What's really behind the bombing in Buenaventura

Written by Kelly Nicholls, Gimena Sanchez, Charo Mina Rojas, and Joseph Jordan

Tuesday, 06 April 2010 17:43

A car bomb exploded in Colombia’s port city of Buenaventura last month, killing nine people and leaving 60 others injured. The U.S. plans on utilizing this port as a major point of export and import should the US-Colombia free trade agreement pass in the future. This incident underscores the insecurity faced by civilians – the majority of whom are Afro-descendants - in this area known for drug smuggling and high homicide rates. The bomb exploded on the morning of March 24 in the heart of the downtown right between the Mayor and the Attorney-General’s offices. While authorities have said they suspect the leftist FARC rebels to be responsible, they have not ruled out the possibility that the bomb was planted by the drug smuggling groups in retaliation for the Attorney-General’s drug investigations National and local authorities have convinced some in the U.S. Congress that the security problem in the port city is improving, with a noted decrease in homicides. However, in our recent trip to Buenaventura in February as part of the International Pre-Electoral Monitoring Mission, we witnessed that levels of violence had not decreased as such, but rather there were new modalities of violations and crime. Previously, both the left-wing militia and the right-wing paramilitaries had control of different neighborhoods in the urban center and fought for control of the waterfront communities, which are key real-estate for drug smuggling. However, we heard that in October 2008 the paramilitaries gained control of all of this area. Many local organizations and residents allege that the armed forces openly collaborated with the paramilitary groups to oust the militia. Subsequently the high levels of homicides caused during the fighting between the two groups have decreased. However, what has replaced this is truly disturbing. Local authorities and organizations report an increase in forced disappearances, where people go missing and are either never found or their remains - generally cut into pieces with chainsaws - are discovered in the waterways by local fisherman. During a tour of some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Buenaventura, we were told of torture homes, where victims are allegedly cut up with chainsaws, – often while still alive. One young man even reported having witnessed such an atrocity on the street in broad daylight. Six forced disappearances were reported to the local authorities in January 2010. However, there is a significant sub-registration of this crime due to lack of trust on the part of witnesses and families of the victims in the armed forces and governmental institutions. We were told on numerous occasions that those who reported forced disappearances to the local police or the attorney-general’s office were often targeted by the groups who committed the crime. The mission also heard of an increase in violent murders of Afro-Colombian women on the part of the illegal armed groups. Local activists refer to these murders as “femicides” as they believe they are an attempt to silence women leaders who are denouncing human rights abuses. Young people, often Afro-Colombian teenagers, have been particularly affected by the conflict, and are often recruited into the illegally armed groups as young as 9 or 10 to act as informants or to move arms between neighborhoods. Likewise, young girls from 10-years of age are already being forced into prostitution. These young people are easy prey as they live in extreme poverty with little access to education and employment, especially Afro-Colombian kids who suffer from structural racism and marginalization. Following last week’s car bomb local authorities have asked for an increased militarization of the city. Yet, will this have a real effect on reducing violence and crime when there are innumerous reports of collaboration between the paramilitary groups and the armed forces? According to locals, paramilitary groups control all aspects of daily life in the urban center, restricting the movements of inhabitants, extorting them, charging “vacunas” or taxes on all aspects of the local economy, imposing curfews in some neighborhoods and committing human rights abuses, such as killings, torture, forced disappearances and rape. During the mission we were told repeatedly that these groups operate very openly in front of the armed forces. Buenaventura is also a major receptor of internally displaced persons, as well as having a considerable amount of intra-urban displacement. This is likely to be exacerbated with the government’s megaproject to develop a lot of the foreshore of the island into a tourism area, while also amplifying the port in order to increase its capacity to move containers and cargo. Currently, approximately 3,400 families belonging to five neighborhoods are residing in this foreshore area. The port amplification and tourism projects anticipate the displacement of all of these families from this zone, and they have yet to consult these communities about their plans. While they are building some alternative housing, locals are concerned that seeing as the majority of them are fishermen, if they are moved inland they will no longer be able to sustain themselves and their families. Furthermore, if the underlying causes of the conflict are not addressed, moving them will only exacerbate the problem. Despite the great obstacles to security that Buenaventura faces due to the rampant drug trade, internal armed conflict, weak institutions, corruption and alleged cooperation between the illegally armed actors and the military, it can serve as an opportunity for the US government to do the right thing. Rather than exacerbating the problem by supporting further militarization of the area, the US can help Colombia deal with the underlying causes of violence in this area. The US government should insist that local and national authorities combat impunity in the cases of forced disappearances and homicides, launch an independent investigation into the alleged cooperation between the illegally armed groups and the armed forces, prosecute those who collude with drug networks and properly address the displacement problem. Prior to considering an FTA with Colombia the US would serve its own interests, including its drug policy goals, if it were to address these underlying concerns, protecting the rights of Afro-Colombian residents and ensuring that terrorist acts such as the one that took place last week cease in Buenaventura. Kelly Nicholls, US Office on Colombia, Gimena Sanchez, Washington Office on Latin America, Charo Mina Rojas, AFRODES USA, Joseph Jordan, NASGACC http://upsidedownworld.org/main/colombia-archives-61/2434-terrorist-attack-points-to-ongoing-violence-in-key-city-for-us-colombia-fta-

Conferencia sobre cimarrones en Jamaica

The Second International Maroon Conference
June 21-23, Charles Town, Portland, Jamaica

This inter- and multi-disciplinary project seeks papers and panels that explore representations of Maroon culture in literature, art, music, film, theatre, and history.

This conference strives to increase awareness of Maroon contributions to contemporary societies, bringing together Maroons with scholars interested in Maroon heritage and indigenous cultures. In addition to exploring Maroon history and culture, the various events aim to develop strategies for sustainable development and wealth creation in Maroon communities.
With the theme, "Meet me in the Circle," the conference aims to establish a "Maroon Connection" beyond Jamaica, reaching out to communities in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. The conference will host cultural events to commemorate the Annual Quao's Victory Day (June 23).
Please send abstracts by April 20 to fbotkin@towson.edu

The TicketMaster/Live Nation merger and why its deadly for music

From The Root

Grupo Bahia Blog

El Grupo Bahía

Remanso de mar tranquilo que hace el amor con la tierra al son de sonidos ancestrales;
manos frenéticas como piqueros raudos hacia el pez,
fusión melódica, rítmica y armónica
como el abrazo de un inmenso río devorado por la bocana inquieta;
encuentro de culturas que potencia la expresión creadora
y enriquece la tímbrica como el manglar milenario y generador;...

Continuar en el siguiente link:

http://bahiapacifico.blogspot.com/2010/03/el-grupo-bahia.html

Mil gracias,

Maye y Hugo Candelario

Bomb in Buenaventura/Atentado en Buenaventura

9 people (including 8 civilians) were killed and dozens injured in a morning carbomb blast outside the attorney general's office in the crowded downtown section of Buenaventura. While the military blames the FARC guerrillas, the attorney general's office blames drug traffickers, who have been under increasing investigation recently... This from the Washington Post

Hi-Tech/Lo-Tech "Bubblegum Sequencer"

Lanzamiento de la Ruta de la Chirimía

"Lanzamiento de la Ruta de la Chirimía " el martes, 23 de marzo a las 9:00.

Evento: Lanzamiento de la Ruta de la Chirimía
Fecha y hora de inicio: El Martes, 23 de marzo a las 9:00
Finalización: El Martes, 23 de marzo a las 17:00
Lugar: Auditorio del SENA- Quibdó
Invitan: EL Ministerio de Cultura, Asociacion par las Investigaciones Culturales del Chocó

he Center for Traditional Music and Dance in collaboration with the Queens Museum of Art and El Taller Latino Americano, cordially invites you to five-part workshop series celebrating:

Traditional Colombian Music and Dance in NY

El CTMD (por su siglas en Inglés The Center for Traditional Music and Dance) Centro de Música y Danza Tradicional en colaboración con el Museo de Queens y El Taller Latino Americano le invita a la serie de 5 talleres para celebrar la:

Música y Danza Tradicional Colombiano en NY

April 14^th, 7-8:30pm, Queens Museum of Art, Opening Event & Reception:

Pablo Mayor presents a traditional music and dance tour of Colombia. Free!

Pablo Mayor presentará Estampas de Colombia, un tour de música y baile tradicional por Colombia. Gratis!

April 21st, 7-8:30pm, Queens Museum of Art:

Martin Vejarano presents the unique sounds of the qaita flute from the Atlantic coast; and Diego Obregon offers marimba music of Colombia’s Pacific coast. Free!

Martin Vejarano presentará los sonidos únicos de la qaita, una flauta de la Costa Atlántica de Colombia; y Diego Obregón ofrecerá música de marimba de la costa del Pacífico Colombiano. Gratis!

May 6^th, 7-8:30pm, El Taller Latino Americano:

Ronald Polo explores of the percussion sounds of the Atlantic coast; and Johanna Castaneda presents a music workshop with cuatro from Colombia’s plains. Suggested donation $5.

Ronald Polo ofrece una exploración de percusión de la costa Atlántica; y maestra del cuatro, Johanna Castaneda presentará un taller sobre música llanera. Donación sugerida $5.

May 13^th, 7-8:30pm, El Taller Latino Americano:

Rafael Gomez & Guillermo Penate explore the vallenata sounds of Colombia’s north coast; and Daniel Fetecua Soto presents dances from throughout Colombia. Suggested donation $5.

Rafael Gómez & Guillermo Penate exploran el sonido vallenata de la costa norte de Colombia y Daniel Fetecua Soto presentará varias danzas de distintas regiones de Colombia. Donación sugerida $5.

June 16th, 7-8:30pm, Queens Museum of Art, Closing Event & Reception:

Rafael Leal Ramirez demonstrates traditional Colombian rhythms for the drum set; and Andrés Garcia presents traditional Andean music for tiple, flauta and piano. Free!

Rafael Real Ramírez ofrecerá una demostración de los ritmos tradicionales colombianos en batería y Andrés García presentará música tradicional Andina para tiple, flauta y piano. Gratis!

Information/ Información: 212-571-1555 x27 or gmhamilton@ctmd.org or go to: www.ctmd.org

Directions to QMA: Subway #7 and exit at the Willets Point/Shea Stadium. Follow the signs for a 10 minute walk through the park, or walk downstairs on the stadium side and our FREE Trolley will take you through the park to QMA. Directions to El Taller Latino Americano: Subway #1 to 103^rd Street, walk to 2710 Broadway.

Secuestro de indígenas chocoanos cuando la comunidad iba a votar

De El Colombiano de Medellín:

Dirigentes indígenas y autoridades denunciaron ayer que un grupo armado tiene retenidos desde el pasado domingo a cerca de 14 indígenas embera en el Bajo Baudó, en Chocó.

"Ellos salieron del resguardo a ejercer el derecho al voto a un puesto de votación cercano y a su regreso fueron retenidos, al parecer por Los Rastrojos", señaló Luis Evelis Andrade, de la Organización Indígena de Colombia, Onic.

International Observation Mission Finds Serious Risks to Colombian Electoral Process

WASHINGTON OFFICE ON LATIN AMERICA
Promoting Human Rights, Democracy, and Social and Economic Justice in Latin America

March 16, 2010
Washington, DC

International Observation Mission Finds Serious Risks to Colombian Electoral Process

In an extensive report released recently, an independent International Pre-Electoral Observation Mission in Colombia found serious impediments to free and fair elections in Colombia that affect the full integrity of the country's Congressional elections on March 14 and the upcoming presidential elections in May.

The report cites the following "electoral risk factors"

1. The presence of illegal armed groups in the electoral process, including paramilitaries, narcotics traffickers, emerging violent groups and other armed actors, inhibits free and fair elections in various regions of the country.

In addition to intimidating and potentially manipulating voters with threats of force, this presence causes widespread fear and mistrust in the electoral system in many regions, and detracts from the perceived legitimacy of those elected in the process.

2. The Mission documented questionable practices that could lead to electoral fraud and the commission of electoral crimes in the pre-electoral period, including:

• Vote buying and selling
• Misuse of identity documents
• Illegal possession of identity documents, including stolen documents
• Coercion and intimidation of voters
• Fraud committed by polling officers at the voting stations in past elections
• Obstruction of electoral observers, preventing them from carrying out their functions and accessing polling stations in previous occasions
• Control over public transportation to prevent voters from moving freely, as well as transporting voters to voting places that are not their places of residence in order to support certain candidates
• Absence of educational outreach to voters to teach about the importance of citizen participation in political processes and the necessity of protecting a voter's right to decide free from bribes, threats or other payments

3. The Mission also expressed concerns over illegal campaign financing that requires further investigation:

• The use of public funds to benefit particular candidates
• The alleged use of money from illegal activities, particularly from drug trafficking, to finance campaigns
• Agreements between candidates, government officials and companies to award government contracts before and after the elections in return for financial support
• Exceeding campaign financing limits
• A culture of impunity and widespread fear that deters citizens from reporting illegal financing and other irregularities
• Political parties do not routinely audit their campaign accounts until after the elections, leading to questions about amounts and sources
• The National Electoral Council (CNE) lacks the resources, logistical capacity, and independence from the Congress to investigate all alleged irregularities

4. The Mission gathered many reports that government aid programs have been manipulated in places for political purposes:

• Numerous cases have been identified where government-aligned candidates have threatened recipients of "Families in Action" benefits with the loss of those benefits if their candidates do not win at the national, regional and municipal levels.
• Officials from the government program, Social Action have been reported to have pressured program beneficiaries to attend political meetings or to vote for governing party candidates

The International Pre-Electoral Mission visited the Colombian departments of Santander, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Cordoba. It concludes that the existence of these electoral risk factors could seriously affect the outcome of the elections in these places.

FULL REPORT AVAILABLE HERE:
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/colombia/elections2010.html

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ted Lewis (US)
Human Rights Program Director, Global Exchange, Delegation leader
ted@globalexchange.org Tel. 415-575-5533

Ana Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli (US) WOLA
Tel. (w) 202-797-2171 ext. 205; (c) 202-489-1702
gsanchez@wola.org

Laura Carlsen (US and MEX)
Tel. 52-555-324-1201
lecarlsen@gmail.com

Janvieve Williams (US and Panama)
Tel. 404-610-2807
jwpanama@gmail.com

John Lindsay Poland (US)
Tel. 510-763-1403
johnlp@igc.org

Barbara Wood (Canada)
Tel. 604-708-1495
bwood@codev.org

Parapolítica en la curul afrocolombiana

La gran queja que escuchaba de los aspirantes a la curul por comunidades negras en la Cámara de la República cuando yo estaba en Bogotá la semana pasada fue que eran demasiados candidatos – unos 67 partidos y ochenta y pico candidatos. Y es verdad; hubiera sido mejor si las personas con trayectoria en el moviemiento afro del país hubieran hecho campaña en conjunto para poder mover masas.

Pero viendo los resultados de las elecciones, parece que aún así, no hubiera llegado personas calificadas a la Cámara. Y no es que faltaban. Si bien unos 60 de los 67 no eran sino intentos por aprovechar del espacio, habían otros que sí tenían historia en la lucha afro. El Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN), organización que jugó un papel protagónico en la Ley 70 de 1993 apostó candidatos, así como Juan de Dios Mosquera, fundador del importantísimo grupo Cimarrón también se postuló.

Pero por los que ganaban, parece que la curul afro se ha convertido en un espacio para que entrara al gobierno los políticos tradicionales, en el mejor de los casos, y los mismos torcidos , paracos y narcos que han tomado otras curulues, en el peor. Viendo los resultados de la votación, quien ganó más fue Yahir Acuña, hijo político de "la Gata" y del preso Salnador Arana, con casi 46.000 votos y, en segundo lugar con casi 27.000 votos para su partido, el timbiquireño Heriberto Arrechea, del partido MPU, y aliado del político, ahora preso por parapolítica, Juan Carlos Martínez. Mientras tanto, líders con años de trayectoria en el movimiento, como Jorge Isaacs Aramburo, Hernán Cortés, y Juan de Dios Mosquera, apenas sacaron alrededor de 2-3.000 cada uno.

Es decir, parece que la institución de la curul se ha vuelto presa fácil para los que no tienen problema con sobornar e intimidar a los votantes, algo que quedó muy claro en, por ejemplo, el ascenso del muy manchado PIN. Y justo cuando sí habían candidatos que valían la pena. Vaya democracia!

Sobre Yahir Acuña (Semana.com)
Sobre las elecciones por el curul afro (LaSillaVacia.com)

El vuelco del cangrejo, nueva película sobre el Pacífico

Gracias a Sidney Hutchinson, por contarme de la película El vuelco del cangrejo, recién estrenada en Berlin y proximamente en Colombia. Abajo están el trailer y una entrevista con el director.

EL VUELCO DEL CANGREJO se desarrolla en La Barra, un alejado pueblo del pacífico colombiano, allí Cerebro, líder de los nativos Afrodescendientes, enfrenta fuertes contradicciones con el Paisa, poderoso terrateniente que planea la construcción de un hotel en la playa. Daniel, un citadino extraño y silencioso, llega una tarde cualquiera y permanece varios días en el sitio a la espera de una lancha clandestina que pueda sacarlo del país. Una niña (Lucia) y dos adolescentes (Miguel e Israel), necesitados de dinero, son los únicos que intentan ayudarlo, pero conseguir una embarcación tomará más tiempo de lo planeado. La paciencia de Cerebro poco a poco se agota cuando una mañana El Paisa instala dos gigantescos bafles en la playa y comienza la construcción de una barrera que dividirá el territorio. Daniel, intentando partir, quedará atrapado en la crisis del pueblo, cuya población se resistirá a desaparecer con la inminente llegada del progreso.

Ritual, Celebration, and Festival

Announcing a new book series:

Ritual, Celebration, and Festival

Jack Santino, series editor, and Utah State University Press announce a series of books on ritual, festival, and celebration, including holidays, carnivals, and public or social events such as political demonstrations and death commemorations. The editor and publisher solicit submissions from various disciplines, including anthropology, folklore, history, and religious studies, as well as scholars in American studies, cultural studies, ethnomusicology, performance studies, and popular culture. The series will comprise analytical and theoretical works, of 120,000 words or less, that are based on ethnographic and/or documentary research and directed at scholars, students, and educated general readers.

Interested authors should send a prospectus, including a synopsis, an outline or table of contents, one or two sample chapters (such as an introduction), and a CV to jsantino@bgsu.edu or to Jack Santino, Bowling Green State University, Department of Popular Culture, 105 Popular Culture Building, Bowling Green, OH 43403-1090.

CFP: "Wrestling with Violence: the Performance of Violence in Latin American and Latino Letters, Theater, Film, and Popular Culture"

This critical volume seeks to explore the deployment and performance of violence in contemporary Latin American and Latino narrative fiction, theater, cinema, sports and other forms of popular culture. In recent years there have been some important explorations of the manifestations of violence in Latin American letters, including Diana Taylor’s Disappearing Acts: Spectacles of Gender and Nationalism in Argentina's "Dirty War" (1998) Daniel Goldstein’s The Spectacular City: Performance and Violence in Bolivia (2004), Idelber Avelar’s The Letter of Violence. Esays on Narrative, Ethics and Politics (2005), as well as an important and substantial body of work on violence and trauma in testimonial fictions, memoirs and films. Our volume proposes to build on the critical and theoretical grounding provided by these earlier studies by creating a space for considering the production and reception of violence across a broad and varied spectrum of genres, media and public spaces, with special consideration to cultural and literary productions and performances in the new millennium.

Outside of Latin America, the representation and/or the performance of violence in art and popular culture has been heatedly debated by philosophers, anthropologists and critics from outside of Latin America as well. In the past two decades, Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, Paul Virilio and Slavoj Zizek have been only some of the better known theorists to engage in complex and diverse critiques violence. Along with other thinkers, social critics and bioethicists, these critics have responded to the seemingly unstoppable presence of visual, audio and textual violence in our midst by theorizing the ways in which the mechanisms of violence can be and have been mobilized so as to produce particular social, political, and textual effects. While Virilio decries the “spectacularization” of violence and issues a clear condemnation of all violence-inflected art and culture, theorists at the other end of the philosophical-sociological spectrum argue that the performance –textual, graphic, theatrical--of various kind of violence can have liberating or cathartic effects. We trust that collaborators interested in participating in this volume will engage some of the questions that drive these critical debates. We welcome all critical approaches to the analysis of textual, visual or performative violence, including those centered on psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural studies, queer and gender studies, critical race studies, diasporas and transnational studies, film studies and contemporary pop culture studies.

Thematic considerations may include but are not limited to:

*The aestheticization or representation of violence in Latin American and Latino narratives and theater (e.g., Argentine fiction on the Malvina’s War, Mexican and Latino literary interpretations of the Juárez killings; narco (sub) cultures; the role of violence in women-authored fiction and theater).

*The spectacle of violence in Latin American film and Latino films, photography and performance art.

*Boxing and Wrestling as performance (e.g. the ring as a space for the enactment of justice, equality, retribution and empowerment, attributes and values absent beyond the ropes; the prominence of boxing/wrestling in contemporary Mexican and Latino novels and plays --e.g., Palau’s Casa de la magnolia or Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity; the glamorization and commercialization of violence in popular Latin American and Latino cultures or in US-produced shows featuring Latin(o)-style sex and violence (e.g., Lucha Va Voom: Sexo y violencia).

* Martial arts and the highly disciplined body (masculinity and containment). Issues of manhood, masculinity and violence.

Please send an abstract of 300-500 words to Paola Ehrmantraut (ehrm7444@stthomas.edu) or Dianna Niebylski (dcn@uic.edu) by April 5, 2010. If your proposal is accepted, we will expect your finished essay by August 20, 2010.

CFP: "Crises and Opportunities in Latin America" Conference ($500 for best grad student paper!)

"Crises and Opportunities in Latin America"

April 23-24, 2010

Keynote Speakers:

Román de la Campa - University of Pennsylvania;
Carolyn Dean - University of California Santa Cruz;
Ana Maria Ochoa - Colombia University;
Jonh A. Zemko - Center for International Enterprise

The conference site is at:
http://sites.google.com/site/ucrlasconference/home


We invite papers from across the social sciences, arts, and the humanities
to examine the cultural, economic, and political reconfigurations produced
by local or global transformations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Crises and Opportunities in Latin America,” is an interdisciplinary
conference to reflect on unsettling conditions in Latin America produced by
historical, political, cultural or economic changes, the types of new
conceptualizations and claims these have produced, and the potential
transformations and opportunities they imply for the present and future.

The conference will have both invited and contributed papers. Researchers
from all disciplines are invited to share their research, views, and
experiences.

You may choose to propose a panel of 4 speakers or send your paper
individually. We invite you to submit an abstract/paper or a panel by
February 28th, by e-mail to:

Jorge M. Aguero at Jorge.aguero@ucr.edu


including the following information:
- authors’ name and affiliations
- authors' detailed contact information
- Keywords (at least 4)
- Discipline
- Please write LAS CONFERENCE in the subject

Decision about the papers will be made by March 8th, 2010.

The Latin American Studies Program will award a prize of US$ 500 for the
best paper presented by a graduate student. Graduate students' electronic
submissions should be followed up by a letter from a professor certifying
that the submitter is a graduate student in good standing in the professor's
department. This letter should be sent via mail or email to the address
below. If you send by email, please write LAS CONFERENCE in the subject.

c/o Marcelle Chauvet
Latin American Studies Program
3111 Interdisciplinary Building South
University of California Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
or
email: jorge.aguero@ucr.edu

Proceso electoral en Buenaventura "amenazado"

El País de Cali cuenta que según un estudio de la la Misión Internacional de Observación Preelectoral, en el caso de Buenaventura se suman hasta más compliques a una situación electoral nacional ya bastante irregular...

"Para Gimena Sánchez, investigadora de la Misión, en algunas zonas rurales de Buenaventura y hacia el sur del departamento hay un alto riesgo de que la guerrilla de las Farc pueda amenazar el proceso electoral. “Los peligros divisados es que la guerrilla pueda impulsar votos determinados o bloquear el acceso a los lugares de votación“, afirmó Sánchez. En zonas urbanas, de acuerdo con la observadora, están latentes situaciones como la presión de grupos paramilitares y del narcotráfico sobre poblaciones vulnerables, “así como la presión mediante la amenaza de supresión de subsidios de Acción Social en caso tal que no salgan elegidos los candidatos y partidos de la coalición de Gobierno, lo que constituye una clara confusión entre lo que es una política de Estado y el ejercicio de Gobierno”, expresó la investigadora."

US Latin America foreign aid budget ratchets down militarization in Cdolombia and Mexico, slightly raises aid to the rest of the region

This from the always excellent Colombia and Beyond blog:

"The drop in aid to Latin America foreseen in the Obama administration’s 2011 aid request to Congress, issued a week ago, has caused a minor stir in the region’s media. Typical is this opening sentence in Miami Herald columnist Andrés Oppenheimer’s Sunday column. "If President Barack Obama’s foreign aid budget request for 2011 is a reflection of his priorities in world affairs, it looks like the president is saying “adios” to Latin America."... When Mexico and Colombia are removed from the equation, aid to the rest of the region follows a different trend. Total aid actually increases from 2010 to 2011... Look at the aid this way, and it’s pretty clear that nobody is saying “adiós” to anybody. We need not lament that the tempo of helicopter-buying for Mexico and Colombia has slowed, and we note that economic and social assistance is holding remarkably steady..."

La compleja situación que vive el Bajo Atrato, el Chocó y las comunidades afros del país

Felicidades a la revista SEMANA por unos artículos salidos en los últimos meses que tratan del triste saqueo del Chocó. No es ningún secreto para los que conocen esas zonas, pero muy poco se reporta en la prensa.

• En un artículo de marzo del año pasado, Los usurpados del Chocó, Semana muestra que a pesar del fallo de la Corte Interamericana reconociendo el derechos a sus tierras de las comunidades de Curvuradó y Jiguamiandó, el cultivo de palma por parte de foráneos sigue intacto.

"Lo más paradójico es que el gobierno, en varias oportunidades, ha certificado que esas tierras pertenecen a las comunidades negras de la zona. Bien sea por presión de Washington, de las denuncias de ONG internacionales y nacionales, o por la razón que sea, el aparato estatal se movilizó y tras varios años definió los linderos de lo que les pertenece a las comunidades de la zona. Y definió que más de 29.000 hectáreas que son de ellas, están ocupadas de forma ilegal por empresarios, 7.000 de las cuales están sembradas con palma. Cultivos que en algunos casos recibieron subsidios oficiales, que gozan de protección de la Fuerza Pública, y cuyos dueños están siendo investigados por vínculos con grupos paramiltares."

• En octubre, publicaron un artículo mostrando la complejidad del negocio de la madera, en el cual los dueños de los territorios de donde se están sacando tanta madera viven en la miseria. Muestra que la respuesta a ese misterio radica en la coyuntrua de desarrollo por parte de foráneos, la falta de garantías por parte del gobierno y la intensa presión de los paramilitares.

• En enero, publicaron un artículo titulado "Denuncuan control de paramilitares al comercio en el Chocó," que es inclusive más explícito, nombrando los muertos, y reconociendo que "... mandos medios que hicieron parte de la estructura de alias 'el Alemán’... controlan el comercio, la compra y venta de madera, de combustibles, de alimentos y el transporte en retenes ilegales. Cobran vacunas por todo. En zonas donde hay intereses de empresas para explotar minerales, sembrar cultivos como la palma o criar ganado, intimidan a los líderes para que negocien las tierra" y sugiriendo que los empresarios están beneficiando de la situación. También menciona otras presiones por parte de la guerrilla.
  

• Más recientemente, Semana reportó sobre las conclusiones de la experta independiente de Naciones Unidas sobre asuntos de las Minorías, la afro-norteamericana Gay McDougall. Después de consultar con las comunidades de Cartagena, Urabá, Apartadó, Quibdó, Cali, Buenaventura, Suárez (Cauca) y San Basilio de Palenque (Bolívar), sacó conclusiones de acuerdo con lo que ya sabemos - que el desarrollo “los megaproyectos han desplazado a muchos afrocolombianos... con la participación de compañías nacionales y multinacionales" y que “el Gobierno ha adoptado una posición política según la cual ya no hay conflicto armado y que los grupos paramilitares se han desmovilizado," notando sin embargo que “los paramilitares se quitaron los uniformes y se armaron como ‘Águilas Negras’ u otros nombres.” Una copia del informe de la dra. McDougall aquí.
  

Dudo que la publicación de estas cosas en Semana tenga efectos políticos contundentes. Pero al menos muestra que el periodismo colombiano no está del todo sosegado...

Critical Studies in Improvisation/Etudes critiques en improvisation
will publish a special issue on Brazilian Improvisations co-edited by
Jason Stanyek (New York University) and Alessandra Santos (University
of Utah). Submissions are due by July 10, 2010 and will be accepted in
both English and Portuguese. For more information please refer to the
"Call for Papers" below or see:

http://www.improvcommunity.ca/news/call_papers_brazilian_improvisations_chamada_de_trabalhos_improvisações_brasileiras

Questions can be addressed to Professor Stanyek (jstanyek@nyu.edu) and
Professor Santos (a.santos@utah.edu).
___

Critical Studies in Improvisation / Études critiques en improvisation
considerará trabalhos para um volume especial sobre “Improvisações
Brasileiras” organizado por Jason Stanyek (New York University) e
Alessandra Santos (University of Utah). Consideraremos textos em
português ou inglês. Esta edição será parcialmente bilíngüe—uma
seleção de ensaios em português aceitos será traduzida para o inglês.
Por favor envie seu texto completo até o dia 10 de julho de 2010. Para
obter mais informações refira-se à "chamada dos trabalhos" abaixo ou
veja:

http://www.improvcommunity.ca/news/call_papers_brazilian_improvisations_chamada_de_trabalhos_improvisações_brasileiras

Perguntas poderão ser enviadas diretamente ao Professor Stanyek
(jstanyek@nyu.edu) e à Professora Santos (a.santos@utah.edu).

Nuevo CD de Bullerengue de REEF Records

Felicidades al equipo de REEF por otra producción que sale al mercado en estos días. La primera fue de música de Providencia, y ahora se trata del destacado grupo de bullerengue urabeño de Emilsen Pachecho. Detalles abajo…

Congratulations to the folks at REEF for the launch of another CD that will be out in March. Their first was music from the Anglophone Colombian island of Providencia, this new one is the drum music called bullerengue from the Urabá region. Details below...

Bulla! – Emilsen Pacheco y Tradición Bullerenguera de San Juan de Urabá es el primer CD de esta destacada agrupación de música tradicional afrocolombiana, bajo el sello Reef Records. Este experimentado grupo es dirigido por el maestro tambolero Emilsen Pacheco, quien junto con parte de su familia nos brinda una colección de cantos parranderos y toques de tambor pertenecientes a una tradición que se remonta muy atrás en el pasado. En los 16 cortes del CD se puede apreciar el color característico de la música de tambores del Urabá, un sonido profundo y letánico pero muy picante y alegre. Chalupas, fandangos y bullerengues sentaos son expuestos en esta producción que además incluye, no solo temas tradicionales, sino también composiciones del maestro Pacheco y el bullerenguero Wilfrido Valdelamar.

El bullerengue es un lamento alegre. Es la voz de la Diáspora africana en Colombia; la expresión de la vida misma, donde la emocionalidad logra su apogeo en el baile callejero, con el menear de una pollera, el estrepitoso repiqueteo de un tambor, o esa prolongación mágica creada por las gargantas verseadoras experimentadas. La familia Pacheco Blanco, oriunda de
San Juan de Urabá en la costa Caribe Occidental colombiana, es el vivo reflejo de esta ancestralidad primordial.

El CD incluye videoclip y artículo impreso en formato digital .PDF.

LANZAMIENTO Bogotá: 4,5 y 6 de Marzo de 2010 Medellín: 19, 20 y 21 de Marzo de 2010

Nueva modalidad de asalto criminal al trasporte en el Pacifico

Cuenta El Tiempo:

"La embarcación, de nombre 'Mariana', había zarpado del puerto el pasado lunes rumbo a la población caucana de Timbiquí, cuando a unas dos horas de viaje, tres hombres jóvenes que se hicieron pasar como pasajeros desenfundaron sus armas, hicieron unos disparos y obligaron a las 29 personas, entre quienes se encontraban cinco menores, no solo a entregar sus pertenencias, sino a arrojarse al mar."

Es la segunda vez que ha pasado algo asi en estos dias (en diciembre robaron una lancha rumbo a Juanchaco usando esa modalidad.) Eso de los piratas no es nuevo, pero normalmente, tienen la bondad de no tirar la gente al agua, sino que llegan y se van en su propia lancha en lugar de abordar a la lancha que van a robar.

Rip Luis Dias QEPD

Luis "Terror" Dias, the seminal Dominican rock/fusion artist, died on December 8th 2009. (I only found out now).
Luis "Terror" Dias, seminal cantautor de rock/fusion dominicano, ha muerto (hace mas de un mes - acabo de enterarme).

Beca para Academicos Latinamericanos

The Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS) at Johns Hopkins University invites applications for the William Zitzmann Visiting Scholar Fellowship for the academic year 2010-11. The Fellowship is for one semester in residence at Johns Hopkins University (August 20- December 20 2010 or January 5 - June 1 2011). The competition is open to Latin American scholars who work and live in Latin America, and who hold a Masters degree or higher in the fields of social sciences, humanities and history.

The fellow will teach one undergraduate course, present a paper on his or her research for PLAS faculty and students, participate in the PLAS colloquia series and annual conference, and otherwise engage in the intellectual life of the Program. Because courses are taught in English, proficiency in both written and spoken English is required of all Visiting Scholars.

Eligibility Requirements include: Fluency in English; at least three years university level teaching experience as main instructor in the fields mentioned above; and an ongoing research commitment in Latin America.

Deadline for receipts of applications is March 1st, 2010

We would be very grateful if you could circulate this message to your contacts in Latin America and among your colleagues.

The Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS) at Johns Hopkins University invites applications for the William Zitzmann Visiting Scholar Fellowship for the academic year 2010-11. The Fellowship is for one semester in residence at Johns Hopkins University (August 20- December 20 2010 or January 5 - June 1 2011). The competition is open to Latin American scholars who work and live in Latin America, and who hold a Masters degree or higher in the fields of social sciences, humanities and history.

The fellow will teach one undergraduate course, present a paper on his or her research for PLAS faculty and students, participate in the PLAS colloquia series and annual conference, and otherwise engage in the intellectual life of the Program. Because courses are taught in English, proficiency in both written and spoken English is required of all Visiting Scholars.

The Fellowship offers a $20,000 stipend, health insurance for the Fellow, $1500 travel allowance, and a $1000 research fund.

Eligibility Requirements: Fluency in English; at least three years university level teaching experience as main instructor in the fields mentioned above; and an ongoing research commitment in Latin America.

Applications should include:

(1) a cover letter briefly describing the Fellow’s research and teaching experience, the reasons s/he is applying for the PLAS Fellowship, and what the Fellow hopes to accomplish while in residence at Johns Hopkins University;

(2) a 3-5 page description of a well-defined current research project to be carried out during the Fellow’s residency at Johns Hopkins University (other than manuscript revisions projects);

(3) a 1-2 page course description;

(4) a full updated curriculum vitae;

(5) two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant’s research and teaching experience.

Completed applications may be sent electronically to: PLAS@jhu.edu, or by regular mail to: John Russell-Wood, Director, Program in Latin American Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Macaulay Hall 404, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

Deadline for receipts of applications is March 1st, 2010

Fellowship will be announced by May 1, 2010.