Global Voices » Latin America

Peru: Controversy Over Banning of Popular Priest

Gabriela García Calderón — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:16:20 +0000

On Friday May 11, 2012, local online edition of newspapers [es] broke the news that the Cardinal Priest and Archbishop of Lima, Juan Luis Cipriani, had decided not to renew the ministerial license for Father Gaston Garatea [es], a well-known Peruvian priest from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Father Gaston communicated he will abide by that decision.

According to some analysts, the cause of the decision was Father Gaston's stance on homosexuality and civil unions. Cardinal Cipriani is well-known for his conservative position on matters such as birth control, homosexuality, civil unions, etc.

Father Gaston has embraced various fair causes, most related to poor and extremely poor people.

He has served as Chairman of the Consensus-Building Board on the Fight Against Poverty, and as such, he also participated in the National Agreement. He also acted as commissioner for the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Archdiocese of Lima issued a statement [es] regarding Father Gaston's situation:

[…] para realizar trabajo pastoral en una determinada jurisdicción, requieren que el Obispo, Ordinario del lugar, les otorgue las respectivas Licencias Ministeriales (cfr. canon 265).

2. En ese sentido, el Obispo Ordinario del lugar, por motivos suficientes y anteriormente advertidos al Superior Mayor de la respectiva comunidad religiosa, puede disponer que un sacerdote religioso no trabaje pastoralmente en su jurisdicción eclesiástica. Ello, que es lo que ha ocurrido con el Padre Jorge Gastón Garatea Yori, SS. CC., no suspende o prohíbe al sacerdote religioso el ejercicio de su ministerio sacerdotal en otros lugares.

[… ] in order to accomplish pastoral labor on a specific jurisdiction, [priests] require that the Bishop, the Ordinary from the jurisdiction, grant them the respective Ministerial Licences (cfr. canon 265).

2. As such, the Ordinary Bishop of the jurisdiction, due to sufficient motives already warned to the Superior of the respective religious community, may provide that a religious priest won't work pastorally on his ecclesiastic jurisdiction. As it has happened with Father Jorge Gaston Garatea Yori, SS. CC., this doesn't suspend nor forbid the religious priest from exercising his ministry elsewhere.

The website ACI Prensa [es] cites an unnamed source and explains that the process against Father Gaston was made according the due process. This source explained:

Existe en todas las diócesis un tribunal sinodal, que examina a todos los que piden las licencias ministeriales, y todos los sacerdotes -diocesanos y religiosos-, están sometidos al examen sinodal previo a las licencias ministeriales”.

Por ello dijo que “cuando el Obispo toma una decisión, en este caso de no renovar las licencias ministeriales, previamente ha tenido que pedir informe a este tribunal sinodal y también a su senado, que es el colegio de consultores. No es una decisión personal, previamente ha tenido que cumplir todo un procedimiento“.

In every diocese, there is a synod tribunal that examines all people who ask ministerial licences, and every priest -diocesan and religious-, are subject of that synodal examination prior to ministerial licences”.

That's why [this source] said that “when the Bishop makes a decision, in this case, not to renew ministerial licences, ha has to request a report to this synod tribunal and to its Senate as well, which is the consulting board. It's not a personal decision, previously there has been a whole process to be observed“.

The site later adds:

Indicó además que el P. Garatea ha tenido “un sinfín de pronunciamientos contrarios (a la doctrina católica) explícitamente aunque hoy quieran maquillarlo”.

“No sólo es lo último del ‘matrimonio gay’, que lo dijo y ahora pretende decir que se refería al contrato civil. En su momento dijo ‘matrimonio gay’, y si dice ahora que se refería al contrato civil, en la práctica es lo mismo. Lo único es que está maquillando una doctrina que va en contra de la Iglesia“, afirmó.

[…]

Sin embargo, indicó que las autoridades eclesiásticas no revelarán los motivos por los que no se renovaron las licencias porque el derecho canónico pide que se guarde “absoluta reserva por la dignidad, honor y fama de esa persona.

[The source] also remarked that Father Garatea has made “countless statements against (the Catholic doctrine), although today there is an intention to sugar coat it”.

“It's not just about the latest statement on ‘gay marriage’ [es], which he said and now pretends to say he meant the civil contract. Back then he said ‘gay marriage ’, and if he says now he was refering to the civil contract, technically it's the same thing. The only thing he is doing is disguising a doctrine that is contrary to the Church [es]”, he declared.

[…]

Nonetheless, he noted that ecclesiastical authorities won't reveal the motives for not renewing the licenses, as Cannoic Law demands “absolute reservation on behalf of the dignity, honor and fame of that person.

The blog Pastores y líderes publishes [es] the explanation of Father Jose Chuquillanqui, episcopal vicary of the Archbishopric of Lima:

[…] no renovación de licencias ministeriales al padre Gastón Garatea no ha sido una decisión tomada de un día para otro, sino tras un proceso de diálogo y advertencias.

Por ello, dijo que a Garatea “se le ha llamado la atención desde hace seis años” por sus opiniones polémicas, y que el cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani ha sostenido constantes conversaciones y diálogos con el supuesto afectado.

“No podemos juzgar abruptamente y decir que ha sido una decisión intolerante e impronta. Se le pidió que tenga cuidado en sus expresiones”, dijo Chuquillanqui en RPP.

[…] asserted that the decision of not renewing Father Gaston Garatea's ministerial licenses hasn't been a decision made overnight, but after a process of dialogue and warnings.

So, Garatea was “warned for six years” because of his controversial opinions, and that Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani has talked constantly with the alleged affected [priest].

“We can't judge abruptly and consider this has been an intolerant and sudden decision. He was asked to be careful with what he said”, declared Chuquillanqui on [local radio station] RPP.

Meanwhile, Twitter is abuzz with comments using the hashtag #GastonGaratea [es]:

Eduardo (@edurpeque) [es] expresses surprise:

Q #Cipriani no le haya renovado el permiso a #GastonGaratea me parece hasta benigno,no creen? Raro es q no lo haya recriminado o excomulgado.

That #Cipriani hasn't renewed #GastonGaratea's licence seems benign to me, don't you think? It's odd he reproach or excommunicate him.

‏@eromanp [es] is ironic:

El padre Gastón #Garatea ha recibido la mejor carta de recomendación que pueda existir: #Cipriani le ha prohibido ejercer su labor pastoral.

Father Gaston #Garatea has received the best cover letter ever: #Cipriani has banned him from practicing his pastoral labor.

Victor Mantilla (@yourjournalist) [es] recommends:

Cierto, no olviden el #FF para #GastónGaratea y el #ReportSpam para Juan Luis.

Right, don't forget the #FF for #GastónGaratea and #ReportSpam for Juan Luis.

Elí Castelo R. (@primerafuente) [es] wonders, a little annoyed:

Buenos dias, siguen con lo del Padre #GastonGaratea. Que lo resuelvan los catolicos y no los convenidos. Parece lo mismo, pero no es asi.

Good morning, still talking about Father #GastonGaratea? Let the Catholics solve it and not the freeloaders. They may seem the same thing, but they are not.

Santiago Correa Jara (@SantiagoCorreaJ) [es] adds some international context:

Que feo día en #Perú. Expectoran al Padre #GastónGaratea y fallece #DonnaSummer. A veces la vida, por mas que protestemos NO TIENE SENTIDO!!

Ugly day in #Perú. Father #GastónGaratea is expelled and #DonnaSummer passes away. Sometimes, no matter how much we protest, life MAKES NO SENSE!!

Thumbnail image by Flickr user Alex E. Proimos, under Creative Commons license Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Mexico: Blogger Posts Final Open Letters Addressing Presidential Candidates

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:48:04 +0000

As we reported earlier, Global Voices contributor and blogger Juan Tadeo began an open letter [es] campaign to encourage citizens to write to the current presidential candidates. He recently finished writing his letters to all four candidates. His latest two are for Andrés Manuel López Obrador [es] and Enrique Peña Nieto [es]

Cuba: Questioning Digital Expression within the Revolution

Ellery Roberts Biddle — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:57:56 +0000

The recent Encuentro de Blogueros Cubanos en Revolución [Meeting of Cuban Bloggers in Revolution] [es] brought together a group of “official” bloggers—chiefly journalists and communications professionals who are employed by the state and maintain their blogs as part of their work. These bloggers acknowledge explicitly that they write “within,” or in support of, the Cuban revolution. In contrast, many better-known Cuban bloggers, such as Yoani Sánchez and Laritza Diversent, make no such claim, calling for free speech and broader Internet access but seeking to avoid being categorized as dissidents or counterrevolutionaries.

At the conclusion of the event, the group of bloggers drafted a set of principles [es] outlining their goals and commitments as Cuban bloggers. The third principle read:

Respetamos y promovemos el pensamiento crítico, necesario y útil para preservar nuestra condición de revolucionarios, con la premisa de que no es posible ser revolucionario fuera de la Revolución.

We respect and promote critical thinking, which is necessary and useful in preserving our revolutionary condition, based on the premise that it is not possible to be revolutionary outside of the Revolution. Here is a video from the Encuentro:

While the principles acknowledged a need to increase ICT access on the island, they chiefly emphasized the role of bloggers in supporting the Cuban revolutionary project: they pledged to improve collaboration among bloggers “in Revolution” and to blog in the spirit of Cuban leaders of the past, such as Che Guevara. Invoking Fidel Castro’s famous 1961 address “Words to the Intellectuals,” they asserted that innovative or critical thinking should not exist “outside” of the revolution. In other words, any critique that is not formed with the goal of strengthening the revolution falls on the outside and thus necessarily becomes “counterrevolutionary.”

This prompted Cuban blogger Yasmín Silvia Portales [es], who was not formally invited to the event, to ask:

¿y quién hace el examen de «revolucionario» para poder acceder a internet desde Cuba?

And who conducts the “revolutionary” exam in order to access the Internet in Cuba?

Since the meeting, bitter controversy has unfolded around this new iteration of a decades-old question: does the expression of criticism automatically put one “outside” the revolution, especially when the criticism is happening online?

Global Voices author and blogger Elaine Díaz [es], also a communications professor at the University of Havana, criticized the meeting, noting the limited value in convening a group of bloggers who “basically think the same way.” She pointed out that bloggers from Observatorio Crítico [es] and Havana Times, both sites whose authors favor the socialist model, were not invited at all.

El espacio plural, diverso, irreverente, altamente participativo, generoso y polémico…ha sido cruelmente caricaturizado [con este encuentro]. Queda, en su lugar, una blogosfera obediente y disciplinada.

The heterogenous, diverse, irreverent, highly participatory, generous and controversial space…has been cruelly caricatured [by this meeting]. In its place is now an obedient and disciplined blogosphere.

Diáz argued that, by excluding nearly all bloggers who are not “official” bloggers, the meeting had little value—the attendees did not represent the reality of the Cuban blogosphere. She also pointed to the unequal treatment of social media users on the island:

Parece que muchos de los presentes parecen haber olvidado que mientras 60 representantes de la blogosfera nacional son recibidos con bombos y platillos en Matanzas, muchos más, estudiantes de universidades [por ejemplo] son condenados a 6 meses sin acceso a Internet por osar asomarse a Facebook, Twitter o cualquier variante 2.0.

It seems that many of those present have forgotten that while 60 representatives of the national blogosphere are being received with drums and cymbals in Matanzas, many more, students at universities [for example] are condemned to 6 months without Internet access for using Facebook, Twitter, or any other iteration of 2.0.

In response to her post, [es] Harold Cárdenas, a co-author of the blog La Joven Cuba and organizer of the event, lamented the fact that Díaz declined to attend the meeting.

La habíamos invitado insistentemente…porque así podría defender sus posiciones y dar su opinión… Quizás si hubiera confiado un poco más en nosotros vería…que en el encuentro no todos pensaban “básicamente igual”
[…]
Si alguien me pregunta le diría que hemos ganado mucho…que cuando alguien quiso que se le exigiera al Estado una Internet solo para “defender la Revolución”…dejamos claro que Internet es para mucho más que eso, para hablar de cocina, deporte, sexo o lo que quiera el bloguero de turno.

We repeatedly invited her… because that way she could have defended her positions and given her opinion … Maybe if she trusted us more, she would have seen…that everyone at the meeting was not “basically the same.”
[…]
If someone were to ask me, I’d say that we gained a lot…when someone wanted the State to require that the Internet be used only to “defend the Revolution”…we made it clear that the Internet is for much more than that, it’s for talking about cooking, sports, sex or whatever the blogger wants to say in the moment.

Other responses were more aggressive. In a searing open letter [es], Eduardo, a University of Matanzas professor and blogger who helped organize the event, suggested that Díaz might be falling into the “counterrevolutionary” camp, espousing the idea that only “revolutionary” sentiment should be tolerated in the Cuban blogosphere and that nothing could exist in between this and counterrevolutionary ideas.

[Es cobardía] jugar a bloguear nadando en las aguas embravecidas de un río, que en Cuba aunque usted no lo quiera reconocer, solo tiene “dos orillas”; los que defendemos el proyecto político social que nos independizó…de España, pero también de los Estados Unidos, y los que desean que Cuba sea la neocolonia que dejó de ser el Primero de Enero de 1959.

It is cowardly to blog as if swimming in the raging waters of a river that in Cuba, even if you don’t want to recognize it, has only two sides; those who defend the socio-political project that brought us independence from Spain, but from the United States as well, and those who want Cuba to be the neocolony that it ceased to be on the First of January of 1959.

A diverse range of other bloggers at sites including La Joven Cuba, Blogazoxcuba (official blog of the meeting), and Observatorio Crítico have commented on the event. An apt concluding thought appeared in a post by an anonymous author at Observatorio Crítico [es]. While just pre-dating the meeting, the author offered a constructive viewpoint on the question of criticism in Cuba, envisioning a world “where public space is the patrimony of all people, not a minority in power, as is true today throughout the world, including in Cuba.”

No se teme la participación de una persona en un evento por el hecho de que piense distinto…Precisamente, la estimulación de la diversidad y las alternativas de enfoque y acción sobre los problemas es lo que conduce a posibilidades de enriquecimiento creativo de la realidad.
[…]
Bloquear el acceso de determinadas opiniones a escenarios que presuntamente exploran la noción de lo público –como ha sucedido recientemente en más de un foro–, no tiene otro resultado que el de fundamentar las imputaciones de totalitarismo que se acostumbra realizar contra el orden social imperante en Cuba…

One must not fear the participation of a person who thinks differently…Indeed, the stimulation of diversity and alternative approaches to the problems and action is what leads to opportunities for the creative enrichment of reality.
[…]
Blocking access to certain opinions that allegedly explore the notion of that which is public—as happened recently in more than one forum—has no result other than to substantiate the charges of totalitarianism that are usually wielded against the social order in Cuba…

Paraguay: A Look Inside Aché Indigenous Communities

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:08:15 +0000

For much of their history, the Aché indigenous people in Paraguay have been struggling to preserve their territory. Now, the Aché are using citizen media to preserve their language and their culture. The blog Aché Djawu [es] (”The Aché Word”) and several Twitter accounts [es] provide a glimpse inside six Aché indigenous communities.

After a genocide that reduced their population to 350 during the 20th century, the Aché have been slowly growing into six communities with approximately 1500 members in Northern and Eastern Paraguay.

This year, the Aché Djawu (”The Aché Word”) project was selected as one of the newest Rising Voices grantees. Rising Voices director Eduardo Avila explains:

The purpose of the project is to identify several young people from each of the six Aché communities to take part in intensive skills-building workshops in the use of blogs, digital photography and video, as well as social networking, as a way to preserve and promote their language and culture.

In the following video, Marciano Chevugi from the Aché Chupa Pou community invites netizens to visit the blog and follow the community on Twitter. Chevugi also thanks everyone that is supporting them in rescuing and protecting their culture. (Note: Chevugi starts speaking in Aché for a brief moment and then speaks in Spanish. The Spanish section of the video has been subtitled into English by Eduardo Avila)

The blog plays an important role in documenting the history of these Aché communities. A post [es] from April 29, 2012 tells a brief history of the Aché community of Chupa Pou. In the post Chevugi explains that the community was founded on May 9, 1979 by a group of Aché and a Divine Word missionary. Chevugi also writes that the community currently has 8600 hectares of natural forests along the Jejui Guazu river in the Canindeyu Department:

[…] hoy la comunidad tiene 120 familias, en total 600 habitantes, cuenta con escuela y colegio; 220 alumnos en total, hoy una nueva construcción de puesto de salud dentro de la comunidad que sera equipada de primeros auxilios, también esta dentro de la liga de fútbol de Ygatimi, con el club 20 de enero. En el agricultura cada familia hace para su auto consumo y renta, la comunidad cuenta con pequeña parcela de 25 hectáreas mecanizada para ingreso de la comunidad.

[…] today the community is made up of 120 families, with a total of 600 inhabitants. It has a school with 220 students in total, and a new health center inside the community which will be equipped with first aid [supplies]. The community is also part of the Ygatimi football league, with the ‘20 de enero' team. In terms of agriculture, each family produces for their own consumption. The community has a small plot of 25 hectares developed to produce the community's income.

The blog also showcases the stories of individual members of these communities. The post “Cho Mbywangi” [es] , for example, is a short self-introduction by an important female community leader:

Me llamo Margarita Mbywangi vivo en la comumidad Kuetuvy, trabajo en área de salud. Soy líder de la comunidad, me gusta mucho rescatar la cultura Aché, hacer el parto y jugar con los niños y escuchar la historia y la vida de la gente.

My name is Margarita Mbywangi. I live in the Kuetuvy community, [and] I work in health. I am a community leader, [and] I really like rescuing Aché culture, helping women give birth, playing with the children, and listening to the history and life of the people.

In 2008, Margarita Mbywangi was the first indigenous person to become Minister of Indigenous Affairs in Paraguay.

Furthermore, several indigenous participants took part in an earlier project capturing life and tradition in their communities through photographs. The following photograph by Francisco Kandeg shows a “traditional Aché game”:

Photo: Francisco Kandegi, Puerto Barra.

You can see more photos in Aché Djawu's Flickr account.

Bolivia: Web 2.0 Workshops for Aymara School Teachers

Eduardo Avila — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:51:03 +0000

On May 2 and 3, 2012, a series of Web 2.0 workshops were held in the Department of Oruro in Bolivia. These workshops were organized by the Ministry of Education [es] and the Jaqi Aru [ay] Project, which is comprised of a group of linguists in the city of El Alto, Bolivia. This group has been promoting the use of the Aymara language on the internet. Many of the volunteers from Global Voices Aymara [ay] also form part of Jaqi Aru. Education professors from the Teacher Training Superior School (ESFM for its initials in Spanish) took part in the workshops, and the event's objective was to help the professors and their students begin to create digital media content in the Aymara language.

According to the planned program, the workshops took place in the following schedule:

On Thursday, May 3, the workshop began at 9:30 am in the conference room with an opening presentation by the facilitators from Jaqi Aru.

Following this presentation, Mario Duran Chuquimia [es] gave a talk about Web 2.0 and Wikipedia. In the afternoon, hands-on workshops took place in the computer lab, where each professor worked on an individual computer with an Internet connection.

Martin Canaviri provided a workshop about social networking sites, focusing on the use of Facebook, and Ruben Hilare [ay] shared his experience in the use of Twitter. Finally, Victor Paco Montevilla [ay], gave a presentation about the use of the photograph sharing site Flickr.

Photograph by Mario R. Duran and used under a Creative Commons license

On Friday, May 4, Elias Quispe spoke about blogging on WordPress, and Edwin Quispe [ay] introduced the participants to Skype. Hilare later presented a workshop on Wikipedia Aymara.

The workshop ended in the conference room with a short evaluation, in which the professors gave thanks to the members of Jaqi Aru and the Ministry of Education for organizing the workshops and for the training sessions. Many participants said that they were motivated to create content using these new technologies.

Professor René Chura Quispe from ESFM Mariscal Andrés de Santa Cruz Calahumana, located in the Department of La Paz, said:

…los conocimientos tecnológicos debemos experimentar, las herramientas son muy importantes…

…we should know and experience this technology, these tools are very important…

Antonio José de Sucre, a professor from ESFM Antonio José de Sucre, mentioned:

Un trabajo conjunto esa motivación hacia nuestros estudiantes, es poder hacer el uso de plataforma; no solamente en idioma Aymara, sino también en idioma castellano.

Work combined with this motivation towards our students, will help us use this [citizen media] platform; not only in the Aymara language, but also in the Spanish language.

Cristina from ESFM Caracollo in the Department of Oruro said:

…que no sea este único taller sino que haya más talleres sobre el manejo de herramientas digitales; difundamos nuestra idioma Aymara en Internet como idioma Ingles.

…hopefully this will not be the only workshop, but rather that there will be many more about the use of these digital tools; let's spread our Aymara language like the English language is spread on the Internet.

The professors indicated that there is a commitment to create and spread new content on these virtual platforms, which they learned about during the workshops.

Jaqi Aru published a blog post [ay] about the workshop, where they also published the following video from the event:

Guatemala: A ‘Guatemaltequismo' A Day

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:21:38 +0000

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'.

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.

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.

Caribbean: Supporting Our Mothers

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:18:40 +0000

Mother's Day, celebrated this past weekend all across the Caribbean, was a hot topic of discussion with regional bloggers - or rather, mothers were. From posts of admiration and thanks to accounts of how women regularly defy oppression, it was a mixed bag, but one that mothers everywhere would have been happy to sample from…

To mark the occasion, TALLAWAH “rang up a few Jamaican celeb moms to get responses to the day’s most pressing query: Is having a child the best thing you’ve ever done?” The responses are worth a read.

Compatriot Nadine, Unscripted referred to her mother as “the epitome of self-sacrifice”:

We’ve had our share of ups and downs, and butted heads on some occasions. Yet, at the forefront of my mind, despite all that we’ve been through, I always remember everything she has given to us, simply because she cares.

She also took time to acknowledge “all the mothers, mothers-to-be, grandmothers and greats, the fathers who have a double role as mothers, and the mothers whose children grew in their hearts instead of their wombs”:

Wherever you are on this planet, I give thanks for you and your bright legacy. Know that you are blessed, honoured, loved.

Guyanese-born Tastes Like Home echoed her sentiments:

Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for caring about me.
Thank you for listening to my rants.
Thank you for supporting me.
Thank you for encouraging me.

Parenting is such a huge responsibility and I admire the grace with which you balance your life, work and everything else in-between. I join in the chorus of applause and salute you on this your very special day.

Over at My big, fat, Cuban family, the blogger's kids apparently logged in and shared some of the most meaningful things their mom has taught them over the years - from “[having] great adventures” to “[being] fearless.” Cuban bloggers were by far the most vocal about the sacrifices mothers - and women on the whole - have to make. Havana Times published an account of “a Cuban mother's drive”…

When you have a child who looks up at you in desperation and says: ‘Mommy, I’m hungry,' and you know full well that two salaries aren’t enough to satisfy that basic request…then you’ll know where my strength comes from.

…but balanced the perspective in another post that explains why motherhood is so rewarding:

Most of all there are the kisses, the kisses and hearing ‘I love you, mommy.' Those are the things that make me remember that being a mother is no sacrifice. Motherhood is simply a blessing.

So why aren't Cubans having more babies? This post offered some insight. Pedazos de la Isla uploaded a video tribute to Cuban women, explaining:

On Mother’s Day 2012, a number of Cuban mothers- most of them members of the Ladies in White- have been arrested and beaten by the Cuban political police, and yet they continue carrying out their activities and RESISTING against the repression.

These face harassment, acts of repudiation, beatings, and arrests for demanding the rights of an entire nation. Regardless, they still find time to protect and educate their children and families. They are examples of courage and inspiration.

Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter reported on a march in honour of the memory of Laura Pollan:

Despite threats, harassment, and scores of women detained by State Security 68 Ladies in White following mass walked through Fifth Avenue in the west of Havana. They marched and chanted ‘Viva Laura Pollán!' and ‘Freedom for the political prisoners!'

The blogger (along with others) went on to describe several cases of women being detained and threatened, adding:

It is also important to remember that Cuban mothers are spending Mothers Day in prison for defending the human rights of the Cuban people.

Haiti Chery, meanwhile, spared a thought for Trayvon Martin's mom, explaining:

Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Matin, released a public service announcement…timed for Mother’s Day this [past] weekend, asking viewers to ‘call the governor of your state' and encourage them to reconsider ‘Stand Your Ground' laws like the one cited by the man who killed her son.

Trinidadian diaspora bloggers also marked the occasion, albeit in different ways. Fashion blogger Afrobella gave a few suggestions for the best Mother's Day gifts (hint: stay away from the irons!) and wished “anyone who's motherly” a wonderful day:

Whether you’re a mother with your own kids, or you’ve adopted a family, or if you’re a loving sister or aunt or grandma who really plays a motherly role in the lives of little ones, I wish you a very happy Mother’s Day. Thank you for all you have done to shape a child’s life! It ALL counts. Thank you for being part of someone’s village. You’re more appreciated than you may know.

Photoblogger chookooloonks meanwhile, confessed that:

I always feel just a tiny bit strange accepting gifts on Mother's Day…I don't ‘mother' so that I can get gifts once a year for my efforts. I mother for a lot of selfish reasons: because I wanted to be a mom. Because I get a hell of a lot out of my relationship with my kid. Because that's what I'm wired to do.

But you know what would be nice?

If we moms could use Mother's Day as a day of focus to help support each other. It seems to me so strange that an experience that is so universal — raising a child — can also at times feel so solitary. And, frankly, so guilt-ridden: we get messages daily, from the media, from corporate culture, from our communities and even from other mothers saying you're doing it wrong. Judgments on issues like how you should become a parent — ‘natural' or C-section or adoption or surrogacy. Whether you should work outside of your home. Or not. Or breastfeed. Or Not. Or how long you should breastfeed. Or what to feed you kid. Or how to dress your kid. Or what organizations you should get your kid involved in. Or when you should send your kid to school. Or where. Or homeschool. Or … or … or ….

AAAAUUUUGGH.

So this year, here's an idea: in addition to the moms in our families, let's take a moment out of our day to send a message to peers — moms who are neither our mothers nor our partners — and just say, ‘good job.' Send an email to someone (even someone you only know online) just to say, ‘You have great kids,' or ‘you're an inspiring parent,' or ‘your children are lucky to have you.' An unexpected note of encouragement letting a mother know to keep on keeping on.

The thumbnail image used in this post, “Mother, daughter”, is by Bread for the World, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) Creative Commons license. Visit Bread for the World's flickr photostream.

Cuba: Dissident Ferrer Garcia Re-Released

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:33:04 +0000

Havana Times reports that dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was released by authorities late last week “after being held for more than 24 hours without his whereabouts being made known.”

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.

Brazil: ‘Hands That Cure, Words That Heal'

Paula Góes — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:13:13 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted]

With their herbs, gestures, prayers and comforting words, the “doctors of the people” are an important element of Brazilian popular culture and religious syncretism. Folk healers are found throughout the country, but play a special role in remote areas, where medical professionals are scarce and allopathic medicine is inaccessible.

In a post called ‘Hands that cure, words that heal', Ricardo Câmara recalls the history of faith healing and highlights the work of benzedeiras (women who pray for and bless the ill), usually a free and voluntary activity that has spread throughout Brazil as an alternative to traditional medicine since the sixteenth century:

Terço e folhas nas mãos, oração na ponta da língua e muita fé em Deus. As benzedeiras e benzedores que surgiram no Brasil com a chegada dos Jesuítas, no século XVI, são figuras presentes na cultura popular até os dias de hoje.
A benzeção, como várias outras práticas religiosas e médicas populares, aflorou-se com intensidade no período Colonial Brasileiro e os fatores que propiciaram o desenvolvimento da prática da benzeção, com certeza, remetem à precariedade da vida material, destacada pela raridade de médicos, de cirurgiões, de produtos farmacêuticos, e ao sincretismo dos povos em geral, que também contribuíram, e muito, para que a prática da benzeção se propagasse ainda mais.

Rosaries and leaves at hand, prayers on the lips and much faith in God. Folk healers, who emerged in Brazil with the arrival of the Jesuits in the sixteenth century, are present in popular culture up to now.
Blessing, like many other popular religious and medical practices, surfaced with intensity in the Brazilian colonial period and the factors leading to the development of the practice refer, of course, to the precariousness of material life, highlighted by the scarcity of doctors, surgeons, pharmaceutical products, and by the syncretism of the population in general, which in turn contributed to spread the practice of blessing even further.

Blessing woman Dona Izabel. Photo by Fredox Carvalho, for Agência de Notícias Cavaleiro de Jorge (used with permission).

The training of folk healers, individuals who according to Maria Luiza Benitez are usually “predestined and born with a special gift of power, talent or knowledge”, requires great dedication:

O estudo do curandeiro difere grandemente dos estudos e práticas da medicina convencional. Não há livros de medicina, nem notas de aprovação. Mas é preciso vencer todos os testes e provações. E é exclusivamente por meio da dor, do sofrimento, da doença e da própria morte que o curador adquire acesso ao universo das realidades extraordinárias. O mundo do além é o terreno onde se pode obter o conhecimento, a experiência, as qualificações e o poder para auxiliar os demais.
O chamado costuma vir em sonhos ou por intermédio de um acidente, doença, injúria sofrida, ameaça de morte eminente, da morte e mesmo morte clínica temporária.

Studying to become a healer differs greatly from the study and practice of conventional medicine. There are no medical books or passing grades, but you have to overcome all tests and trials. Additionally, it is only through pain, suffering, disease, and death itself that the healer gets access to the world of extraordinary realities. The world beyond is the land where you can obtain the knowledge, experience, skills and power to help others.
The call usually comes in dreams or through an accident, illness, injury, suffering, threat of imminent death, even death itself, and temporary clinical death.

Shaman in a Pataxó indigenous tribe in Bahia. Photo by Flickr user Mario Niveo (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Teacher Glauco Ricciele Ribeiro reveals how women become folk healers:

Benzedeiras senhoras de coração puro, servem ao próximo sem interesses ou cobiça. O dom adquirido por elas são passados de geração a geração. Mas em nosso mundo atual, tal prática cada vez mais desaparece e junto dela a fé popular perde suas características. […]
Mas poucos sabem como uma benzedeira inicia seu “sacerdócio”. Tradicionalmente a Sexta-feira Santa é a única data onde se ordena o Dom de ser Benzedeira a uma mulher de bom coração e sem impedimentos. Esta pessoal deve ajudar através das rezas todo tipo de necessitado sem distinção de classe ou credo.

Folk healers are women with pure hearts, who serve others without self-interest or greed. The gift they acquire is passed from generation to generation. But in our world today, such practices are increasingly disappearing and, together with them, the popular faith loses its characteristics. […]
But few people know how a healer began her “ministry”. Traditionally, Good Friday is the only day in which the gift of healing is given to a woman of good heart and without hindrances. Through all kinds of prayers, she ought to help people in need without distinction of class or creed.

The Blessing Culture. Photo from the Etnia Brasil website by Livia Zaruty (CC BY-NC-ND).

Journalism student Angélica Weise disagrees that the art of healing is disappearing:

Elas fazem parte da cultura popular. A maioria é de uma generosidade incrível. Por mais antiga que seja a tradição, as benzedeiras se encontram mais vivas do que nunca. Basta ter vocação e força de vontade. Mesmo com a medicina avançada, muitas pessoas recorrem a elas para os diversos tipos de cura. […]
Para encontrá-las não há endereço. Basta perguntar nas ruas que logo alguém conhece ou já ouviu falar delas. Na maioria são velhas e simples. É olhando para o rosto e contando suas rugas que encontramos a idade delas. Quem acredita em benzedeira, jura que elas fazem milagres.

They are part of popular culture. Most are incredible generous. No matter how old the tradition is, folk healers are more alive than ever. It only takes calling and will. Even with the advancement of medicine, many people turn to folk healers for various types of healing. […]
To find them, you need not to have an address. Just ask in the streets and you will find someone who knows or has heard of them. Most are elderly and humble. It is looking at their faces and counting their wrinkles that we find out their age. Those who believe in spiritual healing, swear that they promote miracle cures.

Conventional doctors are not so convinced of the miraculous power of spiritual healing and are concerned about the practice, considering that “the scientific safety should not be set aside”.

Meanwhile, traditional healers of two cities in the Brazilian state of Paraná, Rebouças and São João do Triunfo, have seen their activity recently recognized by pioneering municipal laws in Brazil. This resulted in a project of Social Mapping of Folk Healers, whose unprecedented legislation was celebrated as a victory by the local network of traditional communities and peoples:

Num processo de continua luta e organização social das benzedeiras articuladas no Movimento Aprendizes da Sabedoria (MASA) em 22/02/2012 o Presidente da Câmara Municipal de São João do Triunfo promulgou a lei municipal nº 1.370/11, a qual reconhece a identidade coletiva das benzedeiras de Triunfo, regulariza o livre acesso as plantas medicinais por parte dos detentores de ofícios tradicionais de cura e propõe a construção de política municipal especifica de acolhimento das práticas tradicionais de cura nos sistema formal de saúde.

After a process of continuous struggle and social organization of folk healers from the Learners of Wisdom Movement (MASA), the president of São João do Triunfo's City Council passed City Ordinance No. 1,370/11 on on February 22, 2012, a law which recognises the collective identity of the folk healers of Triunfo, regulates free access to medicinal plants by the holders of traditional healing craft, and proposes the elaboration of municipal policy specifically to bring traditional healing practices in the formal health system.

City ordinance recognises the work of folk healers of Triunfo. Photo by Rede Puxirão de Povos e Comunidades Tradicionais published by Flickr user Cultura Viva (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Regardless of whether the cures are a reality or the result of a placebo effect, the act of healing through non-traditional means is considered an intangible heritage of Brazilian culture by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) [en], which belongs to the federal government of Brazil as part of the Ministry of Culture.

In addition to bringing spiritual comfort, folk healers inspire artists, like the writer Sinval Santos da Silveira, who tells us the story and secret of a woman who lived in a very humble house, with no electricity or running water:

Mulher de idade avançada, magrinha, mal alimentada,
e de um coração cheio de bondade…
Sobre uma pequena mesa, a imagem da Santa, em
quem deposita sua fé e a sua vida.
Benze, em nome da Santinha, curando torcicolo, arca
caida, dor de dente, dor nas costas, dor de olhos, de
garganta, de cabeça, mal olhado, inveja, etc.
Seus pacientes ou clientes, pelo trabalho milagroso,
nada pagam, nada devem.
O prazer de poder ajudar alguém, que lhe procura,
está acima de qualquer outro valor.
Só agora entendo, que o poder de cura daquela mulher,
sempre residiu numa única coisa, que tinha em excesso,
em sua humilde casinha: muito amor…

Elderly, skinny, malnourished woman,
whose heart was full of goodness…
On a small table, there is an image of the Saint in
whose care she places her faith and life.
She blesses, on behalf of the sweet Saint, healing stiff neck,
lumbago, toothache, backache, sore eyes and throat,
headache, evil eye, envy, so on.
Her patients or clients pay nothing, nothing owed
for the miraculous work.
The pleasure of helping someone who looks for her
is valuable above anything else.
Only now I understand that the healing power of that woman
was always based on the only one thing that her humble house
had in excess: lots of love…