Global Voices » Spanish

Argentina: Transforming a Neighborhood through a Cultural Shed

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:20:57 +0000

The Piedrabuenarte Cultural Shed in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina is transforming the neighborhood through culture, arts and citizen media. Formerly a warehouse for discarded scenery and sets for the Colon Theater, the space was transformed by artists in the community into a center for arts. Through their YouTube channel they are telling the world about it.

Eddie Avila, on a Rising Voices article from 2011, included this note before a video interview with the founders:

There are plans to work more closely with the youth in the neighborhood, showing them how they can use the cameras on their mobile phones to contribute to the YouTube channel. This would allow for additional perspectives on the diverse Piedrabuena neighborhood. In the following video, two of the founding members of the Shed, Juan “Pepi” Garachico and Lucian Garramuño, talk about what the Shed means to the residents and how they use citizen media to tell the stories of Piedrabuena.

So what have they been up to? On their YouTube channel, Piedrabuenartv is an artistic show that gives us images of daily activities in the Cultural Shed as well as being an artistic outlet for the community to express themselves through video. The next video shows the transformation of an empty lot into a cultural city, where relocated playground equipment found a new home, and an open air theater stage is being built, all of this surrounded by the high rise apartment blocks where much of the community lives.

Other episodes of the show feature neighbors talking about their expectations regarding the cultural transformation of the neighborhood, or like this next one, a look back to when they first opened the bricked up windows after 30 years.

Spain: The “Indignados” of the 15M

Elizabeth Rivera — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:17:56 +0000

The date for the first citizen protest in Barcelona to celebrate the first anniversary of 15M (May 15th) was on Saturday 12M (May 12th) at 6pm in Catalunya Plaza. Sixty-one year-old Mari Ángeles left her place in El Prat, a neighborhood close to the airport within the city limits. With a group of neighbors, she took the banners they had prepared and rode the bus to Spain Plaza. There they met other members of the “southern column” which had already marched for a couple of hours starting at Cornellà near mid-day.

Miguel Ángel. Photo by Lali Sandiumenge.

Miguel Ángel, 44 years old, joined the protest when it was passing by Esplugues. Sixty-nine year old Josep Maria did the same when it arrived to the Les Corts neighborhood. Karlos, also 44, stepped in carrying a backpack with all the necessary items to camp at the plaza until 15M.

All except Karlos, who lived in Mexico some years and supported the Zapatista movement, had never been involved in any social or political activity before 15M. Since May 15th, 2011, they haven't stopped. Mari Ángeles is a member of the platform El Prat against cuts [ca] that denounces the austerity measures with which the Catalan government is amputating the welfare state; Miguel Ángel belongs to Aturem Eurovegas [ca] (Stop Eurovegas) to prevent the multimillionaire American mogul Sheldon Adelson to transform Llobregat river delta into a huge and complex casino and entertainment compound. Josep Maria has signed in recently to Iaioflautas, a group of retired workers hardened by the anti-Franco, left-wing, union struggle.

Karlos has found an escape valve. “I'm living this wake up with a lot of hope,” he said. “We, the restless people, were in a helpless situation and with 15M we found each other.”

Josep Maria. Picture by Lali Sandiumenge.

There are many reasons why people have taken action, but the main one is - and everybody agrees - that the situation has to change. “The prospect is raw, more than ever with so many cuts in Catalunya, we'll see how this ends,” said Miguel Ángel. “I have neighbors that are agonizing. If we keep going this way, there's going to be a civil revolution.”

There's no need to ask Josep Maria what he's thinking: the banners that cover his body are very eloquent. “We denounce is that in our society nobody cares about inequality and that the 1% and 99% is not about entelechy,” he commented to sum it up explaining that has researched and asked about the income levels of Spanish people - without success - to elaborate his own Lorenz curve. The outrage is so high, he added, that he doesn't rule out camping and spending the night at the plaza even though he is not young enough to be sleeping out in the open on top of anything.

There are also personal reasons. Miguel Ángel, a creative, lost his job at the Spanish auto-maker Seat four years ago and he hasn't been able to find another one. His strike subsidy is over and he's been struggling to live with what is left from his compensation.

Mari Ángeles. Photo by Lali Sandiumenge.

Mari Ángeles was forced to take an early retirement a year ago from a private health company. Her pension doesn't even reach 500 Euros free of taxes and it is not enough to live with her son, a grown man, so now they share his home. “My son is at the strike. He's studying English like crazy so he can look for a job outside in England or Canada,” she explained, although she interrupts herself often to join the chants her companions make to the cars that get impatient with the protest: “Don't look at us, join us!” Josep Maria, on the contrary, has a good pension. “If the distribution of wealth was more just, I would end up losing,” he declared while walking to Catalunya Plaza without hurrying, but also without pausing.

Desi (left) and Raquel collecting signatures for ILP. Photo taken by Lali Sandiumenge.

When it arrived to Catalunya Plaza, at the end of Grace Roadway, the protest converged with other columns that arrived from other parts of the city and beyond. At that spot, Desi and Raquel, 33 and 31 years-old respectively, installed a portable table to collect signatures to support the Popular Legislation Initiative (ILP) promoted by the Plataform of Mortgage Victims (PAH) [es] that is fighting for the approval of a law that rules a retroactive payment.

Both are dressed up in the green t-shirts that distinguish this group with the name of one of their main campaigns: Stop Evictions. Raquel also voluntarily participates in PAH since she took part of an action to prevent a family from her hometown to be evicted. Desi is one of the victims: it's been six months since she cannot pay the mortgage and there's no way to reach an agreement with the bank to hand in the apartment in exchange of the debt that adds up to almost 250,000 Euros.

Yo no encuentro trabajo y mi marido, tras estar en el paro, cobra ahora 1.200 euros al mes, y tenemos que pagar casi mil de la hipoteca. Tenemos dos hijas y tenemos que tirar adelante. Gracias a la PAH vamos haciendo, la unión hace la fuerza.

I can't find a job nor my husband, who after being on strike now receives 1,200 Euros monthly and we have to pay almost a thousand for the mortgage. We have two daughters and we need to keep at it. Thanks to PAH we are succeeding, together we strive.

Just in front of us a women is performing an act of protest. She has photocopied one of the movement's flyers (”If you pay your debt, let them pay your mortgage”) and has placed herself in front of a wall that protects a building under construction that says “The drums of rebellion are sounding.” Maria, that's her name, is 56 years-old and has been there for a couple of hours standing without moving, silent and with her face covered with the paper. The protesters pass by and stare at her, clap, and leave her alone. Photographers and tourists stop, take pictures and walk away. She holds on. She works at a nearby office and joined the protest after work. “I've photocopied the flyer and I now I'm with them, we are all part of the same package”, explains.

Voy a casi todas las protestas, no por mí, sino por mis hijos. Hemos luchado mucho por lo que tenemos y ahora se lo están cargando. Ya no reconozco a esta España.

I attend almost all the protests, not for me, but for my children. We have fought for what we have and now they are taking it away. I don't recognize this Spain.

Picture by Lali Sandiumenge.

Colombia: Bomb Blast Targeted at Controversial Former Minister

Julián Ortega Martínez — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:45:33 +0000

Tuesday 15 May 2012 was a tense and heavy day for most Bogotanos. The day started with a car bomb, deactivated by the authorities, in the Eduardo Santos neighbourhood, a few blocks away from the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police of Bogotá. Hours later, as protests [es] (which left 3 injured) emerged in the National University of Colombia because the Free Trade Agreement with the United States was entering into force, a bomb exploded on Caracas Avenue and 74 Street, in northern Bogotá.

Initially it was reported that the bomb exploded in a bus, but as more information came in, reports confirmed that a magnetic bomb was left by a walking man on the hood of the car of former interior Minister Fernando Londoño Hoyos [es], 67, a conservative lawyer and politician who held that office during the first years of former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez's administration. Two of his bodyguards, the driver of the bus, and two other people were reportedly killed [es], though official reports still claim only 2 died. Londoño was taken to a hospital t0 undergo surgery to remove a piece of metal from his chest.

Mr Londoño has been controversial [es]: he was involved in a financial scandal involving stocks of an oil company named Invercolsa and was barred from public office in 2004 for 15 years out of conflict of interest. After he left the Ministry, he started a morning radio programme, La hora de la verdad [es] (”The hour of truth”), devoted to supporting former president Uribe's policies and attacking FARC and other left wing guerrillas. He was also actively writing op-eds for El Tiempo and El Colombiano newspapers. He supported current president Juan Manuel Santos during the elections, but as many other staunch supporters of Uribe, he felt betrayed and now opposes most of his policies. The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) condemned [es] the attack.

This attempt prompted thousands of reactions.

Car Bombing in Bogotá, Colombia targeting former Interior Minister Fernando Londono. Photo by David Maiolo under Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Journalist Carolina Ruiz (@CaroRuizG) tweets [es]:

El terrorismo nos afecta a todos, independiente de las creencias políticas. Qué pendejada echarse culpas.

Terrorism affects us all, no matter our political beliefs. It's so silly to blame each other.

@JuliethBlues states [es]:

Lo peor que podría pasar es que a Londoño caiga en un atentado, su martirización le daría un poder impresionante a la ext.derecha

The worst thing that might happen is that Londoño gets killed in an attempt, his martyrisation would give the far right an impressive power.

Dan Gamboa Bohórquez (@larepuvlica) wonders [es] about the possible reasons of the attempt against Londoño:

Fernando Londoño debe tener información peligrosa. Es la única explicación para atentar contra alguien irrelevante en la actualidad.

Fernando Londoño must be holding dangerous information. That is the only reason for attacking someone currently irrelevant.

Richie (@MelisMatik) links the attack to other events in the day [es]:

Muy sofisticado el atentado. Súmenle día de protestas y votación del Marco para la Paz en el Congreso… ¿Para quién será el mensaje?

The attempt was quite sophisticated. Add to it the day of protests and voting in Congress of the Legal Framework for Peace… For whom will be the message?

(Mr. Londoño devoted his latest radio editorial piece [es] to this framework).

Many Twitter users harshly [es] criticized [es] the media [es] coverage [es] of the attack [es]: (Warning: The next three links lead to sites with strong images) newspapers [es] and TV newscasts broadcast bloody images [es] of the injured, including Mr. Londoño [es], and the country's main radio network interviewed live [es] the mother of Mr. Londoño's driver, which was deemed sensationalist [es]. @LaCaballero writes [es]:

Los periodistas de medios masivos COLABORAN con el terrorismo. Ayudan a sembrar el miedo, la [z]ozobra, la confusión.

Mainstream media journalists COLLABORATE with terrorism. They help sow fear, uneasiness, confusion.

Andrés Guerra Hoyos (@andresguerraho) tweets [es]:

Lo mas duro es entender que existe una parte del Pais que hoy esta Feliz con el atentado en Bogota, Infames

The hardest thing is to understand that there is a part of the country that is happy with the attack in Bogotá. They're so despicable.

Roberto S (@manoloparis_) criticizes [es] some ‘theories' on the attack:

Por eso es que nos va como nos va, no falta la mente torcida que ya esta diciendo que es un autoatentado, Por Dios, y los medio[s] harán eco.

That's why we are doing like this, there's always the wicked mind already saying this was an auto-attack. For God's sake, and the media will echo it.

Frustrated, Olga Cuartas (@Olpacu) tweets [es]:

Ni para rechazar un acto terrorista somos capaces de unirnos como sociedad.

We're not even able to unite as a society to reject a terrorist act.

María (@lamarialeja) asks [es]:

No jodamos. ¿ Aún están usando esa falacia de “los buenos somos más”?.

F*** this. Are they still using that ‘we the good people are more' fallacy?

Finally, @dianadaista reacts to the reactions (1, 2, 3) [es]:

1) Los atentados se han hecho en múltiples y muy diferentes gobiernos, vayan a culpar al mandato de su madre. 2) Londoño y los demás afectados son seres humanos, hacer chiste de ellos no te hace más irreverente ni interesante. 3) Quien se considere periodista, no puede estar arrojando juicios de valor y teorías así como así, para eso existen la taberna y la cerveza

1) Attacks have occurred in many different administrations, go blame your mother's rule. 2) Londoño and the other affected people are human beings, mocking them doesn't make you irreverent nor interesting. 3) Anyone who considers themselves journalists shouldn't be judging and theorizing just like that, pubs and beer are best for that

In the blogosphere, Aleyda Rodríguez from Pulso Social writes about the coverage, rather than the reactions, on social media [es], and Javier Moreno shares his thoughts [es]:

Promover la confusión es preferible. Lo que importa es sostener la guerra activa en todos sus frentes. El juego de acusaciones subsiguiente es útil a los asesinos pues genera polarización, desconfianza y agresividad. (…) El mensaje de la explosión es abierto pero al mismo tiempo llega a quien debe llegar: cada cual lo interpreta a su conveniencia y cualquier interpretación es válida en tanto que no hay cómo refutarla. La amenaza es más efectiva y amplia cuando no se sabe de dónde proviene. Una amenaza sin firma es una amenaza contra todos.

[For Colombian terrorists] promoting confusion is preferable. What matters is keeping the war active in all its fronts. The following game of accusations is useful to the murderers because it creates polarisation, distrust, and aggressiveness (…) The message of the explosion is open but at the same time reaches its intended destination: each one interprets it out of their convenience and any interpretation is valid as long as there's no way to refute it. The threat is more effective and wide when its origin is unknown. An unsigned threat is a threat against everyone.

Mexico: Netizens Say Goodbye to Writer Carlos Fuentes

Andrea Arzaba — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:27:04 +0000

On May 15, 2012, Latin America lost one of its most important contemporary writers. Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes died in Mexico City, at the age of 83. The main cause of his death was a hemorrhage. Fuentes was best known for being part of the writers from the “Latin American Boom”, and for writing a book at least every 12 months.

People from all over the world expressed their concerns over this terrible loss. Blogger Juan José Meneu, from Blogs La Rioja, explained why he was so fond [es] of Fuentes’ way of writing:

Era un escritor terriblemente culto e inteligente y exigía de sus lectores atención y esfuerzo para alcanzar esa cultura y esa inteligencia. Con la convicción de que la literatura era un instrumento poderoso para denunciar la realidad, para mostrar los errores de los seres humanos pero también, para la esperanza, para la educación, para la enseñanza, para combatir el olvido.

He was a terribly educated and intelligent writer, and he demanded from his readers attention and special effort to reach that culture and that intelligence. With the conviction that literature was a powerful tool to report reality, to show the errors of human beings, but also for hope, for education, to combat forgetfulness.

Meneu finished his blog post with a sincere goodbye, wishing he had more books [es] by Carlos Fuentes:

Ha muerto Carlos Fuentes. Me queda el consuelo de que aún tengo algún libro suyo por leer. Me queda la tristeza de que no habrá más.

Carlos Fuentes has died. What is left is the consolation that I have yet to read another book written by him. It is sad that there won't be any more [books written by him].

Carlos Fuentes, 2008. Image from Flickr user Casa de América (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

On HuffPost Voces, the Spanish version of The Huffington Post, writer Marga Britto published a text dedicated to the author [es], where she assures that the death of Fuentes has left a country in pure loneliness:

Hubiese sido maravilloso escuchar la opinión de Carlos Fuentes tras las elecciones. Hubiese sido de gran consuelo contar con una voz de autoridad en dónde refugiarnos y hacer sentido de este gran naufragio nacional.

Nos dejas solos, Carlos Fuentes. Nos dejas un enorme hueco en la razón y en el tiempo. De pronto las letras se han quedado huérfanas y solos tendremos que vérnoslas con quien se empeña en ganar la batalla con palabras espurias, con su lenguaje bastardo, con la banalidad de los tiempos modernos.

It would have been wonderful to hear what Carlos Fuentes thought after the (Mexican) elections. It would have been a great comfort to have a voice of authority where we could find shelter and make sense of this great national shipwreck.

You leave us alone Carlos Fuentes. You leave a huge hole in reason and in time. Suddenly, the letters have been orphaned and are dealing alone with who is determined to win the battle with spurious words, with a bastard language, with the banality of modern times.

Rafa García from Fayerwayer mentioned the trending topics related [es] to the author's passing:

El autor de novelas como Aura, La Muerte de Artemio Cruz, Agua quemada, La silla del Águila, Gringo y La Región más Transparente, Carlos Fuentes, muerió hoy a los 83 años de edad en la Ciudad de México.

La noticia recorrió de inmediato todos medios de comunicación y las redes sociales, particularmente en Twitter donde su nombre Carlos Fuentes y el #todoscomocarlos se convirtieron en tema tendencia.

Q.E.P.D.

The author of novels such as Aura, The Death of Artemio Cruz, Burned Water, The Chair of the Eagle, Gringo and The Most Transparent Region, Carlos Fuentes, died today at 83 years of age in Mexico City.

The news swept away all media and social networks, especially on Twitter where his name Carlos Fuentes and #todoscomocarlos (”Everyone like Carlos”) became trending topics.
RIP

Writers and other public figures used Twitter to express their sadness and pay homage to Carlos Fuentes. Mexican President Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) [es] wrote:

Expresé mis condolencias telefónicas a Silvia Lemus, viuda del gran Carlos Fuentes.

I expressed my condolences on the telephone to Silvia Lemus, widow of the great Carlos Fuentes.

The account of the United States Ambassador in Mexico, Embajador Wayne (@USEmbassyMex) [es], tweeted:

#EmbajadorWayne: Lamento profundamente el fallecimiento de Carlos Fuentes. Su partida es una gran pérdida para el mundo.

#EmbajadorWayne:: I deeply regret the death of Carlos Fuentes. His departure is a great loss to the world.

Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska (@EPoniatowska) [es] similarly expressed her condolences:

Lamento profundamente la muerte #CarlosFuentes

I deeply regret the death of #CarlosFuentes

British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) said:

RIP Carlos my friend. Yesterday the hoax about Gabo, but this is sadly true. “Carlos Fuentes dies at 83 http://t.co/2uQGHgvC via @USATODAY“

Finally, an account that publishes quotes by Argentinian comic strip character Mafalda (@MafaldaQuotes) [es] wrote:

“Algún día se dará más valor a la cultura que al dinero” #QEPD Carlos Fuentes. #MafaldaQuotes

“Someday we will give more value to culture than money” #RIP Carlos Fuentes. #MafaldaQuotes

Video: Indigenous Video Festival Open for Submissions

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:23:11 +0000

The XI International Film and Video Festival of Indigenous Peoples to be held in Colombia during last quarter of 2012 is putting out a call for entries for audiovisual material about indigenous and first people issues and topics.

The Center for Indigenous Cultures in Peru is promoting the festival through their blog, and this is how they summarize the event:

Colombia será la sede del XI Festival Internacional de Cine y Video de los Pueblos indígenas a realizarse en Bogotá del 23 al 30 de septiembre y en Medellín del 03 al 06 de octubre del presente año. Con el lema “Por la Vida Imágenes de Resistencia”, el festival tiene como objetivo visibilizar la extinción de los pueblos indígenas, la violación del territorio y a sus sitios sagrados naturales, como un espacio de análisis de la crisis humanitaria que atraviesan los pueblos indígenas.

Colombia will be hosting the XI International Film and Video Festival of Indigenous Peoples to take place in Bogota from the 23 to the 30 of September and in Medellin from 03 to 06 of October of the running year. With the theme “Images of Resistance for Life”, the festival has as an objective to visibilize the extinction of the indigenous peoples, the violation of the territory and their natural sacred places and as a space for analysis of the humanitarian crisis the indigenous people are going through.

Videos or films submitted to the Festival should have been made after January 1, 2010 and should not have previously participated in the International Festival of Film and Video of Indigenous Peoples. They should focus on the topics of child labor, ecology, education, history, indigenous medicine, identity, land and territory, political participation, rights of indigenous people's, women and worldview and they can be animation, docu-fiction, documentary, fiction, experimental video, music videos, video art, television programs. Deadline for submissions is May 21st, 2012 and information on where to mail the submissions and application forms can be found on their page.

Norway: Discussing Latin America at the Oslo Freedom Forum

Marianna Breytman — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:24:09 +0000

Last week, the fourth gathering of the Oslo Freedom Forum took place, organized by the Human Rights Foundation in the Norwegian capital. Under the slogan “From darkness to light,” the forum brought together world figures that aim to tackle humanitarian crises and exchange ideas to mitigate their effects. Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of Global Voices Online, was one of the main speakers during a session entitled “Voices in the dark.”

Among the topics that generated major interest throughout the forum was the current crisis in Syria and the political repression that some activists live with under Vladimir Putin's new government in Russia, as well as a review of the first year of the “Arab Spring.” Nevertheless, the event covered a series of topics that involved other world regions, among which was Latin America.

Humberto Prado, from Venezuela, was the first Latin American to speak before the forum about the reality of prisons in his country. Using horrific images of prisoners shooting into the air, which contrast one of a group of convicts playing in a symphony orchestra, Prado unveiled a terrifying statistic: 5,066 convicts have died since 1999, while 14,460 have been injured. He also asked the European Union to pay attention to Venezuelan penitentiaries.

Nicolás Perez, Director of Ecuadorian daily El Universo, exposed the iron fist of Rafael Correa's government, which left the newspaper with a million-dollar fine for publishing a letter to the editor where Correa's actions were criticized for allegedly ordering the army to open fire against a hospital during a police brawl, which led to a massive international condemnation against the lack of freedom of expression in the country.

Meanwhile, Mauricio Rodas, also from Ecuador and the founder of the Ethos Foundation, announced an innovative index that measures the poverty level in Latin America and has generated criticisms of Correa's government as well.

Lastly, Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, highlighted the problem of drug consumption prohibition, which points to indiscriminate imprisonment of minorities in the United States — primarily the Hispanic population.

In Oslo, we had the opportunity to sit down with Venezuelan native Marcel Granier, General Director of Radio Caracas Television, whose signal was removed from open transmission in his country in 2007. Granier, who also participated in the second meeting of said forum on assault against the Venezuelan press, highlighted the importance of bringing up human rights issues in Latin America at European events due to the “connection that exists between Latin Americans and European countries like Spain and Portugal.”

With regards to the forum, Granier affirmed that “every day there is a greater sense of consciousness” about the current situation in Venezuela, which “increases [incidentally] the level of consciousness on a global level,” and brought attention to the fact that respecting human rights in his country will be fundamental to guaranteeing the well-being of all Venezuelans, in addition to securing diaspora's return to their land.

On Twitter, some Oslo Freedom Forum participants, like Oslo Scholars Program (@OsloScholars), emphasized certain excerpts of the Latin American speeches:

There is no dignity in prison: what exists is social cleansing” - Humberto Prado. Such a powerful speech on prison conditions in Venezuela.

Likewise, Runrunes (@RunRunesWeb) [es] pointed out that Humberto Prado's speech was quite powerful:

#Runrunes ALTO:De alto impacto ponencia de Humberto Prado (Observatorio Vzlano de Prisiones) en el Oslo Freedom Forum- http://ow.ly/aOfcW

#Runrunes STOP: Extremely compelling speech by Humberto Prado (Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons) at the Oslo Freedom Forum - http://ow.ly/aOfcW

Venezuela journalist Nelson Bocaranda (@Desconvocara) [es] highlighted an important declaration from Mauricio Rodas during the event:

Mauricio Rodas,miembro de la Fundacion Ethos que hizo radiografía de pobreza latinoamericana anuncio en Oslo q buscara Presidencia Ecuador

Mauricios Rodas, a member of the Ethos Foundation, who took an X-ray of Latin American poverty, announced in Oslo that he will seek Ecuadorian presidency

The following are images from the Latin American presentations at the Oslo Freedom Forum, courtesy of MarieBW and the author of this post.

Reception at Oslo's City Hall.

Participants share ideas in the intermission between speeches.

The forum closed with the awarding of the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissidence.

Colombia: 5 Dead, 19 Injured After Bomb Blast in Bogotá

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:38:57 +0000

Netizens are reacting to the explosion of a bomb on a bus on Caracas Avenue and 74th street in Bogotá, Colombia's capital. The attack was allegedly directed at former Interior Minister Fernando Londoño. The latest reports [es] list 5 dead and 19 people injured. Related words and phrases like “74 con Caracas“, “Fernando Londoño“, “#noalterrorismo” (”no to terrorism), and “Bogotá” are currently trending on Twitter in Colombia.

Costa Rica: Blogger Interviews President Laura Chinchilla

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:42:19 +0000

Blogger Cristian Cambronero from the blog Fusil de Chispas interviewed [es] Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. The interview was in part filmed by the production team Sürrealista [es], and two photographers (Priscilla Mora [es] and Diego Barracuda [es]) captured the meeting between Cristian and the President through photographs. You can read the 45-minute interview in the blog Fusil de Chispas.

Latin America: Art from the Colonial Period in 2.0

Jon Lindsay Miles — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:47:59 +0000

All links lead to Spanish-language websites, unless otherwise noted.

The long colonial period that resulted in what we know today as Latin America, has left its traces in the colonial art still preserved throughout the continent. Citizen media attests to this. Many online spaces are dedicated to the sharing of photographs, video, texts, specific works and other examples of artistic expression from this period, at the same time explaining how these images today make up part of the landscape and identity of the countries they belong to. As one would anticipate, the images from each region show an enormous diversity in response to the inspiration that arrived from Europe.

We present here a sample of the many 2.0 websites dedicated to this colonial art, that serves as the common denominator adopted by indigenous cultures across most of the continent, before being adapted by each as its own.

The Portal de Arte (Art Gateway) from Colombia, provides us with a context for the definition of what is understood by the term Colonial Art:

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Reproduced under the Creative Commons licence

Este arte se caracteriza por la fusión de cosmovisiones y técnicas de conquistadores y aborígenes […] En cada pieza escultórica, catedral y pintura, los motivos religiosos son los gobernantes, así como los parámetros de representación europeos; pero éstos fueron sutil y subterráneamente “digeridos” por los aborígenes americanos, quienes colocaron en cada obra elementos propios de sus culturas (símbolos religiosos y espirituales, figuras antropomorficas, zoomorficas y fitomorfas) de modo tal que se entremezclaban con los imágenes católicas importadas, manteniendo de este modo, la voluntad de forma de la producción artística indígena subsitiendo [sic] por debajo del arte europeo impuesto a la fuerza.

This art is characterized by the fusion of the world views as well as the techniques of both the Spanish Conquistadores and the indigenous people. […] European religious motifs and representational parameters govern each piece of cathedral sculpture and painting, but these are then subtly and surreptitious “digested” by the indigenous people of the Americas, who placed elements of their own cultures into each work (religious and spiritual symbols, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and other biomorphic figures) in such a way that these mix with the imported Catholic images, assuring that the expressive forms of indigenous artistic production survive beneath the forced imposition of those of European art.

In Ecuador, Iván Petroff shares some of his work, done for his studies in artistic expression, pointing us to some characteristic features of the colonial plastic arts:

La plástica colonial, al comienzo fue repetitiva, o mejor, recreativa de los modelos europeos, sin embargo, pese al control español, el artista indígena introdujo pequeños elementos de su arte y religión, especialmente en los rasgos físicos de los santos provincianos y en la carga cultural no europea de los retablos y algunos motivos ornamentales de capiteles y frisos.

The colonial plastic arts at first repeated, or rather, recreated European models. Nevertheless, and in spite of Spanish control, indigenous artists introduced small elements from their art and religion, particularly in the way of physical features given to the images of provincial saints, and in a non-European cultural charge expressed in altarpieces and in ornamental motifs given to capitals and friezes.

In the same way, Iván uses his blog to open access to a musical piece from the epoch, placed on YouTube by denesago. The song was composed by the Spaniard Juan de Araujo, who was confirmed as one of the most important musicians of the colonial epoch in what is now Bolivia. The video images show something of baroque architecture and painting from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru:

In Venezuela, Janeth Rodríguez manages a blog dedicated entirely to colonial art in Venezuela and its different expressive modes. The sources of her posts are various academic pieces, the principal motivation being to gather, celebrate and bring to people's attention the preservation of these pieces:

Este blog nace con varios objetivos: difundir nuestro patrimonio artístico de los siglos XVI al XVIII con la intención de promover su preservación; servir de vehículo para promocionar la investigación que los estudiantes de la Escuela de Artes de la Universidad Central de Venezuela producen en torno a este tema; y lograr una comunicación más efectiva entre todos los interesados en el mundo colonial.Nuestra meta es presentar a los visitantes una breve historia de diversas obras de arte venezolanas, e incluso de algunas extranjeras que llegaron a nuestro territorio durante ese período.

Several objectives are behind the birth of this blog: to disseminate information about our artistic heritage from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in order to argue for its preservation; to serve as a vehicle for the promotion of investigation of this material by students of the School of Arts at the Central University of Venezuela; and to open up the most effective communication we can between all those interested in the colonial world. Our aim is to present to those visiting our site a brief history of varied Venezuelan objects of art, as well as others that arrived here from other lands during this historical period.

Meanwhile, the blog Romanticismo, launched by students of Spanish and Literature in the Colombian capital Bogotá, shares examples of the characteristic forms of literature from the colonial epoch:

La literatura en lengua española durante la colonia comenzó a desenvolverse en Nueva España desde un principio. La literatura de la conquista son mayormente coplas y romances, burlas hacia los gobernadores, ayudantes, etc. mientras que la de colonia son textos que incitan a la libertad y revolución.

Literature in the Spanish language during colonial times quickly began its particular development. Literature from the time of the conquest is mostly in the form of verse and romances, poking fun especially at those who governed and those around them, while that from the colonial period comprises texts urging liberty and inciting revolution.

Then there is Optimusomnium, which shows several examples of Peruvian painting of the colonial period in a video:

Finally, user LordArchibaldHartley gathers a number of artistic and cultural images that have served as the inspiration for much of the art made in Mexico today.

These are just a few of the many examples of sites offering information on colonial period art in Latin America in 2.0. If you'd like more information and to investigate other similar sources in the Spanish language, visit the Wikipedia article Arte colonial latinoamericano.

Costa Rica: The Circus that Saves Children's Lives

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:39:27 +0000

To the south of Costa Rica lies the town of Perez Zeledon, home to the Fantazztico Circus that is giving children and youth in the region a chance to stay out of drugs and trouble while opening doors to international travel.

In a video documentary, the story of this 12 year old project by the New Life Asociation (Asociacion Vida Nueva) takes shape. In an interview, a mother explains how young people are left to their own devices, and they end up getting in trouble or addicted to drugs due to lack of opportunities to study or work. The circus gives them a chance to learn skills, discipline and become part of a group where they become valued. It is also the story of Josue, who drifted away from the circus, and almost died from a drug overdose. As he says, he returned to the circus where he knew he'd find the support to go on, and now he tries to steer clear from peer pressure.

The Circo Fantazztico has had the opportunity to travel overseas to Europe, presenting their show and work to audiences while also discovering new cultures and places.

The Sula Batsú Cooperative of Costa Rica which works in training and skill building for cooperatives and other non-government organizations shared through their facebook page a link to the promotional video with the comment:

El viernes pasado nos visitó la agrupación Circo FantazzTico, en este proyecto social se usa la pedagogía circense como medio del trabajo preventivo con niños, niñas y jóvenes en riesgo social. La idea del proyecto es crear un lugar seguro para los niños, niñas y jóvenes que están en una situación social difícil, y que puedan aprender habilidades corporales al igual que adquirir competencias sociales…

Last Friday the Fantazztic Circus group visited us, this social project uses the circus training as a means to do preventive work with children and youth in social risk. The project's idea is to create a safe place so that boys, girls and young people in difficult social situations can learn physical movement skills while they learn social skills…

The Circus is also well received nationally: the following video shows their presentation in the National Stadium of Costa Rica in the capital city of San Jose, to an audience of 10 000 people. The presentation included aerobatics of people twisting on ropes, fabric and tumbling as well as floor exercises and pyramids.

Mexicans Condemn Massacre in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon

Elizabeth Rivera — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:34:19 +0000

On May 13, 2012, Mexico woke up to see yet another result of the battle being fought as part of the current administration's war against organized crime. The facts occurred in the county of Cadereyta Jiménez, in the Nuevo León state in northern Mexico, just 400 kilometers away from the border with the United States.

The bodies of 49 people, mutilated, were found in the road that leads to Reynosa (Tamaulipas). Ignacio de los Reyes [es] from BBC World referred to the grim finding as follows:

Las escenas de cuerpos decapitados y mutilados en Nuevo León, donde 49 cuerpos fueron arrojados a la carretera este domingo, sacudieron a muchos por la extrema barbarie exhibida por los asesinos. Incluso en México, que después de cinco años de intensa guerra entre cárteles parecía haberlo visto todo.

Según el gobierno del estado de Nuevo León, a los cadáveres de Cadereyta se les había cortado la cabeza, los brazos y, en algunos casos, las piernas. Y de acuerdo al vocero del gobierno estatal, ninguno de ellos presentaba heridas de bala, por lo que podrían haber sido torturados y mutilados a sangre fría, mientras aún estaban vivos.

The scene of decapitated and mutilated bodies in Nuevo León, where 49 bodies were dumped on the road this Sunday, shocked many for the extreme barbarity displayed by the killers. Even in Mexico, where after five years of intense war among drug cartels it seemed like they had seen it all.

According to the Nuevo Leon state government, the bodies [found in] Cadereyta were beheaded, without arms, and in some cases, without legs. And according to the state spokesman, none of the bodies showed gunshot injuries, so [the victims] might have been tortured and mutilated in cold blood while still alive.

Journalist Carlos Puig [es] recalled that this is not an isolated case, and that these sort of violent events have happened in several occasions across the nation:

Se encadena la masacre con los colgados en Nuevo Laredo, o los aventados en Jalisco, o los asesinados en Tamaulipas…

Las bandas criminales siguen jugando su partido y el árbitro no tiene idea ni de las reglas ni de las estrategias de los jugadores. Se repiten las masacres en uno y otro estado porque la impunidad abarata el homicidio.

The massacre is linked to those hanged in Nuevo Laredo, those thrown in Jalisco, those assassinated in Tamaulipas…

The criminal gangs keep playing their game and the referee has no idea of the players' rules and strategies. The massacres repeat in one state and then another because impunity cheapens homicide.

Also, he related the issue with the current electoral process, arguing that this event would ideally encourage the presidential candidates to present concrete and realistic proposals to solve the problems of insecurity that trouble the country:

Ante lo sucedido el fin de semana en Nuevo León, resulta patético escuchar la falta de imaginación de los candidatos en su propuesta para enfrentar la violencia. Paralizados ante un fenómeno al que parecen temer.

After what happened last weekend in Nuevo León, it is pathetic to hear the lack of imagination in the candidates' proposals to face violence. Paralyzed in front of a phenomenon that they seem to fear.

"Stop the Violence". Illustration by Gerardo Obieta, @G_Obieta, under Creative Commons Licence 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

On Twitter, citizens from different profiles condemned the deed, and some questioned President Calderón, like Alessia Corcuera (@top_roping_ale) [es]:

49 cadáveres descuartizados en #Cadereyta.¿En serio crees que el país va bien @FelipeCalderon? ¿O vas a decir que es cuestión de percepción?

49 corpses quartered in #Cadereyta. Do you really think the country is OK with @FelipeCalderon? Or are you going to say it's a matter of perception?

Similarly, Alberto Esteva (@AlbertoEsteva) [es] made a declaration on the implications of the finding in relation to the security policies the current President has implemented:

Las 49 víctimas de Cadereyta evidencian el fracaso de la política de seguridad de Calderón., continuando su discurso de frases huecas

The 49 victims of Cadereyta make the failure of Calderon's security policy evident., continuing his speech of hollow phrases

User José Plata (@pepeplata) [es] qualified what happened in Cadereyta as a pity:

49 cuerpos mutilados en #Cadereyta: 6 mujeres y 43 hombres.. Sigue cerrada la carretera libre a Reynosa. Una lástima lo que ocurre en #NL

49 mutilated bodies in #Cadereyta: 6 women and 43 men… The highway to Reynosa is still closed. What happens in #NL [Nuevo León] is a pity

Analyst and former presidential aspirant, Jorge Castañeda (@JorgeGCastaneda) [es] expressed that the fact is a demonstration that the ‘war' continues in Mexico:

Los 49descuartizados d Cadereyta muestran q a 5meses d q termine el sexenio d Calderón su guerra no ha terminado ni seha ganado.Hasta cuándo

The 49 quartered of Cadereyta show us that 5 months before the end of Calderon's administration his war has not ended and hasn't been won. How much longer

Also, journalist Julio Hernández (@julioastillero) [es] pointed out Mexicans' perception when they come across these type of news:

49 o 68 asesinados (depende de la fuente) en Cadereyta y millones de mexicanos ya ven esas noticias como algo casi normal

49 or 68 killed (depends on the source) in Cadereyta and millions of Mexicans already see this news as something almost normal

The Cadereyta massacre is one of the most violent episodes that Mexicans have witnessed amidst the war against organized crime, which currently shows no signs of being close to an end.

Spain: Arts Also Blossom in the Global Spring

Marianna Breytman — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:10:22 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

From May 12 (12M) to May 15 (15M) [es], Spain has experienced a social movement in the streets to protest the control of the banks and demand a system that is more democratic, participatory, and fair. With the expansion of demonstrations and general discontent, the 15M movement achieved its goal of growing and remaining in the street.

Citizen collectives continue to act through popular assemblies, commissions, and work groups that allow for debate on topics that affect the people and carry out acts of cooperation. Many countries have been inspired by the “indignant” Spaniards, and protests continued to demonstrate their global character on October 15 of last year, with demonstrations in over 900 cities and 82 countries. On May 12, 2012, demonstrations were organized once again throughout all of Spain and on a global level.

The arts have also blossomed with the 15M. Blog Voces con Futura [es] (Voices with a Future) publishes a large portion of the anonymous posters that have filled the plazas during the protests. The author of the blog is a Spanish designer residing abroad that wants to maintain her anonymity and dedicates her attention to the creative talent that has risen as a result of the indignant movement.

To commemorate the 15M's first anniversary, the 12M–15M events, and to invite everyone to take to the streets again, the blog # Acampadasol [es] has published a series of amazing posters that reveal many of the reasons for the protests. Here we share some of the beautiful and creative posters:

"Another world is possible"

"We remain in the squares"

"If you steal, do not govern"

"We don't want reforms…We want a different system"

All images were published under the CC BY 3.0 License.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Venezuela: Street Art on the Internet

Marianna Breytman — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:01:29 +0000

Street artists and musicians broaden their public when they come into contact with citizen media. In Venezuela, where music and theater are parts of daily life, traffic, and buses, a number of citizen journalists share their experiences when they meet with artists that bring color to urban life.

Similarly, these very artists prepare short videos and documentaries in which they show performances of various street musicians.

In this video, recorded by the artists themselves for the festival of street singers, you can see musicians that come together in various cities throughout the country:

Meanwhile, Cinetica13 shares a very popular street musician's performance in the city of Mérida.

Theater also has its place in the Venezuelan street art world. On his YouTube account, Perucho Morales shares performances by the “Comediantes” group, also in Mérida.

Thumbnail “Melodies in the street. Mérida, Venezuela” by Flickr user David Hernández, used under Creative Commons License Generic Non-Commercial-Equal-Sharing Attribution 2.0 2.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Ecuador: Being a Mother is Not Easy

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:57:56 +0000

On Mother's Day, May 13, Juan Pablo Martínez in the blog Realidad Ecuador [es] wrote about “the reality of being a mother in Ecuador.” Juan Pablo looks at several statistics that bring to light some of the common struggles Ecuadorian mothers face.

Spain: “Neighbor, Wake Up, Foreclosures at Your Doorstep!”

Elizabeth Rivera — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:07:01 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

In these times of severe crisis and government cuts, banks are being watched by citizens. This week's announcement of a bailout of 10 billion Euros for the Spanish bank Bankia has provoked many reactions on the web. The blog Platform for the nationalization of saving houses [es] has taken on the news:

La nueva inyección, que puede alcanzar los 10.000 millones de euros —mientras se recortan miles de millones en la Sanidad y la Educación públicas— en bonos contingentes convertibles en el Banco Financiero y de Ahorros volverá a ser insuficiente. (…)La propuesta de una banca pública bajo control democrático y gestionada con transparencia, creada mediante la nacionalización de las cajas de ahorro, no es una de las opciones posibles para resolver la actual crisis. Es la única solución porque es imposible la movilización de fondos privados en la cuantía necesaria para recapitalizar las entidades financieras españolas.

The new cash injection can reach 10 billion Euros in bonds convertible at the Financial and Savings Bank - while thousands are cut from Health and Public Education - will be insufficient (…) The proposal of a public bank under democratic control and managed with transparency, created by the nationalization of the saving houses, is not one of the possible options to solve the current crisis. It is the only solution because it is impossible to move private funds of that quantity to recapitalize Spanish financial entities.

Also, banks are responsible of a great number of foreclosures and evictions throughout Spain which reached a record in 2011. In the downtown neighborhood of Lavapiés, in Madrid, another eviction took place recently after Banesto bank and the judicial commission denied the owners the alternative of negotiating the payment or social leasing of the property. Two families from Bangladesh who bought the apartment in Fray Ceferino Street nº12 were affected after the interest rate of their loan increased and their economic and working situation worsened.

That is how the blog CIERRABANESTO [es] explains the situation in the post titled “Manual to kick out a bank out of a neighborhood”:

Como sabéis, Banesto pretende dejar a Uddin, Hafiz, sus señoras esposas y sus cuatro niñxs en la calle el próximo 9 de mayo. Sí, será la segunda confrontación entre la dignidad y la barbarie, después de que el pasado 28 de marzo Lavapiés ganase el primer encuentro. Nuestrxs vecinxs como tantxs otrxs aquí, en Españistán, escucharon el canto de las sirenas bancarias que gobiernan y se creyeron que debían y podrían tener una casa propia. Ahora están a punto de ser expulsados de esa casa con una deuda pendiente casi tan grande como el crédito original.

As you know, Banesto wants to leave Uddin, Hafiz and their wives and four kids on the streets on May 9th. Yes, it will be the second confrontation between dignity and barbarism after Lavapiés won its first round on March 28th. Our neighbors, as many other around here in Spain, heard the governing banks siren song and believed that they should and could own a house. Now, they are about to get expelled from that house with a pending debt almost as big as the original credit.

An evicted person from Lavapiés takes out the last furniture from his apartment. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

Last March 28, thanks to the support of approximately 80 people, the eviction was postponed to May 9, but an excessive police deployment has blocked the access to the street so the protest couldn't prevent Banesto from taking over the apartment. Even though the police and anti-riot forces (including a helicopter flying around the area) blocked the street, there were manifestations of solidarity from several support groups against the eviction.

From both sides of the street people were chanting: “What a coincidence, poverty raises as well as police expenses!”, “I would be ashamed of throwing out a family!”, “Neighbor, wake up, foreclosures at your doorstep!”, “Today it's you, tomorrow it'll be me”…

Arrival of the eviction victim with his lawyer. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

A group composed by about 20 people went to Uddin and Hafiz's apartment the night before just in case the bank and realtor decided to do the eviction in advance to the scheduled hour (8am). The solidary group had to abandon the building at 9:30 when Uddin and Hafiz, together with a lawyer from the Victims of Mortgage Platform (PAH) met with a the judicial commission to sign the eviction.

Citizens on strike, students, committed neighbors and neighbor assemblies act several times a week in cases like this and make calls to protest using social media. The PAH has made a call on its website to stop evictions in Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunately, Uddín and Hafiz were not lucky enough and the eviction became effective, but other cases have been successful due to citizen pressure.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.