Nicaragua restores ties to North Korea

After seventeen years of having ties broken off, Nicaragua’s government has reestablished diplomatic ties with North Korea. Though President Daniel Ortega claims he wants to maintain amicable ties to the U.S., he admitted that problems may arise with Washington due to tension over North Korea's nuclear program.

North Korea isn’t the only country being courted by Nicaragua; foreign envoys for Russia where in Managua last week for “political consultations” between both nations.

Sources- Guardian UK, TVNZ, ITAR-TASS, BBC News

Image- Flags-and-Anthems.com (North Korean flag)

Daily Headlines: May 21, 2007

* Last week, Santiago, Chile’s Metropolitan Zoo celebrated the one-year birthday of a rare white tiger (image).

* “Bill Richardson wants you to know that even though he has the whitest name in the Democratic party he’s actually a Hispanic person.”

* Azucar! Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art opened an exhibition dedicated to legendary salsa singer Celia Cruz.

* Mexico’s ruling party may face a setback according to early results of the Yucatan governor’s election.

* Financial analysts hope that Venezuela’s pullout from the I.M.F. will be delayed.

* 120 Guatemalan detectives will be fired as part of the government’s anti-corruption strategy.

* Peruvian police are investigating the motive behind the deadly explosion of a knapsack filled with dynamite in a busy market.

* Today marks another landmark occasion in the silver anniversary of the Falklands War between the British and Argentina.

Sources- AHN, Wonkette, Miami Herald, Wikipedia, Bloomberg, Prensa Latina, Reuters UK, Guardian UK

Image- CBS News

De Musica Ligera: Who should get back together?

This week’s music post will look at the disbanded rock en español groups that we included in the poll located on the sidebar. Perhaps you’re not familiar with all the bands that we thought should reunite including (possibly) Soda Stereo. Hence, with the help of YouTube, here are links to music videos by each one of the bands mentioned in the poll. A new debate and poll will be posted in about 48 hours, so don’t forget to check out the videos and vote as soon as possible!

• Arena Hash - El Rey del Ah Ah Ah
• Azul Violeta - Un Dia Mas
• Caifanes – Nubes
• Camisa de Vênus - Bota pra Fudê (Live)
• Ekhymosis - La Decisión
• Grupo Armado – Tsunami (Live)
• La Ley - Dia Cero (Live)
• Legiao Urbana – Sera
• Los Brujos - Todavia Volando (Live)
• Los Prisioneros – Ultraderecha
• Soda Stereo - Ciudad de la Furia

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Image- votolatino.com.ar (Image of Caifanes from the 1990s)

AP and Reuters differ on reaction to immigration deal

We’ll get into more detail next week over the landmark compromise over immigration between Congressional Democrats and President George W. Bush. However, one detail that has caught my eye concerns the reporting by different news sources on immigrant reactions to the deal.

From an Associated Press’ article entitled “Illegal Immigrants Speak Out Against Plan”:

“(Illegal immigrant Daniel Carrillo) said the proposed $5,000 fine was too much to ask illegal immigrants to pay upfront. ‘Where would I find $5,000? In two years, I don't get $5,000.’

`Too many people would not go because of the fear that they would not be approved once they get there,'' (immigrant Marco Antonio) Rodriguez said. ‘Myself, I might risk it, because I am here alone. But people with families are not going to leave their children behind and wait eight years.’”

From a Reuters article entitled “Workers caught daydreaming on immigration deal”:

“‘The first thing I want to do is to go home and hug my wife and children,’ said Hermilo Sanchez, 44, a Mexican who left his wife and nine children in the dirt poor state of Chiapas two years ago to find a job in the United States.

‘The youngest, a little girl, was born after I left and I have never held her,’ he said, chatting in Spanish as he waited in a sun-baked parking lot for contractors to roll up, looking for muscle for landscaping and other low skill tasks.

For Rogelio Cruz, a devout church goer and father of four from Michoacan, Mexico, it raises the hope of escaping a world of irregular work paid at $7 to $8 dollars an hour while in constant fear of deportation.

‘I want to work an eight-hour day, as God sees fit, without problems with either the immigration authorities or the police or anybody," he said. "Everyone should have the right to that in this life.’”

While both articles differ in their slant over immigrants’ reactions to the compromise, note that only immigrants from Mexico were interviewed in both pieces.

Sources- BBC News, Guardian UK, Reuters

Image- MSNBC (Mexicans waiting for visas outside the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico)

Colombia: Uribe peeved at Democrats over free trade

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (image) lashed out at congressional Democrats who have been reluctant to pass a free trade agreement with the South American country. “Colombia is punished in this battle, treated like a pariah,'' said an angry Uribe yesterday at Democrats who have expressed concern over violence against trade unionists and ties to paramilitary groups by politicians loyal to Uribe.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, Guardian UK

Image- BBC Mundo

Chavez demands Pope apologize to indigenous peoples

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has asked Pope Benedict XVI to apologize for remarks made last Sunday about converting indigenous people to Catholicism during the colonial period. Said Chavez (who claims he is of the Christian faith):

“With all due respect your Holiness, apologize because there was a real genocide here and, if we were to deny it, we would be denying our very selves.”

Sources- Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Reuters India

Image- Press TV (Chavez meeting the Pope last year)

Daily Headlines: May 19, 2007

* Quick follow-up: Thirty years in jail awaits the convicted Brazilian mastermind behind the assassination of environmentalist nun Dorothy Stang (image).

* The reality of “communism” in Cuba- The German state of Bavaria struck a $500 million economic deal with Cuba.

* Looks like former Mexican leader Ernesto Zedillo will have a hard time being named the next World Bank president.

* Venezuela’s Supreme Court refused to hear a legal challenge by soon-to-be-shutdown network Radio Caracas Television.

* A San Francisco-based businessman was convicted of raping a seven-year-old boy in Mexico.

* Brazil’s legislature is considering a bill to eliminate visa requirements from five countries including the U.S. and Japan.

* Mexican soccer player Salvador Carmona was hit with a lifetime suspension after failing yet another doping test.

* Opposition politicians in Nicaragua are not pleased with the passage of a public information bill.

Links- Guardian UK, BBC News, Miami Herald, MSNBC, ESPN Soccernet, The Latin Americanist, People’s Daily Online

Image- BBC News

Headlines for May 18

Observe as I give daily headlines a try...

United States and Latino musicians meld music. Will the future bring some form of "reggaepop" or "alternaton"? (My shabby attempt to be witty with pop and reggaeton.)

A Florida community needs volunteers for Latino kids not only experiencing foster homes but also culture shock.

Latino soldiers speak out on why they refused to to serve in Iraq.

Four California police officers won $10.4 million in a police employment discrimination case involving two Hispanic city officials.

Links: Newsday, Bradenton Herald, Inter Press Service, Los Angeles Times

"El gol lo hizo Scholes, el gol lo hizo Scholes!"

Hi everyone!

Though it was my responsibility to publish posts today unfortunately I'll be unable to because of personal circumstances that suddenly came up.

On Saturday I'll add several posts and update the blog accordingly.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

In the meantime, here's a hilarious video of Argentine soccer commentator Juan Manuel Pons adding 80s arena rock to his goal call:


Sheer silliness.

"Desperate" Latin spinoff announced

Hispanic viewers soon will have a sort of "telenovela" based on the drama of ABC series Desperate Housewives.

WebWire reported May 16 that Univision and Disney-ABC International Television Latin America signed a production agreement, their first joint venture together, aimed toward presenting programming of specific interest to Hispanics. The agreement includes a special production of "Amas de Casa Desesperadas" for Latino viewers in the United States.

The "world-renowned" cast of "Amas" will be announced separately, and the format and scripts will follow the U.S. version while being adapted to Hispanic audience preferences. The series will air next season in prime time.

Read the press release on WebWire here.

Link: WebWire

Image: IMDB

One-fifth are moms before age 18

A brief yet newsworthy tidbit from the Latin American Press:

One in five women in Latin America and the Caribbean has her first child before the age of 18. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean released this statistic reported May 16.

Additionally, a high percentage of these are unwanted pregnancies and many the result of abuse within poor families.

Read more of the briefs here.

Link: Latin American Press

Image: Inmagine

Catholics discuss church changes

The Catholic Church in Latin America might need a different kind of priest.

According to a May 17 article from the Catholic News Service, the recent changes in Latin America might mean the church needs fundamental changes.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras says the church needs new kinds of disciples that can respond adequately to situations in Latin America.

Bishops participating in the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, going on now, will have a chance to address any changes they can make to better fit their countries’ political, economic and social situations.

Church leaders hope the conference will lead to “a renewal of mission” in the region.

Link: Catholic News Service

Photo: Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga from Enquirer

Reporters at risk in Latin America

Today, Andres Oppenheimer provided a compelling and unsettling look into continuing violence and censorship against journalists in Latin America.

Among the perils reporters face:

In Cuba, the government sentenced independent journalist Oscar Sanchez Madan to four years in prison for “pre-criminal dangerousness.” Yes, that means he was preemptively jailed for something he might have written.

He joins 28 other Cuban journalists, some sentenced to terms of more than 20 years.

Mexico is now the second-deadliest country to report in as drug gangs continue to kidnap and kill reporters. Two reporters who disappeared last week are still missing.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez plans to continue with his plan to dismantle an independent television network at the end of May.

Meanwhile, Cuba and Ecuador are cracking down on freedoms of the press, respectively restricting Internet access and demanding jail time the editor of a newspaper that linked the president with violent demonstrations.

South American Cerveza

Brewer SABMiller can thank Latin American beer drinkers for a rise in profits this year.

The company, which brews brands like Miller Lite and Pilsner Urquell, reported a 15 percent increase in profits to $1.6 billion this year, in great part due to a 27 percent rise in Latin American earnings despite a 17 percent slump in North America.

The company also enjoyed a 29 percent increase in Europe, Forbes reported May 17.

Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are the biggest markets for SABMiller and Lager its strongest product in South America.

Earnings in the United States have dropped because of high aluminum costs and consumers choosing wine and spirits instead of beer.

After South Africa, Latin America is SABMiller’s strongest market, bringing $915 million in profits for the year.



Photo: The Bottom Shelf

Link: Forbes

Bloggers of the world unite and take over

Note: Don’t forget to check out the blogs included on our blogroll located on the sidebar below our weekly poll. Drop us a line at ourlatinamerica@yahoo.com if you know of a blog that should be on the blogroll.

· Conservatives in the U.S. state of Maryland are in a tizzy over the local airing of a PBS en español-like network called “V-me.” (Hat tip: Hispanic Tips).

· Is Hezbollah setting shop in South America? Bloggings by Boz takes a look.

· Some women who took part in Spencer Tunick’s nude photo shoot earlier this month are upset over his decision to take female-only pics, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Latin American news blog.

· Excellent post from The Temas Blog examining a World Bank report on global warming and changing sea levels.

· The salary gap between women and men in Latin America is narrowing, reports Jennifer at VivirLatino.

· Chuck Stull’s insight into Uruguay looks at a carnival-like event called Llamadas Otoñales.

· BoRev.net won’t be shedding any tears for the demise over Radio Caracas Television.

· Could Brazil replace Chile as South America’s winemaking capital?

· Latina Viva disagrees with comedian George Lopez who argued that race was behind the cancellation of his sitcom.

· Marisa at Latina Lista notes the problems associated with an anti-immigrant ordinance in Farmers Branch, Texas.

· Chileno bemoans the lack of smart solutions from politicians over the excess smog in Santiago.

· The Mex Files touches on the transferring of U.S. National Guard troops from patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border to deployment in Iraq.

· An epilogue to the Pope’s visit to Brazil, via Professor Greg Weeks.

· Lastly, the latest season of the English Premiership (top soccer league) may be over, but the controversy over Argentine striker Carlos Tevez continues. Check out his relegation-saving goal for West Ham against Manchester United in the final game of the season.

Links- Washington Post – Maryland Moment, Hispanic Tips, Bloggings by Boz, Los Angeles Times – La Plaza, The Latin Americanist, The Temas Blog, VivirLatino, A Year in Uruguay, BoRev.net, Drink the Vine, Latina Viva, Latina Lista, Chileno, The Mex Files, Two Weeks Notice, Who Ate All the Pies?, YouTube

Daily Headlines: May 16, 2007

* Are the rumors true that Colombian singer Shakira will get married in the Dominican Republic this September?

* Will Venezuelan smokers be pleased at a recent government anti-tobacco initiative?

* Is Colombian president Alvaro Uribe’s defense of his vice president against charges of paramilitary involvement justified?

* Are fewer births really the reason why Cuba’s pollution is in decline?
* Will the idea of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to buy water utilities in Chile pay dividends?

Links- Dominican Today, Guardian UK, BBC News, CNN, Toronto Star

Image- LT24onLine (Shakira with her fiancée, Argentine Antonio de la Rua)