Stories about Colombia from November, 2010
Latin America: Summary of Several Leaked Documents on the Region
Erwin from The Latin Americanist summarizes some findings about U.S relations with Honduras, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, and Panama from the diplomatic documents recently released by Wikileaks.
Panama: Asylum for Former Colombian Security Director Creates Controversy
The Panamanian government's decision to grant asylum to former director of the Colombian Administrative Department of Security -who is accused of illegal phone wiretapping- has sparked reactions on social networks in both countries.
Costa Rica: Germany and Colombia win La Ruta endurance cycling race
La Ruta de los Conquistadores is considered one of the world's hardest cycling races in stages and it took place last week in Costa Rica, with Colombian Angela Parra winning in the women's category and German cyclist Ben Sonntag winning in the male category. But the organizers faced a parallel challenge: they struggled to handle participants' dissatisfaction with the way rules were enforced during the race.
Colombia: Two More Colombian Traditions Named Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO
Albeiro Rodas from Colombia Passport reports: “The Marimba music of the Colombian Pacific and the regulatory system of the Wayuu [indigenous] people of Guajira, were included in the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. ” Albeiro goes on to explain each one.
Latin America: Travel E-Book Celebrates Latin America At Ground Level
Margaret Snook from Cachando Chile writes about Celebrating Latin America at Ground Level, a free e-book by Steven Roll from Travel Ojos: “a collection of tales from 29 expats and travel writers on just about every imaginable aspect of life in Latin America.”
Colombia: Mayor of Bogotá isolated amidst corruption allegations
Bogotá Mayor Samuel Moreno Rojas faced criticism even before taking office in 2008; as the mayor, he has been regarded mostly as an "incompetent" who "lacks leadership", and is routinely mocked with nicknames as "bobolitro" ("dumb"). In the last few weeks, a corruption scandal has added to this criticism.
Colombia: Protests against bad service in public transportation
Commuters in Bogota, Colombia once again protested against the bad service of the Transmilenio public transportation system as can be seen in this video. It seems that during rush hour the system collapses due to high demand. [via]
Latin America: Music Blog “Club Fonograma” Reviews Latin American Music in English
Club Fonograma: We are Sudamerican Pop! is a music blog, written in English, that reviews Latin American music. Blog posts include audio or video of the band or singer being reviewed. They are on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and My Space.
Colombia: Twitter Users Report On Clashes Between Armed Groups in Medellín
On the night of November 9th, in the Manrique Santa Inés sector of Medellin, Colombia, several loud shots were heard that the majority of inhabitants associated with gunfire. Quickly Twitter messages appeared, including some from the official Twitter account of the mayor of Medellin Alonso Salazar.
Colombia: Discrimination Against LGBT Community
Bitácora [es] shares a video report created by university students on the discrimination against the LGBT community in Colombia.
Online Video Contest on Responsible Consumption has Winner
A Colombian short film was selected as the winner from 10 international finalists in the 4th International online short film contest for Responsible Consumption Culture. This contest, organized by ECODES and the General Direction of Consumption for the Government of Aragon called for entries in Spanish from short film producers from Spain and Latin America.
Colombia: Peaceful Protests to Violent Events in Medellin
The University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia was once more the center of a three point struggle between the government's police units, insurgent groups and the students, where the students scored a victory of sorts when they stood up for their right to study in a violence free environment by expelling the riot police from their campus.
