Tatuajes: diseños que reflejan eventos personales - Terra Mariah Witham

Hola!

            

           This article discussed something that hit a little closer to home for me, tattoo art. Byron Masdeu and Osmara Rodriguez, tattoo artists with two different establishments explain that many people are getting very personal and symbolic designs. They will often experiment with a few designs before they choose one and will influence the design process. Rodriguez explains that, "Customers bring their own design and idea. The tattoo artist only imposes his style." Masdeu does about three tattoos a day and explains that intricate designs may take two three-hour sessions a month for a year to complete.

            The artists see people of all ages, 18 years old to seniors, and many that have wanted a tattoo for a long time. They also talk about how there are just as many women as men getting tattoos, but that women tend to get a tattoo on their abdomen, stomach or ankle where as the men are more likely to get their tattoo on their arms, back or chest. Popular for the women is permanent facial makeup that can range in price from Q600 - Q1000. Regular tattoos cost from Q200 to Q10, 000 and can be black or can include colours, blending and shading.

            The personal expression and creation of symbolic art you can carry with you are some the defences for getting a tattoo, but unfortunately tattoos in Guatemala receive the same negative stigma as in Canada, for example, hindering those seeking employment.

            This brings about the issue of social norms and their validity in today's society. I think tattoos should not be judged before they are understood, but I can understand how quickly they can tarnish a 'professional' image and therefore how much thought is needed before one gets a tattoo. Here in Canada, tattooed people often face discrimination and judgment in our fairly liberal culture. Therefore, with so much inequality based on other factors, and a large gang presence in Latin America is getting a tattoo just asking for trouble?     

Article from elPeriodico

(Spanish) http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20100918/pais/175458/

(English) http://translate.google.ca/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elperiodico.com.gt%2Fes%2F20100929%2Fdeportes%2F177166%2F&sl=es&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8 

Terra Mariah Witham

Pobres Artistas

Hi everyone,

The article "Pobres Artistas" was written by Marta Sandoval for El Periodico

The link to the full article is below.

Cheers, Ilana

La Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional has asked Congress to allow them to separate from the Ministry of Culture. Last month state cultural institutions publicly protested drastic budget cuts causing the finance minister to back off his original plan of a 47% cut to the ‘culture budget’. Although each new government Guatemala has seen has cut the ‘culture budget’, groups have particularly felt the ramifications of cuts this year. For example, the article states that the National Choir even lacks a piano of their own with which to practice. The writer Mario Roberto Morales commented that the ruling class is profoundly uneducated and hence there is little appreciation within the state of the importance of the arts.  Art curator Cazali Rosina stated that the ministers (of the last few governments) are of largely indigenous decent. He went on to say that preoccupation with ‘political correctness’ has resulted in ministers that are not chosen based on their ability to do the job.

A further challenge for the arts and culture was identified by Lester Gonzales, director of the Marimba del Palacio Nacional: “El ministerio nació con un cáncer, un mal endémico que es el deporte”. According to the constitution, 3% of the national budget must be dedicated to sport. 50% of this is then allocated to the federations and the other 50% is split between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture. Codinez commented further saying “Lo que le queda al arte después de dar el aporte a los deportes es las sobras”.

Various ministers have agreed on one thing: such a small budget is impossible to work with.

Some discussion points:

-     should money be allocated to the arts and culture if (as we have previously discussed) there are such severe problems with health, poverty etc?

-     what does this say about social class divisions on Guatemala?

-     how does this compare to Canada?

-     do you agree with the amount of money spent on sport in Guatemala and/or elsewhere in the world? (*Note: the article does not specify the type or level of sport that it is referring to)

-     how do you feel about the comment that indigenous ministers have been ‘inappropriately placed’ in those positions?

http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20100926/domingo/176589/

Cocode denuncia falta de ejecución de proyectos

I found this article in el Prensa Libre and thought it so aptly exemplifies the complexities and problems of development in Guatemala.  In Escuintla, which is a big city not far from Antigua, the Consejo Municipal de Desarrollo, a branch of government, met to discuss what had been done by the community development organization Codode*. They found that after Cocode’s projects, there was still an absence of potable water, a proliferation of garbage, and incomplete projects.  The mayor of Escuintla, some of the people of Cocode and El Consejo, who were charged with carrying out the projects, all said they weren’t responsible for the incomplete work.  The head of Cocode  was worried because the people were demanding an explanation, while another Cocode representative blamed the municipal government for being ineffectual, pointing out that few municipal representatives showed up for the projects and that no municipal representatives showed up at the meeting. One high ranking-municipal representative said that the problem was that his colleagues who are actually responsible were absent. He explained that it is difficult to create laws to make municipal employees attend meeting such as these, because these are where they are kept accountable.

 If all that seemed confusing, it definitely is. It seems to me like a whole lot of inflated and faltering bureaucracy and blame throwing from all parties. It is too bad because Cocode, from the small amount I read about it, looks like it is a great initiative to make development more local and effective. Unfortunately, in reality it is clearly fraught with problems and ineffectuality.  From the perspective of Cocode and this article it appears that the local government responsible for the projects did a poor job and then just avoided facing responsibility by disappearing.  Looking in from the outside, it’s impossible to tell what the real cause of the failed development projects is.  It could be that the responsible government is just not that good at their job, perhaps an effect of poor education? Or maybe it could all be contributed to funding distribution problems.  All we know for sure from this article is that while development plans may look brilliant on paper, unfortunately in Guatemala when it comes to implementing them it can be unimaginably difficult.

 - Elise Dueck

http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/Cocode-denuncia-falta-ejecucion-proyectos_0_343765685.html

*Cocode (Consejos Comunitarios de Desarrollo) es una organización comunitaria cuyos representantes trabajan “ad honoren” por un año para la comunidad. Ellos se ocupan de fomentar el desarrollo de la comunidad a través de proyectos de infraestructura, mejoras de accesos, servicio de aguas, etc / Cocode is a commuity development organization, an attempt at decentralizing the governement and involving local citizens  and goverment to make development more effective . You can learn more about it at http://www.monografias.com/trabajos24/consejos-comunitarios-nicaragua/consejos-comunitarios-nicaragua.shtml#consej

Lluvias y el mal estado de carreteras afectan turismo

Hoteleros de Atitlán recortan personal ante escasa afluencia de turistas. A Monterrico sólo se llega por barco.

Hi everyone,

I found this article in elPeriodico regarding the state of the tourism industry in Guatemala.  The article explains that because of more rain than usual in areas of Guatemala where the quality of the infrastructure is poor, tourism has been on the decline.  The rain has ruined roadways and caused constant landslides in areas along Guatemala’s south coast and in the highlands.  As a result transportation in and out of these areas has become very difficult and this is affecting tourism as well as trade.

The article states that although these conditions have not deterred tourists altogether, they have redirected them towards major cities in the country as opposed to smaller tourist spots in rural areas.  The majority of Guatemala’s population is already found in major city centres and the increase of tourists in these areas leaves little room for rural Guatemala to prosper.

Agricultural trade has also been affected by the weather and road conditions.  Lack of proper transportation routes mean that farmers are spending more than expected on exportation costs. María del Rosario de Falla, chairman of the National Poultry Association explains that “A veces tenemos que subcontratar transporte, costos que antes no teníamos, todo para trasladar productos en los puentes caídos donde hay que bajar la carga y pasarla a otro camión para que llegue a su destino final”, in effect doubling their transportation costs.  Especially in Guatemala’s large agriculture industry, the extra transportation time not only affects costs but also the amount of time available to spend farming.

This is an issue that will only get worse for Guatemala’s farming and rural tourism industries. The more they use the battered roads, the worse they will get.  Unfortunately the nature of the issue means that it is mostly climate-related and cannot be completely prevented.  Also considering how many issues Guatemala has with public funds, the problem is unforunately not likely to be fixed through improved infrastructure anytime soon.

Jackie Belding

http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20100921/economia/175780/

Published September 21^st, 2010.

Guatemala: Squeezed between Crime and Impunity

http://www.guatemala-times.com/news/guatemala/1697-guatemala-squeezed-between-crime-and-impunity.html

Guatemala: Squeezed between Crime and Impunity

TUESDAY, 13 JULY 2010 13:20

   The article Guatemala: Squeezed between Crime and Impunity is from the Guatemalan Times and is on the subject of crime and corruption. The article explains how the country’s crime rate is spiralling out of control, and how the large number of corrupt officials is allowing these crimes to go unpunished, often assisting the illegal operations, and puts forth the CICIG (International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) as one of the few hopes to solving the growing crisis.

   The article notes how most of the crime has developed out of the 1996 peace accord, where although the initial violence was slowed, the root causes such as corruption where left alone, which ultimately benefited a small group of economic, military, and political elites. This change is said to have brought on a very violent environment in Guatemala, where there was 6500 murders in 2009, and Mexican drug traffickers and other illegal traffickers (ex: human) have entered into the country. This has lead to increased gang activity, police corruption, and an ultimately unstable environment. In addition, the lack of prosecution has made Guatemala “a paradise for criminals”.

    I read up on CICIG, and they are a UN-sanctioned institution whose main goals are to basically Investigate and find illegal organizations and their ties to corrupt officials, help prosecute these criminals and officials, and help develop the Guatemalan justices sector by giving them the tools, advice, and assistance needed to make their involvement in Guatemala beneficial past their exit date, Sept 2011.

   I think that corruption in Guatemala should be seen as close to the dominant problem in Guatemala since it hinders any progress made in any other issue such as gang violence, illegal trafficking, business relations, and political unity. Even if a perpetrator is caught, the chances of them being convicted are minute. This decreases the risk for criminals, as well as attracting crime from across the border.  As far as the solution proposed, CICIG, I have mixed feeling about it. I do agree that international assistance will most likely be needed since some of the individuals in the positions of power to address these problems have been found to be involved themselves. What does concern me however, is that this whole situation reminds me slightly of the idea/theory that the conflict in the middle east, specifically Iraq and Afghanistan, is just a reason for western powers (namely the USA) to involve themselves in Middle Eastern politics. My argument being that CICIG could possibly have an alternative agenda, such as supporting certain politicians and policies which will in turn positively affect Western economic and geopolitical interests. I realize that this is a pretty big stretch to make, but it would not be the first time Western interests have tried to influence politics in Guatemala (ex: United Fruit Co. 1954).

   Ultimately however, I do feel that CICIG has the right idea in its goals and methods are aimed at the needed areas for positive change in regards to corruption and conviction. Although I don’t think that they will be able to accomplish anything significant by September 2011, and that their exit date should be much further away.

sean brown

La desnutrición aguda en 2010 tiene 11 mil casos, Libby-Jay C.

Hola, everyone!

I’ve been searching around in both Prensa Libre and elPeriodico, and stumbled across an article by reporter Oscar Ismatul addressing cases of malnutrition in Guatemala.  A topic that isn’t exactly headlining as a major issue in Canada, the results of this UNICEF-funded study were, to say the least, shocking.  Having enough funds to head down to the grocery store or farmers market has never been an issue for myself, nor for a majority in Canada.  Although there are many people who are deprived of this, Guatemala showed 11, 000 cases of malnutrition since January.  The year hasn’t finished, and 11, 000 children have already suffered this.  When looking at this study, you begin to think… well, the only people who have been accounted for in these numbers are children.  Children alone, with no cut-off age, and it only makes you wonder further as to the many others who were not included in this study.  Of course, this isn’t an issue among children alone.  So, this only goes to increase the rising numbers in the 2010 year.  These numbers, according to Ismatul, serve to place Guatemala at the top of the ranking system for malnutrition throughout all of Latin America, and fourth worldwide.  Of these numbers, 56 children accounted for by the health system have died of poor nutrition, with the effects of nutrient disorders numbering for those who are deprived of sufficient nutrients or supplements.  Malnutrition is by no means a new issue in Guatemala, however a worsening one as the government failed to supply relieve funds quickly enough following the crop loss and destruction caused by Agatha (a tropical storm that swept through Guatemala this past June).  Rosa María de Frade, a spokesperson for UNICEF, commented on the necessity to enforce and strengthen poverty reduction programs, starting with implementing controls on the use of resources.  A central problem, it is obvious that 11, 000 cases of malnutrition in children alone requires a solution.  Allocating and controlling resources is, by no means, a simple task; but is one that needs immediate attention, especially after the threat of natural disaster.

  

Prensa Libre: http://www.prensalibre.com

http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.prensalibre.com/&ei=MS2ZTPjSK5OlOK2cqWE&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dprensa%2Blibre%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Dv

Prensalibre.com  (PRENSA LIBRE)
Acute Malnutrition in 2010 has 11 Thousand Cases
Oscar Ismatul
Accessed September 21, 2010
Posted September 21, 2010

Los niños son el futuro - 'Niños participan en feria educativo' por Lyn-Marie F

Hey class,

     I found this  short but interesting article in Prensa Libre that speaks about an educational fair for young students in the city of Totonicapán. According to Dora Alonzo of  la asociación Investigación, Desarrollo y Educación Integral (IDEI)this educational fair forms part of an essential project called “Derechitos con nuestros derechos" which provides that critical education that students need today.The program is geared toward informing students about education, peace, health, commercial sexual exploitation and HIV and AIDS. The program basically seeks to inform the children about the issues to which they can fall prey to in order to avoid being trapped in the hands of those involved illegal activity such as human trafficking and the illegal sex trade. The fair has had 50 participants and has been deemed useful and informative by one of the participants Odilia Baquiax who believes that the government should implement more programs such as these to help inform children and make them all the wiser to all the challenges that they may face in their daily lives.
    I agree wholeheartedly that more programs such as these should be established within the Guatemalan community. Some people may say that such topics are too harsh or difficult for children but we live in the real world where some children face horrors everyday that we cannot even begin to imagine. In North America such problems like human trafficking, child labour or even HIV/AIDS are taboo but in many developing countries these issues are what people have to face everyday and by the government choosing to ignore such issues I feel is a disservice to the citizens that they took an oath to serve and protect. By implementing more programs like 'La feria educativo', the government will show that it is important to them the education, safety and well-being of the children - of the future of the country - and this will go a long way toward the development of Guatemala as a whole.
I believe that education is the key to development because it allows people to develop their individual capacities thereby allowing them to operate at their fullest potential. By giving these children that key it allows them to unlock the door to greater possiblilites and at the same time it may just save their lives. In my opinion that makes it all worthwhile.

http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/Ninos-participan-feria-educativa_0_342565771.html

De la agricultura a la manufactura: propuesta de Viva para el desarrollo

Hi everybody,

I found this article on El Periodico. It talks about a plan for development that was presented yesterday by Viva, a Guatemalan political party. The plan, entitled "The National Development Plan: Guatemala 2050" was developed by Korean economist Jin Park. Park's main suggestion for Guatemala is to develop the manufacturing sector.

The plan is arousing a lot of controversy. Many people are saying that Viva should not have brought an economist in from outside the country. Viva chose a Korean because Korea is a country that has had a lot of success in their development. They have very quickly moved from being an undeveloped to a developed country. However, many people are saying that Guatemala needs to develop its own plan for development that will work for Guatemala, not just try to simulate what happened in Korea. Park's plan was developed without any field research being done. It is solely based on interviews with academics, businessmen and political leaders. One criticism of his plan is that it ignores the indigenous population.

I think that Guatemala may be able to use certain elements of Korea's development plan but I think that ultimately they will need to come up with a plan from within the country that's going to work for them. I don't think that there is one simple blueprint for development that works for everybody. The situation needs to be taken into account in every case. Guatemala has a complex history, culture and political environment that will all affect their path to development. It is unrealistic to think that a development plan that doesn't take these factors into account will work. 

http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20100925/pais/176570/

Centroamérica busca aprovechar volcanes para electricidad - Nico C.

Hi all,

I found this article on Prensa Libre. It talks about a new movement to produce geothermal energy by using the natural energy from active volcanoes. Although this process is more expensive right now than alternative energy sources, such as petroleum or hydroelectric, the article suggests that geothermal energy will be a more reliable and greener energy source in the long run.

The basic process is that tubes which run from underneath active volcanoes carry extremely hot water and water vapour, which can be used by geothermal plants to convert this heat energy into electrical energy. This is a completely sustainable source of energy, while even hydroelectric dams placed on rivers can displace communities, causing conflict, and are also prone to damage from storms. The geothermal plants seem to be much more remote and simply require drilling into the earth for the placing of tubes. Petroleum, now the number one source of energy in Guatemala, isn't produced domestically on a large scale and around 2 billion dollars are spent on oil imports every year.

The Guatemalan government is offering tax cuts on equipment used to build geothermal plants, and the goal is to produce 60% of it's energy through geothermal and hydroelectric plants alone by the year 2022. The companies are also claiming that energy access to the general population will increase. This is something I have never heard of before this article ( I guess we don't have many active volcanoes up here..) and I think its sounds like a great source for sustainable energy!

intro to all

Please post your bogs,. Try to keep them below about a page. Identify yourself  RIGHT IN THE BLOG.  Give the date and source and a little Spanish would be useful - translate if you think you are exceeding some people's capacity. (sic),

Please also post comments on others' postings, again identifying yourself.

Clive