Stories from Quick Reads and Guatemala
Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala
Alfombras (carpets), processions, and floats –AntiguaDailyPhoto shares a series of photo posts on Holy Week traditions in Antigua, Guatemala.
Photos: Day One in Trial of Former Guatemalan Dictator
Documentary photographer James Rodriguez shares a photo essay with “images from the first day of the historic trial against former de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and former Intelligence Director José Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez. Ríos Montt and Rodriguez Sanchez are charged with Genocide and crimes against humanity during the civil war...
Former Guatemalan Dictator On Trial
Rios Montt's lawyer and others believe that the trial is a “political lynching” […] It doesn't matter if the guerrilas were going to turn “Guatemala into another Cuba;” the rape, torture, starvation and murder of civilians who might or might not have supported the guerrillas is just indefensible. But Rios Montt now...
Guatemala: Audience on Genocide Case
From Guatemala, blog Coordinación Genocidio nunca más [es] urges citizens to attend the historical court audience, where José Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez face trail for abuses against human rights during military rule in that country.
Two Coins for the Boatman
From Guatemala, Fe de Rata‘s blogger Juan Pablo Dardón, lists his plan [es] for the end of times: I woke up early and put two golden coins one for each shoe […] two coins I'm telling you when meteorites fall down and all this gets open as an orange […]...
Ibero-America: Free Software Assessment Report 2012
The recently released Free Software Assessment Report 2012 shows the opinion, assessment and preferences of more than 5,000 people from Spain and Latin America. The study published in its fourth edition is promoted by PortalProgramas and supported by a number of experts and collaborators [es]. The report aims to contribute...
Blogging Contest Focuses on Child Development
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced its first contest for bloggers, which will focus on issues related to child development.
Guatemala: Soldiers Arrested Over Totonicapán Killings
Blogger Nic Wirtz says that the arrest of eight soldiers after the clashes in Totonicapán -which left at least 8 indigenous protestors dead- is “the first test of Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina's mano dura (iron fist) approach to restoring law and order.”
Guatemala: Petition Demands Justice for Totonicapán Victims
The Guatemala Human Rights Commission has released a petition [en, es] to “demand justice for the massacre in Totonicapán, Guatemala,” where 8 were killed and more than 35 injured when combined armed forces violently removed indigenous demonstrators from Cuatro Caminos, a well-known road intersection in Guatemala. With the pain of...
Guatemala: Profiting from Catastrophes
Kevin from the Guatemala Solidarity Network blog points readers to an article by Danilo Valladares published in Inter Press Service about “‘big disaster business’ – profiting from catastrophes.” In a country as vulnerable to natural disasters as Guatemala, a “state of public calamity” is frequently declared – to the joy...
Guatemala: “Threatened for Reporting the Truth”
“I denounced the activities of a masked group of vigilantes who were terrorizing the local population at night. It wasn’t the first time I had written about their crimes, but this time I named names.” Anna-Claire Bevan in LatinaLista quotes Guatemalan journalist Lucia Escobar, who was “forced into hiding last...
Central America: Upcoming “Camps” for Young Cyber-Activists
Rising Voices is partnering with Hivos and Dialogía in two “camps” for young people using digital media for social change. The workshops, called “Activistmo” [es], will be held in Nicaragua and Guatemala during September and October. Young people from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala between the ages of...
Guatemala: Microsoft and the University of San Carlos
Blogger Josue Ortega [es] attended a university event which invited students to develop a project to help communities with very little access to technology. However, students were told to develop the project using only Microsoft technology. One of Ortega's friends inquired about using open licenses, but the idea was immediately...
Guatemala: Anti-Mining Activist Shot
The blog Guatemala Solidarity Network and James Rodriguez from Mi Mundo report on the attempted murder of anti-mining activist Yolanda “Yoli” Oquely Veliz. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA condemns the shooting and invites citizens to sign a petition “to call on the Guatemalan Government to investigate this crime and prosecute...
Guatemala: A ‘Guatemaltequismo’ A Day
Mario Cordero from Diario Paranoico [es] has opened a wikispace [es] where he posts one ‘guatemaltequismo’ (word that is used in Guatemala) per day. Mario also set up a Facebook [es] page where he shares that day's ‘guatemaltequismo’.
Guatemala: Community Leader Dies in Clashes in Santa Cruz Barillas
The blog Asamblea Departamental por la Defensa del Territorio- Huehuetenango [es] published an urgent statement about the death of Santa Cruz Barillas community leader Andrés Francisco Miguel and attacks on other community leaders who oppose the construction of a hydroelectric dam. Today, May 3, the BBC reports: “The Guatemalan government has...
Guatemala: Photos of Holy Week in Antigua
AntiguaDailyPhoto posts a slideshow with photos of Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala taken by Leonel [Nelo] Mijangos.
Intercontinental Cry Will Launch Spanish Edition
Ahni announces the upcoming Spanish edition of Intercontinental Cry [es], which will go live on March 31, 2012. “The main objective of IC Espanol is, of course, to provide Spanish readers with the same news that our English readers have come to expect from us; what I consider to be...
Ibero-American Blogging Competition Asks Teens: “What are you reading?”
The Organization of Ibero-American States invites teens ages 12 to 15 to enter a blogging competition about reading. The sign up [es] deadline is May 31, 2012, and judges will consider blog posts written until July 31. The winner from each participating country will receive an iPad. Visit the official...
Guatemala: Looking to Georgia for a Lesson on Fighting Corruption
Blogger Luis Figueroa [es] wonders if Guatemala could benefit from following Georgia's example in fighting corruption.
