Stories about Colombia from December, 2010
New Year's Resolution: Learn About Latin American Culture
Colombian/Argentinean Travelojos contributor Jennifer Lubrani writes about her New Year's resolution: “I’ve made it a goal to try to learn as much as I can about all of the other Latin American cultures.” She suggests five ways to “get cultured” on Latin America.
Latin America: 2010 in Review
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile, a police strike in Ecuador and the Nobel Prize in Literature for Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa were some of the news bloggers and citizen media users reported and analyzed this year. Let's take a look at these and other stories the Latin American team covered in 2010.
Mexico: Deceased FARC Commander's Emails Reveal Plans to Kidnap in Mexico
Gancho writes: “Emails on the computers of recently deceased FARC commander Mono Jojoy show that the group was considering entering the kidnapping market in Mexico strictly as a financing mechanism. With the going rate for a big-time victim evidently $30 million, we can understand their eagerness, though we of course...
Colombia: During a Harsh Winter, President Santos Proposes Creation of New Cities
“President Juan Manuel Santos proposes the creation of new cities for that population that lives under risk, as we have seen this 2010 winter in Colombia. It is a great proposal and a very expensive project, of course, but it is more expensive to continue like we are: every raining...
Colombia: Gramalote Town Evacuated After Heavy Rains, Sentenced to Disappear
Albeiro Rodas reports that “a Colombian village, Gramalote in North Santander, is being swallowed by the earth. Another chapter of the tragic 2010 winter in Colombia. […] Most of the houses of the town are damaged and others are already buried, said the minister [of interior Germán Vargas Lleras], so...
Colombia: Twitter Solidarity with Victims of Rainy Season
Colombian Twitter users have joined to support the victims of this year's heavy rainy season, which has affected at least 1.5 million people. Twitteratón [es] started on December 8 as an event in Medellín [es] to collect donations for the victims, prompting similar events in other cities like Bogotá (12/...
Colombia: Nukak Maku Indigenous Peoples Forced to Leave Their Territory
In Colombia Passport, Albeiro Rodas writes: “An indigenous leader of the Nukak Maku peoples, a group of nomads in the State of Guaviare, Amazon region, denounced in a session in San José with the Senate commission for human rights and international observers, that members of the Farc guerrilla forced them...
The Latin America Personal Democracy Forum As Seen by Bloggers
The Latin American Personal Democracy Forum took place on the 18th and 19th of November in Santiago Chile. Juan Arellano collects the thoughts, analysis and reports from the bloggers that attended the event.
Colombia: Floods in Riosucio, Chocó
The recent winter weather in Colombia has been picked up by traditional media and social networks are talking about the flooding, landslides and uprooted trees happening there. The national news reports that 28 of the 32 departments in Colombia have been affected; on Territorio Chocoano's Twitter account, people have been following the difficult situation in the Chocó department of northeast Colombia, especially in the Riosucio municipality.
Colombia: HiperBarrio Receives Community Journalism Award
Rising Voices project HiperBarrio [es] obtained the First Community Journalism Award of the Municipality of Medellín- University of Antioquia (in Spanish, Primer Premio de Periodismo Comunitario Municipio de Medellín – Universidad de Antioquia [es]).
Colombia: Still on US State Department's Travel Warning List
Steven Roll from Travelojos points out that despite the good press Colombia has received lately, “the U.S. State Department still regards it as a nation that U.S. citizens best avoid.” He ends his post asking, “Do you think the U.S. State Department’s characterization of Colombia as one of the most...
Latin America & Cablegate: Analysis, Reactions & Questions
Cables from United States embassies in several Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, including Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela and Honduras, have been released as part of WikiLeaks' "Cablegate". Bloggers in the region are analyzing the cables and what they mean to their individual countries and to Latin America as a whole.
