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Temple of Kotosh, image by Flickr user madiko83 (CC BY 2.0).
The Central Reserve Bank of Peru released on May 22, 2013, the thirteenth collectible coin part of the numismatic series “Wealth and pride of Peru” . The coin has an image of the crossed hands from the Temple of Kotosh, located in the department of Huánuco.
Are you in Lima? Would you like to do something to preserve the Internet? Sign up for the 2013 Internet Freedom Camp: two days of free culture and activism in Lima [es].
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The website Regionlimaaldia.com [es] shares the story [es] of 9-year old Tatiana, who:
[...] didn't hesitate and got her long hair chopped and sold it in order to buy medicines for her mother, who suffers of hypertiroidism that has caused her a tumor located on her neck.
In spite of her sacrifice, Tatiana wasn't able to buy all the necessary medicines, so she asked for help.
Flisol 2013 Banner.
From the Patagonia to Havana, hundreds of computer users across Latin America are choosing freedom over control by installing free software on their computers. On April 27th, groups of free software enthusiasts will be installing free software in dozens of cities across Latin America as part of FLISOL [es], the Latin American free software installation festival.
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Desarrollando América Latina (Developing Latin America) has published a video summary of the regional hackathon DAL 2012, where 400 participants and 70 social experts developed 80 applications. Here [es] you can see Global Voices’ coverage of the event.
“Every day, across the globe, society suffers the environmental and social impacts of extractive industries. The history of the extractive industries is filled with negative stories…”
Amazon Watch has uploaded a video with a message from Peruvian Achuar indigenous leader Peas Peas Auyi. In the message, Peas Peas Auyi thanks Canadian allies for their solidarity in the Achuar's struggle against mining in the Peruvian Amazon.
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In Peru, Twitter users turned to the hashtag #DNIfeliz [happy ID card] to encourage citizens to smile for their ID document photo, commonly known as DNI. Traditionally, citizens have a serious or even stern expression on their ID picture.
Protest in front of Radio La Karibeña, Plaza 28, Iquitos. Photo shared by Juan Morales on Facebook.
2013 urban art festival Latidoamericano in downtown Lima, Peru.
Even though the first official results of Sunday's recall referendum have not been published, exit poll results [es] indicate that mayor Susana Villarán will not be revoked. According to Ipsos Apoyo the ‘No’ received 52.6% of the votes and the ‘Yes’ 47.4%. Datum reports that the ‘No’ got 53.2% of the votes, while the ‘Yes’ got 46.8%. According to CPI, the ‘No’ got 54% and the ‘Yes’ got 46%. The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) is expected to issue [es] results with 40-50% of the votes processed on Monday morning, and results with 100% of the votes processed will be published in the afternoon.
Peruvian blog Te voy a contar [es], by Elizabeth Lino Cornejo, posts a short story [es] with a mix of humor and nostalgia, where the narrator recalls when he used to go to school every day in his grandfather's car, where he and his siblings rode “very comfortably, lying down over our bellies, with our legs all elongated and relaxed, and we all exaggerated the jolt the car made upon braking”. He ends up by telling:
Tomorrow we will get him [grandfather] into a car, a roomy and long one, into a funeral hearse very much alike and just as majestic as the one he used to get us into to take us to school.
On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:
“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.
Peruvian sol coin. Image from Flickr by user Eddypedro, published with Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Peruvian website Servicios en Comunicación Intercultural (Servindi) proposes 15 ideas [es] to celebrate World Radio Day, marked on February 13, since 2011, and notes:
This is a day to celebrate the radio as means of communication, to improve international cooperation between braodcasting organizations, to encourage major networks and community radio stations for them to promote access to information and freedom of speech through the waves.
Blog Globalizado [es], by Juan Arellano, Global Voices in Spanish editor, shares photos and videos in the aftermath of the heavy rains that have affected the city of Arequipa:
[...] city council of Arequipa declared 30-day period state of emergency [es]. However, the Regional Government nor the Provincial Council have resources to take care of this emergency, which will require at least 800 million of Peruvian soles [es] (about 310 million U.S. dollars).
[...]
Last news report five fatalities and 48 mil people affected, as well as 5,5 kilometers of destroyed roads.
Girl from Palestina, Peru. Screenshot from a video by Wikimedia Foundation.
On a video by Wikimedia Foundation, children from the community of Palestina, in Ucayali region, Peru, are shown using laptops from OLPC program, to create an article on Wikipedia about their community. The video, where we can also see Jimmy Wales and Vinton Cerf, is part of a documentary that will be released soon. More information on A Human Right website.
Globalizado, a blog by Juan Arellano, recounts what happened [es] on Friday January 25, 2013, when a 100 police agent detachment confronted about 400 local community members from Cañaris and Incahuasi communities in Lambayeque, department located in northwestern Peru.
The blog Globalizado [es], by Global Voices in Spanish editor Juan Arellano, collects different reactions following the announcement of the renewal of the concession agreement with Telefónica for an additional period of 18 years and 10 months. The government highlights [es] that “they have managed to triple the benefits of the negotiation” and Telefónica del Perú, through a release, notes that “ they finally agree upon what the Ministry of Transports and Communicationes demanded, in spite of unprecedented harsh conditions”.
On December 2012, blog Cinencuentro had its yearly survey [es] about the best Peruvian film on 2012, where the winner was [es] documentary “Lima Bruja” [Witch Lima]:
that aims to rescue that other side of popular music from our city, the one of the neighborhood jaranas [parties] and its mosts veteran performers.
About a month ago, Javier Puente published on Selecting Stones, a critical article about the surge of Peruvian cuisine and, above all, about the role chef Gastón Acurio has in it. According to its author, Peasant and Chef: The Limits of Peruvian Gastro-Fascism, 1994-2012 is an attempt to “contextualize the foundation of this new Shangri-La of Peruvian cuisine, so those who come later make a better job, filling in the remaining gaps”. Once in matter, explains:
In Acurio’s world without social classes, there is nonetheless an organic social corps, a body composed of compartments by which all the actors of the culinary boom are defined. [...] The cult of the nation is replaced by the cult of the pot, and no one is left aside from this compartmentalization.
From Peru, Global Voices author Juan Arellano posts on his own blog Globalizado [es] pictures of the start of the 2013 Dakar Rally in Lima, as well as links to other posts and articles related to this sports event.
After the payment raise scandal [es] of Peruvian congressmen, disguised under the rubric of expenses, in Sesión de Control, journalist Martin Hidalgo makes a comparative analysis [es] of the salaries of deputies in Latin America. “At the top of the highest paid legislators are Chileans, who earn a salary of [...] about $ 30,602 dollars.” “Until November, Peru was in the sixth [place], but the increase has put the country over Colombia.” Martín concludes: “Disapproval of Congress in Peru remains high, with 63%. Everything is even more worrisome if we consider that, according to Proética, 86% believe that there is corruption in Parliament.”
Peruvian blogger Cyrano [es] from Columna 17 ends his five-part series of Christmas-related posts republishing an article by Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez and says [es]:
I hope you all like these words as much as I did and may them be my virtual present to all of you.
You can read the whole series here: one, two, three, four and five [es].
How do mothers from Lima [Peru] breastfeed in public? Are there breastfeeding areas in malls? Are we protected by law? These are some of my questions as I write, but I want to go back to the initial question: Why is breastfeeding in public seen as unpleasant?
In parenting blog Mamacitas [es], Diana Vela writes about the way society looks at mothers who decide to breastfeed in public.
Facebook campaign: “Iquitos needs fast Internet. HELP!” This photo, uploaded by Patricia Vela, has been shared over 600 times on Facebook.
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 to a better understanding, use and dissemination of free software in Latin America. The summary of the study can be accessed online [es] and more information can be found on the report's conclusions for 2012 [es].
Peruvian blogger Cyrano from Columna 17 [es] rants about the urge [es] some people feel during the last days of the year:
It doesn't matter at all the real meaning of the occasion, there is one only goal: to sell the most products, leaving aside what we are celebrating.
He concludes reflecting on what Christmas means for those who can't afford the barrage of advertising.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced its first contest for bloggers, which will focus on issues related to child development.
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A police operative blocking streets in a wholesale market area in Lima ended in clashes between merchants and the police. Television newscasts broadcast violent scenes showing a policeman on the ground being stoned in the head by rioters. Juan Arellano posted [es] a summary on his blog. More under the hashtag #LaParada, which became a Trending Topic in Peru.
An investigation [es] by economist and blogger Silvio Rendón on the numbers of dead and missing given by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR [es]) became a front page headline [es] and a feature article [es] in the daily Correo. More »
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