Archive for August, 2007
10,000 evacuated in Mexico City bomb scare
31 Aug 2007
Destruction and potential death and injury were averted yesterday morning in Mexico City’s Torre Mayor skyscraper. At around 11:00 a.m. 10,000 employees and visitors to the building were evacuated from the premises after a bomb made of pipes and containing a quick combustion powder was discovered.
The bomb was found after police received an anonymous call which revealed a description of the car where the explosives were eventually found, and the license plate number.
According to Mexico City’s La Jornada newspaper, employees of the Torre Mayor said that it took them about 40 minutes to reach the ground floor after hearing the alarms go off. Employees had to remain on the street for several hours, and were finally allowed to re-enter the building at around 3:00 p.m.
The Torre Mayor is Latin America’s tallest skyscraper, but if developers have it their way, it won’t be for long. Mexico City will soon welcome an even taller building, the Torre Bicentenario, which will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence in 2010.
Via / La Jornada
Picks for International Blog Day
31 Aug 2007
VL readers, today, August 31st, is International Blog Day. What is it?
BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.
BlogDay recommends that we suggest blogs that are different from those we normally link to — and “different from their own culture, point of view and attitude.”
Here are my picks for BlogDay. Some are new to me, some aren’t, but all are worth sharing with you. Get to know these blogs and I guarantee you’ll learn something you didn’t know before:
LobsterSquad: Ximena Maier is a talented illustrator living in Madrid, Spain. I share a passion with her: cooking. I’ve lurked on her blog almost since day one (not sure how I found it), and so should you, since her uber-entertaining entries are coupled with with her own gorgeous drawings.
Dutched Pinay on Expatriation: I enjoy reading the funny adventures of Dutched Pinay, a Filipina living in the Netherlands. Her anecdotes about adjusting to life in northern Europe with her friend “Dutchman” are definitely worth a read.
IndiaUncut: Amit Varma writes from Mumbai on everything from Bollywood gossip, tech, politics and travel. He’s an entertaining writer with a great sense of humor, so check him out.
Cajun Squeezebox Blog: Want to get to know Cajun music? This is the place to learn anything and everything about Cajun accordion music, and get a taste for Cajun culture as well.
Scribbit: Michelle Mitchell writes about the adventures of raising a family in Alaska, fielding questions from her kids like “How old was I when I was a baby?” and “Who trained Yoda?” Funny stuff.
I hope you’ll drop by these blogs and have a look around. And if you have a blog, why not post your own picks? Or feel free to link to your own blog in the comments section of this post.
Will Ladrón Just Steal Your Time and Money This Weekend?
9:45 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Movies · 3 Comments
31 Aug 2007With Miguel Varoni (Pedro el Escamoso), Fernando Colunga, and Saúl Lisazo (yum I like him), Ladrón Que Roba a Ladrón is either like a really long novela episode or a Latinized version of Ocean’s 11 (depending on your tastes). It opens today in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco and Jacksonville, Fla.
I haven’t seen it and doubt I will (this weekend anyway). So who has seen it and how was it?
What Is the U.S. Doing in Paraguay?
8:51 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Paraguay| Politics · Comments Off
31 Aug 2007
While the former dictator of Paraguay may have gone to that military academy in the sky, something fishy is going on in the South American nation that lends just a little bit of legitimacy to Hugo Chavez’s claims that the U.S. is digging its imperialist claws into Latin America.
In May of 2005, the Paraguayan Senate voted to allow U.S. troops to operate in Paraguay with total immunity. Washington had threatened to cut off millions in aid to the country if Paraguay did not grant the U.S. troops entry. In July of 2005 hundreds of U.S. soldiers arrived in the country, and Washington’s funding for counterterrorism efforts in Paraguay doubled. The U.S. troops conducted various operations and joint training exercises with Paraguayan forces, including so-called Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETEs). Orlando Castillo, a military policy expert at the human rights rights organization Servicio, Paz y Justicia in Asunción, Paraguay, says the MEDRETEs were “observation” operations aimed at developing “a type of map that identifies not just the natural resources in the area, but also the social organizations and leaders of different communities.”
Texas governor criticizes U.S. on immigration reform
5:48 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration| Politics| Texas| mexico · 6 Comments
30 Aug 2007
While the Dixie Chicks got in a whole helluva lotta trouble when they spoke against the Bush administration while abroad in Europe. Now their paisano Texas governor Rick Perry is doing a little bit of trash talking against the U.S. Congress while on the other side of the border in Mexico:
Leading a large delegation of Texas executives trying to drum up business in Mexico, Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday criticized the U.S. Congress for failing to pass an immigration bill that would legalize millions of workers.“I don’t think this is that difficult an issue if Congress would have the maturity to sit down and really discuss it and cut out all the mean rhetoric,” Perry said during a break in the third day of meetings with Mexican officials and business executives.
Coppola staking a claim in Latin America
1:47 pm By Maegan La Mala · Argentina| Brazil| Celebrities| business · 2 Comments
30 Aug 2007
It’s not enough that legendary director Francis Ford Coppola owns half of the San Francisco Bay Area, but now the ultra rich film mogul is going to go buy up South America. Coppolla already owns some properties in Buenos Aires, and is looking to expand his investment in hospitality in Brazil:
The five-time-Oscar winning director arrived this week in Florianopolis, on the Atlantic coast some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of here, in search of real estate for his business venture, said the website without further details.Coppola, 68, already has several investments including a couple of wineries in the US state of California and resorts in Guatemala and Belize.
In June, the director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” was in Buenos Aires where he bought a hotel boutique and where he also plans to set up a film production facility and shoot a movie in 2008, G1 said.
I really like FFC’s work and I hope whatever he is doing in Brazil will benefit not only himself but the local economy.
Via / Yahoo! Entertainment – AFP
Jennifer Lopez : Doing It , Doing It and Doing it Well
12:58 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities| Music · Comments Off
30 Aug 2007
Say what you will about Ms. Jennifer Lopez (we certainly do here) but she is one hard working mujer. The above is a shot from her recently filmed video for the single “Do It Well!”. Her new album “Brave” drops on October 9th. You can see more sweaty bodies from the video shoot at Jennifer’s official website. (The site has music on it so if you’re at work put your headphones on)
Jail for Immgrant Families Ordered to Change
10:41 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Justice| Texas| children · Comments Off
30 Aug 2007
Earlier this year I told you all about the inhumane conditions at T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Texas , used to house immigrants being considered for deportation or asylum and their children. Yesterday Federal Judge Sam Sparks, while acknowledging that Hutto wasn’t the best place for immigrant families, it was what it was and at the very least could be improved. The changes ordered ranged from the simple installation of privacy curtains in bathrooms to giving school age children 5 hours of schooling a day (up from one).
Via / Univision.com and Free Speech Radio News
And the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Nominees Are…..
10:21 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Events| Miami| Music · Comments Off
29 Aug 2007
The nominees for the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were announced this morning in Miami. There weren’t too many surprises in terms of who led the nominations race. Dominican Republic singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra leads the nominations with five; Calle 13 and Ricky Martin garnered four nods apiece.
Miguel Bosé, Franco De Vita, Carlos Jean, Kevin Johansen, Orishas and Zoé are among the nominees who earned three nods each; Aterciopelados, Belinda, Bob Clearmountain, Daddy Yankee, Kinky, Ivete Sangalo, Tommy Torres, and Caetano Veloso each received two nominations. And a contingent of diverse music makers — including Pepe Aguilar, Beyoncé, Cristian Castro, Chick Corea, Don Omar, Jorge Drexler, Fergie, Ibrahim Ferrer, Bela Fleck, Amaury Gutiérrez, Intocable, La Quinta Estación, Maná, Manu Chao, Pablo Montero, Ojos De Brujo, Laura Pausini, Paulina Rubio, Arturo Sandoval, Gustavo Santaolalla, Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, and will.i.am — each earned nominations.
Are Black Puerto Ricans Black Enough?
9:26 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Internet| Puerto Rico| race · 8 Comments
29 Aug 2007Last year Rican readers of VL were all up in arms about Rosie Perez’s documentary and the “blackness” of the AfroRican/black Ricans and Ricans in general. Liza from Culture Kitchen discusses blackness in Puerto Rico and explains what the hell trigueño actually means on NPR.
Hola!
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