Topic: Uruguay | VivirLatino

Uruguaya Sues Boss Because She Doesn't Have Any Work to Do

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:11:06 -0500

Has lawsuit abuse spread to Latin America as well? An Uruguyan woman is suing her employer because she has no work to do. Spain's 20 Minutos reports that a city government worker in Rio Negro, Uruguay, Emilia Colman, spends her entire day doing nothing except "looking at the ceiling" from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Colman claims she's asked her boss to give her work but her pleas have gone unanswered, so she's suing her employer for the equivalent of 25,000 euros for "morale damage". She is also asking for a 3,000 euro per year raise.

While on the surface this might sound silly, it seems that Emilia might have been getting the boot from her employer in a roundabout way. There are many cases where an employer has made working conditions so miserable that the employee has no choice but to leave (remember Milton from Office Space?). And that's what Colman believes is happening here. She's been working for the city since 1999, and 3 years ago they changed her from one area to another. First she lost her office, then she lost her computer. Now she has nothing to do.

Nothing to do without a computer is brutal. As my office worker friends can attest to, having nothing to do at work can be fun. As long as you have the Internet.

Via / 20 Minutos

Shakira to marry?

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:24:08 -0500

Is Colombiana superstar Shakira ready to walk down the aisle with her bf Antonio De la Rua? That's what Spain's El Pais is reporting today:

According to Uruguayan press, everything seems to indicate that they will marry in San Carlos, a Uruguayan town close to touristy Punta del Este, as the couple has been asking for information at the courthouse.

Although the exact date of the ceremony is unknown, many Uruguayan websites are already talking about the guest list. Among attendees names like Alejandro Sanz and Penélope Cruz are being heard, and these two are supposedly whom Shakira has chosen as padrinos for the wedding.

I wonder if this is fact or rumor. We've heard this so many times before it's gotten hard to believe. Plus the Mexican brujo says it won't happen.

In other news, Shakira is filthy rich.

Via / El Pais

Uruguay OKs Civil Unions

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:35:22 -0500

Uruguay took a massive step towards equality yesterday when it became the first Latin American country to legalize same sex civil unions.

The Congress passed legislation creating a civil union registry for same-sex and unmarried heterosexual couples.

The measure had previously passed the Chamber of Senators.

The new law was a manifesto commitment of the ruling leftist coalition of President Tabare Vasquez.

While gay marriage is still illegal in Uruguay, the move marks a step left in the traditionally Catholic country. And, of course, not everyone is pleased. PinkNews UK reports that a representative of the Uruguayan Episcopal Conference was quoted as saying "In no way can homosexual cohabitation be accepted because it does not meet the basic criteria defining marriage, it is therefore unacceptable to place it in suchlike equal level."

Whatever. Congrats Uruguayos!

Via / PinkNews.co.uk

Bush and Chavez Dueling Tours Continue

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:30:46 -0500

U.S. President Bush continues his goodwill tour of Latin America. He hugged Lula, talked trade with Uruguay, and practically ran through Colombia as protesters burned U.S. flags. Today Bush lands in Guatemala where he plans to talk about poverty. Meanwhile Venezuelan President and Bush arch-enemy, Hugo Chavez is touring the places Bush isn't. In Argentina he sort of took back his statements made at the U.N earlier this year when he called Bush a devil who smelled of sulfur.

In the rally in Argentina, Chavez called Bush a "political cadaver" and said he didn't smell like sulfur anymore. That's probably not the sort of apology Bush was looking for but oh well.

Chavez continued his tour in Bolivia with pal Evo Morales, showing love to victims of El Nino storm flooding.

Via / CBS News

Eliana: Second model in the family to die

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 18:22:43 -0500

A sad twist in sad case of Luisel Ramos, the Uruguayan model we told you about last summer, who died on a catwalk in Montevideo. Uruguayan press reports that Luisel's sister, Eliana, 18 and also a model, has died the same way her sibling did: from cardiac arrest.

Doctors are saying that Eliana was a "normal sized girl" who was "healthy". Her rep, Argentine agent Pancho Dotto, calls the speculation that her death might have been brought on by malnutrition "absurd" and says that she didn't suffer from anorexia or bulimia (read the whole report in Spanish).

Curiously, these are the same things that were said about Luisel, though her father initially said that his daughter had not eaten for days.

So, what is it? Eating disorders shared by two sisters who happen to be involved in the industry most associated with the illness, or a genetic heart problem?

Via / Espectador.com

Image via El Nuevo Día

Debate over Uruguayan model's cause of death

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 17:13:59 -0500

Last week we told you about a Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos, who died of a heart attack while on the catwalk during Fashion Week in Montevideo. According to her father, the model had been starving herself for days, but now others have come forward to dispute that allegation, including her boyfriend who had dined with her the day night before the fashion show.

...amongst the pain of yesterday, after Luisel's burial, her boyfriend Hairo Berrondo clarified that this [the starving] wasn't true. Berrondo said that he has known her for ten years, and that he's been her boyfriend for two and a half.

"The night before the fashion show we went out to eat pizza, with two friends of hers...she had a diet soft drink but ate well," he said.

In response to the different versions of the story being circulated by the media, the model's boyfriend confirmed that "[Luisel] was neither anorexic nor bulimic."

Berrondo also dicsounted the possibility of her doing drugs or being an alcoholic. "She didn't even drink beer," he said.

According to Spain's 20 Minutos, an autopsy proved that the model did not suffer from an eating disorder nor was she addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Via / La Nación

Image: Reuters

Uruguayan model dies on the catwalk

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:32:46 -0500

A few days back there was talk about whether Miss Universe's fainting spell after her coronation wasn't due to a lack of food. Apparently, that speculation isn't that far off the mark, as a model in Uruguay has apparently died on the catwalk after having starved herself for several days:

A young Uruguayan model died of heart failure while participating in a fashion show during Fashion Week in Montevideo (Uruguay), according to officials at the hotel where the show was held.

22 year-old Luisel Ramos felt ill after walking the catwalk, fainted on her way to the dressing room and died in spite of the medical attention she received from a mobile hospital unit, sources told EFE.
The doctors who treated her diagnosed her with heart failure.

The young woman's father told police that the model had gone several days without eating.

In Uruguay's close neighbor, Argentina, more and more women are struggling with body obsession. The United States leads the world in deaths caused by eating disorders, followed by Japan and Germany.

Via / 20 Minutos-EFE

Reality TV kills

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 15:54:31 -0500

Reality TV -- America's collective crack pipe -- can sometimes be unbearable to watch, but who knew that it could also be deadly?

When I occasionally have watched shows like Fear Factor, I always thought "What if someone got seriously injured or killed? How do they protect against this?"

It seems that sometimes these shows are less than vigilant and the unthinkable happens. That's what happened during the taping of a reality show in Uruguay last week:

A runaway train killed seven people and injured at least 11, severing some of their limbs, during the filming of a TV show in Uruguay, police said.

The accident occurred during a "test of strength" challenge to raise money for a hospital in Young, 380km (235 miles) west of the capital, Montevideo.

Contestants were pushing and pulling a train and two carriages when the vehicle gained speed and ran them over.

Good God. This begs the much asked question "Has reality TV gone too far?" I personally think that the business model of low-production costs for high profits should at the very least take into consideration the safety of the participants.

Via / BBC News