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“Miss Spain” Moves to Mexico

6 Jul 2009

Times are tough for beauty pageants. With every year that passes they become more irrelevant and more of a joke than a competition to most. Perhaps that’s why Spain’s “Miss España” pageant is suffering so much that they need to take the show on the road: to Mexico. The organization’s president admits that the economic crisis is what lead Miss España to leave la madre patria and move to el nuevo mundo:

It is the first time in 49 years that the event will be celebrated outside of the country. “The world economic situation has forced us to open up borders,” said Andrés Cid. He also mentioned that the decision will “possibly open doors to future events in different places around the world…”

Why Mexico? Because the Mexican tourism industry is still suffering the effects of the swine flu and needs a platform from which they can talk the hundreds of thousands of Spanish tourists who visited the Riviera Maya each year into coming back.

So it works out like this: lack of interest on the part of the Spanish public and low ratings = the pageant needing money. Mexican tourism authorities buy something that won’t work for them, since no one is watching this in the first place. Nice little deal.

Via / 20 Minutos

Cuba Wary of Possibility of American Visitors

10:28 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba| Money| Politics| travel · 5 Comments

6 Apr 2009

2830612461_5924b6eba9 Last week we told you about an initiative among several U.S. Senators to lift the ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba. While some — both on the Cuban side and the U.S. side — might see this as a good thing for the island, Spain’s El País reports (and editorializes) that the Cuban government is proceeding with caution:

Authorities in Havana are looking anxiously at the possibility that the U.S. might lift the travel ban that impedes American tourists from visiting Cuba “too soon”. On the one hand this is desired and seen as a salvation in these times of crisis, but on the other, the end of the banning of U.S. tourism is perceived as a challenge, with a high potential for destabilizing the political and idealogical landscape, according to observers and diplomats.

To provide perspective on what this major change in U.S.-Cuba relations could mean to prolongation of Cuba as we know it today, El País points to statements made by Cuban politician Armando Hart, who warned against the effects of a lifting of the embargo on Cuban society:

If he [Obama] keeps his promise [of lifting the embargo], a new age of idealogical combat between the Cuban revolution and imperialism will be born. Within it, the design of a new theoretical and propagandistic concept around our ideas and their origin will be needed…a broad migration towards distinct objectives could come upon us and we need to culturally prepare ourselves for that.”

I think this pretty much sums up the overall point: this isn’t just about welcoming dollars into the Cuban economy via American tourism, but rather what that will actually mean to Cuba: an influx of everything the revolution has been trying to combat all these years. American tourism is a demonstration of rampant consumerism which is capitalism at its maximum expression, and that flies in the face of the Cuban way of life. Sure, it’s been filtering through for years now via European tourism, but this sudden aperture is bound to push communist leaders on the island to reconsider the way the reconcile the ideals they wish their people to live by and the fact that the enemy is coming in and leaving a piece of their culture of consumption on the island.

What do you think? Will U.S. tourism to Cuba radically change Cuban society? How will leaders deal with this? What will Cuba look like after, say, 20 years of U.S. tourism to the island? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Via / El País

U.S. Senators Want to Let You Travel to Cuba

10:16 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Cuba| Lifestyle| Politics| travel · 1 Comment

2 Apr 2009

visit-cuba-print-c100197302 While President Obama might not be ready to end the Cuban embargo, a bi-partisan group of U.S. Senators are on a crusade to lift the ban on U.S. travelers to the island.

“I think there’s sufficient votes in both the House (of Representatives) and the Senate to finally get it passed,” Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan said at a news conference.

Dorgan, whose home state of North Dakota could benefit from increased agricultural sales to Cuba, introduced the bill along with fellow Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd and Republican Senators Richard Lugar and Mike Enzi. Seventeen other senators also are sponsoring the measure. A companion bill introduced in the House earlier this year has 121 co-sponsors.

On Senate Republican in particular, Cuban American Senator Mel Martinez, says this is all wrong, as it will provide the Castro regime with a “resource windfall”.

Personally, I am not buying that. Years of isolation has made the Castro regime stronger, and tourism isn’t going to make a difference either way. Cuba is already overloaded with tourists from all over the world, and a few more coming by way of Miami International Airport isn’t going to drastically change anything.

Anyway, Americans have been traveling to Cuba illegally for ages. I’m more concerned about the U.S. making some kind of colonial move on the island, though that was more of a threat during our plumb loco previous administration.

At least one Republican Representative is for ending the travel ban; Representative Jeff Flake of Arizona makes his case for an end to the embargo in a video after the jump. Read more…

Mexican Tourism Board: Mexico Needs an Image Makeover

24 Mar 2009

1949726238_351271f9eb_o As much as I love Mexico, I have to admit that lately all of the violence — from severed heads in ice chests to massive roadside graves — makes it harder and harder to convince people who don’t know the country that that’s not what it’s about. The Mexican Tourism Board appears to realize that this is becoming more and more challenging, and its Secretary says that the country needs to “rebuild its image” in the eyes of foreigners, namely potential tourists. El Universal reports:

At a conference, [the Secretary] stated that it isn’t about an advertising campaign but doing anything necessary “to compensate for the attacks that Mexico has suffered in the last several weeks.”

Accompanied by the director of the Council for Tourism Promotion, Oscar Fitch Gómez, the Secretary explained that the intention isn’s just to rebuild Mexico’s image to attract visitors but to improve the country as a whole.

The Secretary also stated that potential tourists hear many things about Mexico that just aren’t true, some as extreme as the notion that the country is “at war”. He also mentioned that the ex-director of the CIA advised his own son not to visit Mexico because the narcos were planning to attack Spring Break revelers, and that the responsibility of convincing American tourists that these rumors are false belongs to Mexico.

I symphathize with this effort. I always hated when people tried to tell me things about Mexico City — you can’t walk down the street at night without getting robbed, nor get into a cab without getting kidnapped, etc. — when I lived there and knew the truth. But at the same time, we have to be realistic and realize that cosmetic changes won’t fix a problem that is getting worse and worse every day. This isn’t a job for the Tourism Board but for President Felipe Calderon.

Via / El Universal

Mexico to allow U.S. citizens entry without passport

8:26 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Politics| mexico · 2 Comments

14 Jun 2007

The Mexican government announced yesterday that due to slow passport processing time here in the U.S., it has decided to allow U.S. citizens to enter Mexican territory without a passport, with the only requirement for entry being “any kind of I.D.”, in a move to help accommodate travel to the country. Mexico’s El Universal reports that the if an Mexican immigration authority attempts to ask for further documentation from an American citizen, they will be committing a crime.

Wow, casi casi the same as when Mexicans try to travel to the U.S.! In all seriousness, it’s only fair to point out that Mexico has a lot to lose if in the summer months — high travel season — if it loses all of its American tourists.

Via / El Universal

Spain Promotes Their Products in US, Miami

8:02 am By Maegan La Mala · Florida| Marketing| Shopping| Spain| World · 1 Comment

30 Sep 2005

Yesterday in Miami, Spain launched a $95 million campaign to promote Spanish products. Considered the #10 economic power in the world, their sales don’t project that image with US sales last year less than $7 billion. The balance is currently tipped in favor of the US with our exports to Spain in 2004 almost reaching $9 billion.

The marketing campaign run by Spain will focus on creating an image of quality and innovation, not just on traditional products such as proscuitto ham and oil, but also on products and services in the technological realm. Also expect to see more advertising for quality Spanish wines, fashion, and Spain as a tourist destination.

El Nuevo Herald article: “España Lanza en Miami una Nueva Campaña.”

Nuevo Herald article in English using Google Translator

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