches One Million Users
Tim's El Salvador Blog shares a graph by socialbakers.com which shows there are now over one million Facebook users in El Salvador. Tim argues that, “Inevitably, more and more organizing, debate, and campaigning will happen on Facebook and Twitter as the level of participation in these social media seems to...
Bolivia: The ‘Gran Poder’ Festival in Photos
Pablo Andrés Rivero writes [es] about the ‘Gran Poder‘ festival in La Paz. Pablo describes the music, dances and colorful clothing worn during the parades. He also links to his set of photos of the event on Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
Chile: ‘Riding the Ramal’, a Photo Essay
Margaret Snook in Cachando Chile posts a photo essay of a the ‘Ramal’, a “rural branch-line train that runs 80 km (50 mi) from Talca to Constitución, from the foothills of the Andes to the shores of the Pacific.”
Latin America: ‘La Furgo-Nana’ On the Road For Children's Rights and Lullabies
A documentary, a ‘transmedia platform’ and a humanitarian project: in ‘La Furgo-Nana’ (“a Volkswagen Type II Bus from 1969″) Maria and Anton are driving through the Pan American highway from Tijuana, Mexico to Ushuaia, Argentina to “transform the difficult reality of Latin American children into a fascinating adventure you will...
Honduras: Guns, Drugs and a Family Feud
“Today I witnessed a scene right out of a Pablo Escobar film. There were at least ten guys just a block from my house standing guard at one of the houses known to be involved in narco-trafficking”: writes Blogging Honduras in a post that summarizes a ‘family fued’ tied to...
Venezuela's Prison Crisis
A riot on Sunday, June 12, at El Rodeo prison left at least 22 inmates killed [es], according to the government's report –other reports raise that number to 30 [es]. The Devil's Excrement, criticizes the way the Chávez administration has handled the country's prison problem, and today updates his blog...
Ecuador: Project Aims to Bring More Green to Guayaquil
In El Ecuador de Hoy [es] Guillermo Sornoza praises a project called ‘Guayaquil Ecológico’ [Ecological Guayaquil] which aims to bring more green spaces to the city in the form of picnic areas, parks, bicycle paths, etc.
Colombia: Dissatisfaction With TEDx Event in Medellín
Juan David Escobar [es] writes about his experience [es] with TEDx Medellín, which he could not enter because, according to what he narrates, he was not part of any of the companies sponsoring the event –but he did have a ticket. He links to an article in GeekPlanet [es] which...
Chile: More than 70,000 March in Santiago Demanding Improvements in Education
According to the online version of Chilean daily El Mercurio, more than 70,000 people [es] are marching in downtown Santiago demanding improvements in education. Using the hashtag #junio16 (“June 16,” a local trending topic), netizens are sharing photos, reports [es] and reactions [es].
El Salvador: Anti-Mining Activist Killed in Cabañas
Tim's El Salvador Blog reports that another anti-mining activist in Cabañas, “where conflict over proposed gold mining continues”, has been killed. Voices From El Salvador also blogs about the news.
Panama: The Indigenous Ngobe-Bugle’s Struggle to Defend the Rio Tabasara
Intercontinental Cry publishes an exclusive report by independent journalist Richard Arghiris, who “takes an in-depth look at the controversy surrounding the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam in Panama and the Ngobe-Bugle’s struggle to defend the Rio Tabasara along with their own right to survive as Indigenous Peoples.”
Mexico: Photo essay: Final Day of Javier Sicilia’s ‘Peace Caravan’
Photographer ‘KT’ put together a photo essay documenting the last day of 7 day ‘peace caravan’ led by poet Javier Sicilia: “I’ve seen Javier’s marches on youtube and on the news and in newspapers, but to be there was a life altering moment for me. You hear about the violence,...
Mexico City's Female Cab Drivers
“It’s frustrating that there aren’t more women cab drivers in a city that’s supposedly so cosmopolitan, and in a city where women desperately need jobs. And in the larger scheme of things, it’s sad that women here need female cabbies to feel safe” writes Lesley Téllez in a post where...
Peru: Controversy Over ‘Cristo del Pacífico’
President Alan Garcia's announcement that a giant Jesus Christ would be installed on top of the Morro Solar in Lima has drawn both criticism and praise from bloggers and social media users. Global Voices author and Spanish Translation Manager Juan Arellano links [es] to several bloggers who have discussed the...
Bolivia: Traveling Through the Chaos
“The power is in the streets, the law is carried out with blockades, the state has almost lost authority, people do what they want and there is no order. Worse, there are a lot of racism, much resentment from the indigenous to the ‘white’ man…”: Maria Eugenia Robles [es], a...
Argentina: 25 Years Since the Death of Jorge Luis Borges
June 14, 2011 marks 25 years since the death of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Blogger Juan Carlos Lynch pays homage [es] to the author recommending “The Gospel According to Mark“, a short story that helped Juan Carlos get rid of that common ‘fear’ associated with reading Borges.
Chile: Mapuche Demand Compensation for Flooding Caused by Hydroelectric Dam
Indigenous News reports that “More than sixty Mapuche families from Panguipulli are banding together to demand compensation for flooding that occurs on their lands each year caused by a nearby hydroelectric dam.”
Honduras: Policies to Improve Agriculture
“What is the appropriate mix of policies regarding agriculture in Honduras?” asks blogger Jose Falck Zepeda, who then argues that Honduras “need[s] to look for innovative approaches to improve smallholder productivity, to improve medium and large scale agriculture, promote exports and to develop the non-farm rural economy.”
Peru: Government Announces End of Concession for Inambari Hydroelectric Project
Isabel Guerra updates [es] her blog with the latest news on the Inambari hydroelectric project: after protests demanding its cancellation, the government has announced it will suspend the temporal concession given to Egasur, the project's developer.
Colombia: Getting Ready for Campus Party 2011
Bogotá is getting ready to host the fourth edition of Campus Party Colombia, which will take place from June 27 to July 3, 2011. You can read more about it in the event's official blog [es].
Argentina: Quilmes Indigenous Community Faces Another Eviction Attempt
Intercontinental Cry reports that “Despite Argentina’s blanket ban on evictions of Indigenous communities, the Quilmes community of Colalao del Valle is facing its third eviction attempt in three years,” and posts Amnesty International's appeal to support the indigenous community.
