The first goal of the Netherlands in the match against Spain was a fantastic head shot (kwnown as “palomita” in Latin America) performed by Robin Van Persie. Given the spectacular movement of the dutch striker and the photographs and screen captures that captured their flying acrobatics, his action has become the first iconic meme of…
Videos recorded by Colombian soldiers in the frontlines have been increasingly published in YouTube since 2009. These videos can be found easily by searching for “Guerra en Colombia,” “Conflicto armado Colombiano,” “Combates en Colombia” or similar phrases (in both English or Spanish) that have the keywords of the country and the war. The YouTube search…
Walking some of my favorite cities, I have run into potential space-time gates, portals, rabbit holes or wormholes. These gates seem to have a common shape and design, pretty modernist and inspired the Art Nouveau aesthetic movement. They were originally designed by Hector Guimard. Here is one at the city of Chicago, at Michigan Aveneu…
Expanding for more than 50 years, the Colombian armed conflict continues evolving in the 21st century. In several parts of the fragmented territory, guerrillas, paramilitary organizations, mafias (drug, emerald, and gold, and gasoline), and military forces have been fighting each other in a complex war logic that has normalized violence, weapons, and authoritarian ideologies. Meanwhile,…
The sound of the accordion in Norteño music accompanies songs from an ample repertoire. Rancheras, corridos, baladas, polkas, cumbias, huapangos, and chotis all include the melodic sounds of the diatonic scale produced with an accordion. Contemporary young Mexican musicians, coming from genres such as alternative rock, electro-pop, and hip hop, have been incorporating the accordion…
This week, at the symposium “Digitally Connected: Towards a Global Community of Knowledge and Practice around Children, Youth, and Digital Media” organized by the Berkman Center and UNICEF, I will be part of a round table on “Participation and Civic Engagement.” Together with Tim Davies, Gameli Adzaho, and other participants, we will have a conversation…
Gabriel García Márquez, one of the greatest Colombian and Latinamerican writers has passed away last Thursday April 17, 2014. Gabo, as was commonly known by his friends, readers, and the public, died in Mexico City at the age of 87. He has left us with a huge literary legacy. He crafted some of my favorite…