Daily Headlines: October 21, 2014

* U.S.: Iconic Dominican-born fashion designer Oscar de la Renta died at the age of 82 reportedly due to cancer.

* Panama: Panamanian Supreme Court judge Alejandro Moncada was arrested and charged with money laundering and illicit enrichment.

* Argentina: An Argentine human rights group claimed that refugee status was given to a gay Russian man violently targeted due to his sexual orientation.

* Bolivia: Bolivia’s top electoral tribunal ratified President Evo Morales' victory in the presidential polls and gave the green light for him to rule for a third straight term.

Video Source – Associated Press via YouTube

Online Sources – JURIST; Variety; Zee News; Reuters

Daily Headlines: June 20, 2011

* Brazil: Protests have been held over the lack of racial diversity at Sao Paulo fashion week after fashion labels reportedly ignored a racial quota put in place since 2009 for Afro-Brazilian models.

* Cuba: Most Cubans were unable to identify several prominent dissident figures according to a 2008 survey conducted by U.S. officials and recently uncovered by WikiLeaks.

* Guatemala: Authorities arrested a former army chief who served during the infamous military government of Efrain Rios Montt and accused him of human rights abuses.

* U.S.: German magazine Der Spiegel claimed that FIFA is investigating three high-scoring Gold Cup games due to "suspicious betting patterns" in Asia.

Image – Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian (“Models at the Huis Clos show at São Paulo fashion week in Brazil.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, MiamiHerald.com, ESPN, The Guardian, The Latin Americanist

World Watch: 20 years later

* South Africa: Celebrations including a reenactment walk through the gates of Drakenstein prison were held on the twentieth anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s freeing from jail.

* U.S.: Ex-Bill Clinton was reported to be “in good spirits” after being hospitalized in New York to undergo a heart procedure.

* Iran: The country’s Revolution Day was commemorated by the government but also condemned by detractors including a few hundred protestors in Tehran.

* U.K.: British fashion designer Alexander McQueen died of an apparent suicide at the age of 40.

Image – Sky News (“Nelson and Winnie Mandela, on his first day of freedom” twenty years ago.)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, CNN, Times Online, BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 9, 2009

* Brazil: Last year, Mexico’s Catholic Church denounced “the lack of modesty” shown by women who wear miniskirts. Last month, a Brazilian university student was berated by classmates and was subsequently expelled for wearing a “mid-thigh length red dress.”

* Haiti: Jean-Max Bellerive is expected to be Haiti’s next prime minister after being easily confirmed by both legislative chambers.

* Guatemala: Could Guatemala become Latin America’s next major energy source?

* Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic’s rebounding tourist industry may help the country bounce back from its recent economic woes.

Image – BBC
Online Sources- Washington Post, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, UPI, LAHT

Today's Video: Behind the threads

Aside from the brief interludes of really cheesy Latino-like music, check out this great interview with fashion designer Isabel Toledo:

If the Cuban-American's name sounds familiar it's most likely due to her designs for First Lady Michelle Obama.

Several ensembles designed by Toledo are currently on exhibit at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology museum.

Online Source- YouTube, New York Daily News, Time

Sao Paulo fashionstas, prosecutors reach deal

Last year’s Sao Paulo Fashion Week was marred when an investigation revealed a terrible lack of black and mixed-race models sashaying on the runway. Though nearly half of Brazil’s population is said to be black or of mixed race, only eight of the 344 models at last year’s event were black.

With threats by authorities to shut down this year’s event, offaicls and organizers reached an agreement:

Under its terms, fashion brands must ensure that 10% of the models are of African or Indigenous descent…

Companies failing to meet the new target could face the prospect of being fined more than $120,000…

While there has been little visible sign of tension over race, people of African heritage make up the poorest section of society.

An attempt to create a national law to establish quotas to address this inequality has once again been delayed in the Brazilian Congress, because of a failure to reach a consensus.

Some legislators are arguing that the best way to tackle inequality would be to use social rather than racial criteria in setting targets.

As the BBC News reported last year, some Afro-Brazilian models are upset at the apparent racism in their country’s fashion industry. "In a fashion show it is practically impossible," attest one model.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: The golden dress

We end today’s posts focusing on Inauguration Day with a look at First Lady’s Michelle Obama’s dress.

Obama wore a shimmering “lemongrass yellow” ensemble designed by Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo. As Toledo told the New York Times:

“I wanted to pick a very optimistic color, that had sunshine,” she said. “I wanted her to feel charmed, and in that way would charm everybody.” Ms. Toledo sounded overwhelmed. “This is so wonderful,” she said.

About thirteen people in her studio worked on the outfit over the Christmas holidays. “Chinese ladies, Polish ladies, Spanish ladies—I have a picture of everyone working on her clothes,” Ms. Toledo, who is 48, said. She added, “We’re all grateful for this opportunity, and we don’t even have a PR person!”

Here’s a brief clip on Obama and her Inauguration Day dress:

Online Sources- YouTube, New York Times

Daily Headlines: January 19, 2009

* Chile: In light of harsh criticism from conservative groups, Ricardo Oyarzun defended his show where voluptuous models dress like the Virgin Mary.

* Nicaragua: The country’s Supreme Court overturned a 20-year corruption sentence against ex-president Arnoldo Aleman.

* Guatemala: According to police 26 women were killed in Guatemala this year, mostly due to gang-related violence.

* Venezuela: Morocco’s government will to close its embassy in Venezuela due to a Caracas’ stance over a land dispute in the North African nation.

Image- Jaunted
Online Sources- New York Times, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, IHT, Reuters

”Terrorist” t-shirt makers convicted

A Danish appeals court convicted six people yesterday for creating and selling t-shirts featuring rebel groups such as Colombia’s FARC. Though judges initially acquitted the members of shirt company Fighters and Lovers last December, the retrial found the defendants guilty of breaking Denmark’s antiterrorism laws.

Five of the defendants received between 60 days and six months in jail and a sixth sentenced to 60 days in prison. One of the defendants was displeased with the verdict:

Michael Schoelardt, the company's managing director, who got six months in prison, said: "We must stand firm in our fight for peace and justice in the world."

Lawyers said they would try to take the case to the Supreme Court…

(Fighters and Lovers) says proceeds from the new range will not go to the militant groups themselves, but to legal aid groups supporting "victims of the Israeli occupation and Colombian government".

The company had previously donated 75 cents of every sold $33 shirt to the FARC as well as Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Both the FARC and PFLP are considered terrorist organizations by the U.S. and E.U.

Image- BBC News

Sources- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, New York Times, The Independent

“Obesity Law” passed in Argentina

Argentina’s Senate approved a law yesterday that would allow eating disorders to be considered as diseases and, thus, covered under health care plans. Nicknamed as the “Obesity Law”, the proposal was backed unanimously by legislators and mainly is aimed at a population where about one in four are overweight.

Aside from the section on health care, the new law stipulates that:

(…) nutritional education programs are taught in all school levels and… a warning that “overeating is bad for your health” should be included for during advertisements of unhealthy food…

“The publication of diets or weight-loss methods without medical consent is prohibited” (according to the law). [ed. personal translation]

The law had been originally written to include obesity and had been inspired by a television show entailed “An Issue of Weight.” Yet legislators included bulimia and anorexia in the measure such as the banning of “extreme thinness as a symbol of beauty” by advertisers and fashion designers.

The law has had its detractors; one nutritional expert lamented that “the obesity epidemic (in Argentina) is too much for health care plans to support…Actions are needed not a new law.”

Sources (English)- ABC News, Food Standards Agency

Sources (Spanish)- elmundo.es, Pagina12, BBC Mundo, El Universo

Image- BBC News (Soccer legend Diego Maradona before and after his 2005 stomach stapling surgery)

Model defends using Peruvian flag as dress

Last month, a Peruvian model/attention seeker faced massive public scrutiny over posing naked on top of the Peruvian flag for a magazine cover. The exaggerated outrage led to a tearful apology from Leysi Suarez who was threatened with jail time for her racy yet patriotic snapshots.

The shit may hit the fan again (if you’ll pardon my language) after Peruvian model Karla Casós wore her country’s flag as a dress during a fashion show in Santiago, Chile. Chilean fashion designer Ricardo Oyaizu claimed to have made the dress in order to “find unity between our countries”. Casós, meanwhile, tried to defend herself via the not-so-subtle art of passive/aggressiveness:

“I don’t want to criticize Leysi’s choice but it’s something I would not have done. I have nothing against her but what I did was absolutely different. I was in a high fashion show and I didn’t sit on a flag draped on top of a horse.” [Ed. personal translation]

Anyone care to bet that by year’s end Suarez and Casós will be sharing a cell in a Limeño prison?

Image- Living in Peru

Sources (English)- Living in Peru, BBC News, The Press Association

Sources (Spanish)- Agencia Orbita de Peru, RPP Noticias

Daily Headlines: February 7, 2008

* One man’s trash is another man’s treasure…in Nicaragua.

* Growing opposition to Salvadoran soldiers fighting in Iraq may lead to a major troop reduction according to President Tony Saca.

* Over 1450 people have been evacuated from the area around Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano after it exploded yesterday.

* Colombian singer Shakira will auction off over forty pieces of clothing worn during a 2007 tour with proceeds going to her Bare Feet Foundation.

Sources-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reuters, AFP, The Press Association

Image- ITN

Commentary: Three-piece suit vs. the guayabera

An open letter to all the U.S. presidential candidates:

With the primary season heating up it’s understandable that you are trying to go the extra mile in appealing to the many different voter groups in this diverse nation of ours. The Latino vote is certainly not an exception to that and one can appreciate most of the efforts you set forth.

However, there is a thin line between endearing yourself to a constituency and shameless pandering:

According to this post, the snapshot of a guayabera-clad Mitt Romney “was taken at a rally in a heavily-Cuban section of Miami-Dade (County)”.

One understands that it’s a very tight race in the Florida primary, and candidates are more prone to risk-taking and possibly underhanded tactics. Yet the above example gives the impression of a candidate far too desperate for attention. It looks tacky, sad, and silly.

Would it be acceptable for Hillary Clinton to travel to Spanish Harlem clad in a Taino nagua? What about John McCain sporting a sombrero and huaraches while in East Los Angeles? How about Barack Obama dressed as a gaucho while visiting Florida’s Argentine-American communities?

Please, dear candidates, refrain from the ethnic wear. Your words and policies are more than sufficient and the ultimate sign of respect.

Sources- politico.com, AHN, Palm Beach Post, Wikipedia, about.com, Migration Information Sources

Image- politico.com

Brazil: Fashion show accused of racism

Brazilian prosecutors are investigating charges of racism during Sao Paulo Fashion Week held earlier this month. Though black was the color du jour during the fashion extravaganza, black models alleged that they were discriminated against. They may have a point as only 28 of the 1128 models featured during Sao Paulo Fashion Week where black.

As BBC News noted, several models of African descent were unhappy not only with Fashion Week but also at the modeling industry as a whole:

And outside the landmark Bienal building - where Sao Paulo Fashion Week is being staged - young black models voiced their frustration.

"I think the business is smaller for black girls," says 19-year-old Rafaela Favero. "But I don't know if it is because we are just black - but we are different, our pattern of beauty is different - our hair and our bodies."

"In a fashion show it is practically impossible," says 24-year-old Rafael Milagres.

Last year, we noted how Bolivian models tend to equate “beauty” with looking light-skinned rather than indigenous.

Sources (English)- AFP, BBC News

Sources (Spanish)- La Tercera

Image- BBC News

“Terrorist” t-shirt makers acquitted

Seven Danes who sold t-shirts with the logos of rebel groups like Colombia’s FARC were acquitted of terrorism charges. The accused are members of an activist group- Fighters + Lovers- who sold their shirts online for roughly $30 and had pledged to donate about $5 per shirt to “humanitarian projects” run by groups like the FARC and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

In their ruling, a slim majority of the magistrates agreed with the defense:

A panel of judges in Copenhagen's City Court voted 2-1 that although FARC and PLFP were engaged in murders and kidnappings, their actions were not meant to intimidate the population or destroy the local political and economic systems, and therefore were not guilty of terrorism.

Both groups are classified as terrorist by the United States and the European Union.

According to the Guardian UK, prosecutors are expected to appeal the verdict though one of the defendants said that he would try to “retrieve” t-shirt proceeds confiscated by the Danish police.

Image- Guardian UK

Sources- Guardian UK, BBC News, Reuters, Fighters + Lovers

Daily Headlines: August 22, 2007

* The uniform for the U.S. Border Patrol will be redesigned for the first time since the 1950s and “look more like military fatigues.”

* French media and telecoms group Vivendi received $105 million in compensation for a former water concession it had in Argentina.

* The Swiss government will continue to freeze the assets held by ruthless ex-Haitian dictator Jean- Claude Duvalier.

* General Motors wants to sustain steady growth in Latin America, according to a company senior execrative.

* Follow-up: On the same day that Brazil’s president announced a major anti-crime plan, police cracked down on a major drug gang.

Image- New York Times (According to the caption “Agents in san Diego model the old Border Patrol uniform, left, and the new one.”)

Sources- ABC News, The Latin Americanist, People’s Daily Online, Reuters UK, MarketWatch

Quote of the Day: Rethinking the girl from Ipanema

For Brazilian fashion designers, skin isn’t in this season:

“The one-piece suit, relegated (in Brazil) for decades, is back in, and coral colors dominate.”

That was according to fashion “experts” at Sao Paulo Fashion Week who have also emphasized environmentalism as a theme.

Sources- Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Monsters & Critics, ABC News Online

Image- Xinhua (According to the caption “Models wear creations from Poko Pano's 2008 spring/summer collection during Sao Paulo Fashion Show June 14, 2007)