ITINERARIO - Broadcasting 17

Police in the port of Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan state uncovered 19 tons of ephedrine in a shipment from China disguised as another substance.

The strategic port of Lazaro Cardenas is often the scene of deadly shootouts between drug-traffickers and authorities, and police and the navy were guarding the ephedrine haul in case anyone tried to reclaim it.

Mexican president Felipe Calderon vowed to crack down on violent crime after taking office Friday, promising to rein in drug-traffickers who have turned parts of the country into war zones where police fear to tread.

And I also believe in Virgen de Guadalupe.

And now! Feel free to explore this new feature here:

We did it again!!!

A year ago, the government of our city gave to the citizens a progressive public transport: the so call metrobus. One of the traffic lanes of the longest avenue of the city was selected exclusively to this transport.

Despite its controversial beginning, the service gradually was accepted among the people thanks to its efficiency.

BUT...

One year later, the authorities realize that the concrete in the pavement is not able to support the weight of the bus. During this month, the works of reconstruction have obstructed again the traffic of the city.

Yes, in Mexico we love to make the things TWICE…

L'enigme des enfants somnambules et criminels

"Pendant ses épisodes de somnambulisme, l'enfant criminel n'est ni tout à fait endormi, ni tout à fait éveillé" explique l'auteur de cet récit inquiétant. Il recrée de façon précise et irréfutable les meurtres terribles commis par des enfants en état de somnambulisme.

Plusieurs études avaient déjà montré que les enfants "normales" rêvent avec tuer ses mamans. Étant donné certaines lésions cérébrales, quelques enfants peuvent effectuer leurs cruelles fantasmes.

Après ce livre terrible, nous ne pourrons plus jamais porter le même regard sur les enfants somnambules.

Victime de l'intolérance religieuse.

Conseiller aux locaux à livrer son âme à Satan a causé que j'étais mise dans un camion avec les porcs. Des menaces et des injures ont accompagné mon expulsion.

Un jour très amusant, il faisait beau, quarante degrés centigrades environ. Trop beau, on dirait...

A Good Shot

Turkeys don't play basket...


and Francisco still refuses the soccer...


For years, basketball was a very popular sport in this region of the country. Almost every village has a court equipped with baskets, nets, and fiberglass backboards. Nevertheless, now the professors of rural schools who come from other communities are imposing soccer, because they do not know how to play basketball. It is ironic that Francisco insists on playing it, because his town is one of the few communities where he and his friends had to improvise a board and a hoop.

The Fog

At 6 in the Morning

At 5 in the Evening

Leaving the town

I arrived to Iglesia Vieja at 6 in the morning, and I thought the fog would leave the town by the noon. I was wrong: the cold and the fog, they stayed until 5 in the evening, when I left the place by hitch hicking.

Atempa Calnali

Atempa Calnali, a small indigineous community in the north of Mexico, is a place visited by national tourist because its aguas termales. That's the reason why its main street is paved. But for locals, the most important places to have fun are the factories of aguardiente de caña (a strong alcohol beverage) located two at the entry and two at the exit of the community.

Despite this, alcoholism doesn't care to Juan Perez Hernandez, one the unhabitants. Until now, no tragedy has been registered on the community's history because the river (located at ten meters of Juan house), but this year, the rainy season has been wild, and the fury of the water is the main Juan's concern everynight.

On the Road Again.

J'avais su jusq'ici garder avec mes sembables des distances misanthopiques sans trop de troubles, quand par malheur vint pour moi d'être enrôlé avec beaucoup des femmes. Alors, afin de raffermir mon jugement, j'ai pris pour lieux de réflexion les montaignes.

Plus des images ici.

Petit vidéo ici.

Gainsbourg (Re)Visited (2 of 3)

Ok, What are you waiting for?

Go and listen this dramatic song and the amazing version from M. Stipe, here.

L'hôtel particulier,

by S. Gainsbourg (1971)

Au cinquante-six, sept, huit, peu importe

De la rue X, si vous frappez à la porte

D'abord un coup, puis trois autres, on vous laisse entrer

Seul et parfois même accompagné.

Une servante, sans vous dire un mot, vous précède

Des escaliers, des couloirs sans fin se succèdent

Décorés de bronzes baroques, d'anges dorés,

D'Aphrodites et de Salomés.

S'il est libre, dites que vous voulez le quarante-quatre

C'est la chambre qu'ils appellent ici de Cléopâtre

Dont les colonnes du lit de style rococo

Sont des nègres portant des flambeaux.

Entre ces esclaves nus taillés dans l'ébène

Qui seront les témoins muets de cette scène

Tandis que là-haut un miroir nous réfléchit,

Lentement j'enlace Melody.

El hotel particular
(mi versión en español)

En el número cincuenta y seis

Siete

Ocho

Importa poco

De la calle X, al tocar a la puerta

Con uno, dos, tres golpes tal vez

Se te deja pasar

Solo y a veces también

acompañado

Un empleado te conduce sin decirte nada

Escaleras y pasillos sin fin se suceden

Decorados con bronces barrocos, ángeles dorados;

Afroditas y Salomés

Si está libre, di que deseas la cuarenta y cuatro

La habitación bautizada como « de Cleopatra »

Donde la cama tiene columnas rococó:

Que son negros portando teas

Y entre estos esclavos desnudos, tallados en ébano

Que serán testigos mudos de esta escena

Al tiempo que arriba un espejo nos mira

Lentamente

Abrazo a Melody.

One Sober Knows The Sorrow

I hope one day they forgive me for what I have done.

Here the translation of the broadcasting number 4 of Itinerario. (You can listen it here) .

The characters:

1. The old drunkard,
2. His son-in-law
3. Me

The scenery:

Some place on the road, Honduras.

November 2005.

The son in law:

-…socially, economically, everything is lost…

The old man:

- only losses…

The son in law:

-Think about this: There are some people that get drunk and they are arrested because they kill their son, their woman, anybody, and when they are in jail they don’t believe what they have done. Because the alcohol numbs the sense of consciousness. We have a sense of consciousness and a sense of unconsciousness. For example, I can say, “I want to be naked on the streets”, but my conscious mind says to me: Forget it, what are you going to do? Everybody is watching. But one drunkard can do that, because the sense of consciousness is numb…

The old man:

-His father died because the alcohol.

The son in law:

- Cirrhosis in the liver. So much alcohol… and there is no alcohol more dangerous than “Yuscaran”

Me:

-Yuscaran?

The son in law:

-Yes: 45 degrees of alcohol

Me:

-Stronger than a tequila.

The son in law:

-Yes, you can imagine the damage on the stomach when you drink it. At the beginning you feel good, but the damages are scaring. Ah, in the past I used to say: I can’t take my meal without my drink, but once I became conscious, once I analyzed and thought about it... [pause] because I made a reflection about what I was doing to myself…

Me, to the old man:

-And you stopped going to Alcoholics Anonyms?

The old man:

-Yes, I just went to a Convention, in El Salvador...

Me:

-And why did you stop going?

The old man:

-Such things happen... you are weak as human being, and when you have a lot of responsibilities in home, you think that the drink helps...[pause] it happened to me...[pase] some times you could think that everything is easier if you stop drinking, but when you leave the drink everything becomes harder, cause if you are drunk you can do everything in an easy way, but on the other hand, when you are sober it costs… because one sober knows the sorrow… he, he, he.

[ music fade in]

[ music fade out]

The old man:

...So, we have very interesting things here. They say the problem with us is not to admit our condition... they say we are alcoholics, but when we admit the problem with humility, the perspective is different. They say to us: You are a drunkard. Yes, but only when I drunk a lot! he, he, he... But you are a drunkard since the first coup! I have already worked so much, I am too old, I am father of 3 sons, and I say to my sons: You have seen the alcohol problem on my mind, on my body... If you want to drink, then drink. But if you think that the alcohol has hurt me, it will hurt you too... and thanks to god I have 3 sons, and they don’t drink.

The son in law:

- But that is the problem: What if your sons see you drinking? How can you advice them?

The old man:

-That’s what I am saying! I don’t forbid it to them. How could I tell them: Why are you drinking? That fact is how they have been raised, because I was not raised in the situation they were raised...

Me:

-Do you have grandsons?

The old man:

-Grandsons? Yes, I do. I have a little boy from him…

Me:

- And when you are drunk, you are with your grandson?

The old man:

-No, no, no...no. When I am drinking neither my sons are with me… I do live alone...

[ music fade in until the end]

50 hours per week

Job stuff.

My new task is to find the answer to the question: What is the economic impact of disease among women from mexican rural communities?

Our goal is to find support for the hypothesis: It is cheaper to work in prevention than in treatment and rehabilitation.

When you get a disease (e.g. cancer), your everyday activities are perturbed. So, the first step is...

To take a picture of the typical day of these women. Measure the time invested in everyday activities. To categorize those activities.

As part of the exploratory research, we have depeloved an instrument in order to measure the invested time (in minutes) for each activity, since the woman wake up in the morning until the end of the day. Then, we went to small rural communities where 38 women were interviewed . Here a couple of interesting charts:


Where:

Domestic work = Household duties (To cook, to clean, do dishes, etc)
Economical Activities = Formal employement.
Personal Activities = Personal care, leisure, etc.

Time dedicated to Personal Activities could be a sign of life quality.

On the other hand, I had the data from another countries about the hours per week dedicated to domestic work, including a national average for Mexico (click on the image for a better view).

Denmark = 21 hours per week.
Finland = 25
Canada = 31
France = 33
Sueden = 34
Mexico (National Average) = 35
Australia = 35
Mexican rural Community = 50

Fifty hours by week are dedicated only to domestic duties in the mexican rural community. Usually, this domestic work is not economically weighted. That would be my...

Next step: To make an estimation of the economic value of the domestic work. My task will be to translate time into money.

Soon.

Deconstructing Güero

In the context of what is happening these days, I have been listening so much this remarkable song. I think it is an accurate description of coexistence between mexicans and americans, as well as a picture of the everyday passion you can find on the streets of my country. Someone has described the song like "an entire Mexican street festival compressed into 4 minutes".

Beck was inspired in his childhood in Los Angeles, California, where he grew up like a pale skin boy in a Latino neighborhood.

“Qué onda” means “What’s up” or “Hi”, and I am almost sure is exclusive Mexican slang. On the other hand, “Güero” literally means “blond”, “pale skin”. For a woman the word used is “güera”, and the diminutives “güerito”, “güerita” are pretty common. Very often the word is used as a polite word to interact with a strange, not necessary a blond one. For example in the markets of Mexico City the sellers try to get your attention yelling “¿qué va a llevar, guërita?” ("what can I offer you?")

In a specific context, “Güero” also means “American”. We call Americans nuestros primos los güeros (“our blond cousins”). But there is a difference between “gringo”, and “guero”. Despite both of them could be use to name an American, “güero” usually is more familiar and friendly. It is actually inclusive, so the character in the song, Beck himself, is so familiar that, although he is not mexican he is accepted as a friend.

A last note about the subject: I have no conflict to call “americans” to the U.S.A citizens. I have known many Mexicans and latinos that get very upset when a gringo refers to himself as “American”. Well, they actually are in fact “Americans” as well as all latinos are. We could use the same word in reference to us. If we don’t use the word, it is our problem.

Following are the song lyrics, with some notes about the Spanish phrases. You can listen the song here. Listening very carefully, I have been able to rescue almost all Spanish phrases, despite a couple of them are almost inaudible or incomprehensible. Any corrections are appreciated.

(intro, men talking)

--¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda José?

(inaudible) jojo... marido(3)[3]... no te inquietes? ¿Qué onda José, qué ha pasado?-(4)-

See the vegetable man
In the vegetable van
With a horn that's honking
Like a mariachi band
In the middle of the street
People gather around
Put the dollar-dollar-dollar in the can
¡Ay güey(5)[5]!, ¿Qué onda?
TJ(6)[6] cowboys hang around
Sleeping in the sidewalk
With a Burger King crown
Never wake 'em up
Más cerveza(7)[7]
Til the rooster crows
Vatos de gallos(8)[8]
¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda güero?

Mano Blancos(9)[9] roll with crowbars
singing rancheras(10)[10] on cheap guitars
Abuelitas(11)[11] with plastic bags
Walking to the church with the Spanish candles
Daily borracho(12)[12] says: ¡Qué putas!(13)[13]
Ándale joto(14)[14], your popsicle's melting
Run better run, da doo run run
Mara Salvatrucha(15)[15] in the midnight sun
¿Güero, where are you going?
¿Qué onda güero?
¿Güero, where are you going?
¿Qué onda güero?

Rampart boys with loaded rifles
Guatemalan soccer ball instant replays
Mango ladies, vendedores(16)[16]
And a busstop singer
Banda Macho(17)[17] chorus

(woman: ya ves? Ya ves(18)[18]?)

¿Qué onda güero?
A donde vayas(19)[19]
¿Qué onda güero?
A donde vayas

¿Y dónde encontrastes ese? En un hoyo
Allá en La Pico (maybe Tampico?)

La Pico y Vermú (Vermont?)(20)[20]
Hey vamos a jugar futbol ahí en el Griffith park
¡La locura!(21)[21]
Yeah now I'm going to LACC, man
I'm taking a ceramics class

See the vegetable man

(Man saying) --…chela(22)[22]--

James Joyce

¡Michael Bolton!--

Qué onda güero, where are you going?
Qué onda güero, where are you going?

Hey what's up güero?
"You doing pushups?"
¡Hey güero!

¡Hey güero ven acá(23)[23]!
Qué te pasa, no te pasa(24)[24]
¡No te veo güero!(25)[25]
I dunno I saw a puppet at Tang's
with a mullet and a popsicle.

¡Hey Güero!
¡Qué locura!(26)[26]


Hey Güero!
Yeah Bro?
Hehehe, footlong?

Let's go to Cap'n Cork. They got the new Yanni (27) [27] cassette.

---

[3] 3. Seems like two persons playing “albures” or word games with sexual content. Seems like a man says to other man "where is your husband?"

[4] 4. “What's happened?”

[5] 5. Mexican slang for “What the hell?” Or “What the fuck?”

[6] 6. Tijuana, border mexican city, 1 hour from San Diego.

[7] 7. “More beer”

[8] 8. I have no idea what Beck is saying here. "Vatos de gallos or "Vatos vergallos" could be "the rooster crows" “Gallo” is also “man”, for exemple: “Ese es mi gallo” “That’s my man”. Also, "Gallo" is slang for a joint.

[9] 9. “White hands” Maybe a musical group? By the way, the correct would be “Manos blancas”

[10] 10. Popular mexican music, played by mariachis.

[11] 11. Grandmas

[12] 12. Drunkard

[13] 13. “What a bitches” We suppose in reference to the catholic grandmas...

[14] 14. “C’mon you faggot” or "Hurry up!"

[15] 15. A central-american gang. Originally from El Salvador, it has become a serious problem in countries like Guatemala, Honduras and the South of Mexico.

[16] Sellers; usually in reference to street sellers

[17] Musical group from the north of Mexico.

[18] “I told you” (literally, you see it?)

[19] “Whereaver you go” Maybe Beck wanted to say “Where are yo going” that should be “¿A dónde vas?” Another possibility is that he is called “guero” everywhere, in a city full of Mexicans.

[20] Where did you find it? –In a hole, there in La Pico, La Pico y Vermú. It could be about anything, but I like to imagine the man found a body in a hole.

[21] “Let’s go play soccer at the griffith park, pure joy!”

[22] Beer

[23] Come here

[24] What’s happened, nothing happens

[25] I can’t see you

[26] What a crazyness! What a mess! What a joy!

[27] This... thing , very popular among some Hispanic-Latin people

Birkin

You saw her

or none did it maybe

walking on dudas west

you were so distracted

with the firemen trucks

and the fire itself.

you couldn’t see her

but I did.

Still do.

und weiss aber nicht

ob wir uns nochmals

sehen werden

sehen werden.

She showed me her pictures in underwear.

I said I'd prefer

to sleep on the other room

and she smiled.

She showed me the recording of the storm

that destroyed

her family and her house.

So I showed her mine

and we both laughed.

Walking on St Abraham

a dozen of frenchies

dead

by frozen frozen death

but they still built

this city of fantasy

where I met her.

und weiss aber nicht

ob wir uns nochmals

sehen werden

sehen werden

I killed there

All the fears

And all the doubts

And I built a beautiful monument

of privacy

and integrity.

(only god knows
is a terrible sin

not to take the chance)

and then she pointed

those Japanese characters

Everything was so ambiguous

And charming.

Walking on Vieux-Port

watching the seagulls

Attacking the homeless

taking the peace from them.

si la vie etait jolie

manger, dormir

chanter

et parler francais.

Und glaub jetzt gehts

Uns beiden besser…

I meet her in the store

And I take her.

(Photograph by Cynthia Münster)

Chicago Airport Nostalgic Bomb

The bombing attack was the April 17, 2006 in the Terminal 3 of the Chicago International Airport. A nostalgic bomb was planted by a solitary person in the exit of the bathrooms in front Gate 12. The bomb injured 30, and the implicated man never got arrested.

The goal of the attack was to devastate emotionally the travelers in such a way in that they would cancel their flights.

A month before, a man named Gaston Jemina began to plan a bombing attack within the United States, and specifically against some airlines. He had became very disappointed about the over sold tickets policies. He made his bomb of urea pellets, nitroglycerin, melancholia, sadness, sulfuric acid, aluminum azide, emotional blackmail, magnesium azide, and bottled hydrogen. He added sodium cyanide and murmurs to the mix as the vapors could go through the ventilation shafts and eventually spread out all the building.

The bomb exploded in the bathroom door at 17:17 P.M. generating panic, reminiscence and nostalgia among the concurrence. At least 15 were injured with severe emotional disorders that made them to call their respective mothers.

However, any flight was canceled, in contradiction with Gaston expectations.

L’homme qui a tué son espoir

Le 6 avril 1981, le corps d’ un espoir, âgée 2 ans, fut découvert dans un rue de la banlieue de Paris. A la lumière de l’analyse étiologique, les autorités ont pu affirmer sans risque de se tromper, que le petit espoir été décédé d’une mort naturelle. L’hypothèse diagnostique la plus probable est que «l’espoir serait décédé d’un malaise cardiaque de type fibrillation ventriculaire favorisé par une hypokaliémie associée à une hypoxémie et à une hypovolémie» Si bien la communauté médicale a trouvé cette découverte plutôt bizarre (les espoirs ont d’habitude une espérance de vie de 5 ans environ dans l’état naturelle), le corps de l’espoir fut porté au cimetière sans d’autres considérations d’importance.

Vingt-cinq ans après l’ événement, Nicole B., une femme de 40 ans qui travaille comme secrétaire dans le bureau d’impôts, était sous procès de psychothérapie. Hantée par un souvenir douloureux mais au même temps obscure et inaccessible, elle avait été incapable de nouer des relations affectives stables avec les hommes.

L’après-midi du lundi 20 du mois dernier, Nicole accepta être soumise á une session hypnotique. Là, sous l’effet de la relaxation profonde (et sous l'effet sédatif des benzodiazépines, bien sur) elle a rappelé tout :

L’espoir avait été tué par un jeune homme, et Nicole avait témoigné le crime. Et toute sa vie elle avait été marquée par cet événement terrible.

Cette histoire a pu rester inaperçue dans les quotidiens du pays, et même rapidement oubliée, mais Nicole fut possédée pour une idée obsessive : Que sa guérison ne surviendra qu'à rencontrer l'assassin du petit espoir en prison.

Encouragée par son thérapeute, Nicole B. a visité les jours suivants 2 chaînes de TV et 3 importants journaux pour exposer son cas.

Un de ces journaux á publié dans son éditorial :

« Ce témoignage bouleversant, qui nous fait participer à un lent travail de reconstruction psychologique, offre une réflexion passionnante sur le processus de deuil. Il nous interroge également, à travers l'exemple d'un crime qui va révéler toutes les fissures d'une vie «ordinaire», sur la place des victimes et des coupables dans notre société. »

(Á notre avis, la presse sacrifie les informations importantes pour donner une large place à ce traitement de plus en plus irresponsable des faits divers)

Pendant ce mois d’avril, presque tous le jours des nouveaux cadavres des espoirs sont découverts dans les rues des grandes villes, et de centaines de personnes (qui ont difficultés pour soutenir des relations affectives stables) ont subitement rappelé d’être témoins des épisodes pareilles . On a le soupçon d'une épidémie, des assassins en série ou d’une nouvelle hystérie collective.

Finalement, comme a dit le vieux poète ”Un homme tué par un homme effraye la pensée, mais un espoir tué par un homme la consterne”.

On ne comprend encore le sens de cette affirmation.

Repent!

Best photo ever. My favorite lines: "God loves you, but he HATES your sin" and "Sinners, except you repent now! you shall all perish".


Convincing, uh?

In Market Street, San Francisco.

You, sinners.

At Daybreak in Garibaldi

Five in the morning, find your favorite drunkard performing yoga in the street.

A Drunken Punchup

My dream about start a fight with a bunch of drunks in a mexican bar, almost became a reality this month. The couple on the right of the photo misunderstood my giggles at some point of the night, and wanted to pick a quarrel. Unfortunately for all, I was with Therese that night, and I found a bit unpolite to be seriously hurt in front of her. I should wait for a better ocassion.

Working child

This little girl is selling typical food in the streets of her community, in order to help her family.

La Union, Honduras.

Evil Child with Pet

This evil child is training his parrot Quico in order to attack the people with it. Adorable. At Cololaca, a very small village in west Honduras.

Please, don't vomit on the floor

"Don't vomit on the floor, vomit on the bag"

This enigmatic message was in the bus from San Pedro Sula to Santa Rosa de Copan , in Honduras. When a few minutes later, two very drunk men tried to get the bus, I did suddenly understand. Alcoholism seems to be a serious problem here, sadly.

By the way, it is written "bomit". And there is no bag.

The Banquet

Finally we did it again; our traditional Banquet for the Deads. Luis and los yucatecos spent all Saturday night cooking; in the meantime I put the altar with sugar skulls, flowers, candles, photos of dead people, magic powders, tamales, water, tequila, candies and chocolates, and that funny mexican paper for the special ocassion.



Then, on Sunday afternoon, we received our guests. Our living guests, I mean. They were starving of course, but before they eat, they had to watch the explanation we made with the pictures of the cooking procedure (so many hours cooking! they should know!)

At the end of the day we have had a great success with the food, including papaya as dessert and horchata as beverage. Of course, the Altar still remains for our dead guests, whom visit us these nights in order to take their part...

The Wake-Up Bomb

There is nothing like the news early in the morning. They always bring a smile to my face.

"Le Tamiflu pourrait être produit sous forme de générique" -Sure. No problem. In fact, it doesn't matter: Yesterday the Minister of Health of my country said anti-virus in Mexico is not still necessary. STILL. God bless his sense of timing. We are safe.

By the way, I just love that image from Le Monde. I can see the editor claiming for a hen in the picture. He he he.

"Saddam bekennt sich nicht schuldig" . Well done, Saddam. I'd do the same.


"Confirmed: Hurricane Wilma most intense on record". No comments.

MTV LA Awards suspended. HA, HA , HA. Idiots. Time to fire your logistic team, guys. Organize an awards ceremony on Mexican Caribbean, in hurrican season. You are brilliant.

Les grands violons

Sports : Soccer. Le pays faisait une drame, comme d’habitude, devant la défaite de l'équipement national face aux Etats-Unis.

Sujet football monopolise la moitié des titulaires des journaux dans la ville; cela devient une affaire de securité nationale. Je trouve assez interesant la préoccupation ici par rapport á l' inquiétude dans la France, par exemple. Sur le même sujet je lis dans Le Monde :

“Une non-qualification de l'équipe de France pour la phase finale de la Coupe du monde n'améliorerait cependant pas les comptes déjà mal en point de la Fédération française de football (FFF). Le budget 2005-2006 ­ qui a anticipé une élimination de la sélection nationale ­ prévoit une perte de 4,6 millions d'euros.”

"A court terme, une non-participation à la Coupe du monde n'entraînerait pas de grosses pertes pour la FFF. A moyen terme, en revanche, elle pourrait être problématique en matière de vente des droits télé et de partenariats" ,

Bref, ils ont de l'inquiétude pratique. De notre côté au Mexique, nous focalisons nos préoccupations sur la honte : "Le mexicains ne méritent pas la célébration des Etats-Unis" a dit Hugo Sanchez, le meilleur joueur mexicain de l'histoire, maintenant déjà éloigné. Il faisait allusion aux moqueries que les joueurs mexicains ont reçues après leur défaite.

Mais la souffrance du supporters mexicains n'a pas un grand soutien. Il y a trois billets dans la zone de CONCACAF pour aller á la Coupe du monde 2006. Il est pratiquement sûr que tant le Mexique comme les Etats-Unis aient deux des lieux. La plupart des autres pays de la zone n’ a pas des équipes professionnels. Jusqu'au moment j'ecrit ceci, l'equipe mexicain batte Panamá 5-0.

Alors, c'est plutôt le goût mexicain par le drame gratuit.

Yes, I visit the Library On Sunday

(Or, Be afraid of me, Part XXVI)

It has become an habit in the last couple of months: I take my bike and go to UNAM Library. It is open on Sundays, 8:30 to 21:30 hrs. Perfect. I carry my very well pointed pencils, climb up to the second floor, turn to my left, take the ancient volumes and take some notes.

Of course, I don’t make all the way to University in bike. Try to make it in a 5 millions cars city. I use the subway too. Don't take unnecessary risk.

I suppose it talks a little about my interests . But the best thing is that I spend Saturday nights sharpening the pencils, at the light of the candles, listening Godspeed You Black Emperor (or Wagner, it depends of my mood). Good.

Back to Sexual Behavior: Theory, Practice and Research!

Back to the academic field, always in research. I am more than happy.

With a lot of projects waiting to be analysed, there is a specific one that I find very interesting. It is about tracking risk sexual practices via cell phones among young mexican population. I wanna see that.

At the beginning, a qualitative research was implemented in order to obtain an idea about this risk practices. A waste of time, nothing that you can't find on literature about the subjetc. Anyway, I must edit the report.

The summary looks like this:

"The research explored the condom usage and sexual risk practices among young Mexicans adults. Thirteen males and 6 females, aged 18-28, college degree, participated in two focus groups in Mexico City. Results indicate most of participants began sexual activities without taking precautions, in non planned situations, around 15-16 years old.

Condom use is more associated with casual sexual partners, in non planned situations, than with a stable sexual partner (boyfriend or girlfriend). The main drive for condom usage with casual partners is to avoid sexual diseases; this fact is not perceived as necessary with a stable and more reliable partner, where avoid pregnancy is more important. All participants agreed that sexual education and condoms availability does not increase rates of sexual activity. The main barriers perceived to condom use are the diminution of sexual pleasure, interruption of sexual intercourse and high price. Younger participants (aged minus 25 years old) and those who comes from outside Mexico City also perceive a difficulty to buy condoms; and women mention a lack of negotiation abilities with the partner.

All participants showed interest in take part of the project tracking their sexual habits involving cell phones."

Hasta la otra.

Being on Top

Businesses magazine Expansión (mexican edition) has made public a list of the best companies to work in Mexico (March 23th), from the point of view of the applied policies to Human Resources, and based on an evaluation made for the Great Place to Work Institute.

This is the list of the companies (more than 500 employees) with better atmosphere and labor policies:

1 Danone
2 Federal Express
3 McDonald’s
4 British American Tobacco
5 Jansenn-Cilag México
6 American Express
7 Boehringer Ingelheim Promeco
8 Wyeth
9 Eli Lilly
10 Grupo Gamesa
11 Unilever
12 Procter & Gamble
13 Parque Xel-Ha
14 Monex Grupo Financiero
15 Dupont
16 Mancera Ernst & Young
17 Scotiabank Inverlat
18 IBM
19 Parque Ecoarquelógico Xcaret
20 Owens Corning
21 Servicios Afore Banamex
22 Desarrolladora Homex
23 Banamex (Citigroup)
24 Maxcom Telecomunicaciones
25 Novartis


I found interesting that 44% of companies of previous list also appears on another list less favorable: Some have been mentioned in the worst companies list by the Multinational Monitor and the Black Book on Brand Companies.

Multinational Monitor is an organism that "... tracks corporate activity, especially in the Third World, focusing on the export of hazardous substances, to worker health and safety, work union issues and the environment."

On the other hand, Black Book on Brand Companies is a work of investigation about corporative practices; it names the companies who are responsible for unscrupulous business practices and human rights violations.

I reproduce the list; in bold the companies named by Multinational Monitor (MM) or the Black Book (BB):

1 Danone (BB)
2 Federal Express
3 McDonald’s (BB)
4 British American Tobacco (MM)
5 Jansenn-Cilag México
6 American Express (BB)
7 Boehringer Ingelheim Promeco (BB)
8 Wyeth (MM)
9 Eli Lilly
10 Grupo Gamesa
11 Unilever (BB)
12 Procter & Gamble (MM)
13 Parque Xel-Ha
14 Monex Grupo Financiero
15 Dupont (BB)
16 Mancera Ernst & Young
17 Scotiabank Inverlat
18 IBM
19 Parque Ecoarquelógico Xcaret
20 Owens Corning
21 Servicios Afore Banamex
22 Desarrolladora Homex
23 Banamex (Citigroup) (MM)
24 Maxcom Telecomunicaciones
25 Novartis (BB)

If we focuse on Top Ten, 60% of the companies described with excellent labor policies are at the same time accused of environmental damage, dishonest polices and/or violation of human rights, among other things.

Being on top could be good or bad, or both at same time; that depends who is doing the list.

John Paul II lost chance

Like so many people in this country, I was baptized according to catholic tradition. I grew up with a strong commitment to catholic faith and its rituals. But years later I refused to take the confirmation sacrament. As many teenagers my beliefs toward the Catholic Church as Institution became weak.

Today is the hour in which the virtues of the Polish Pope are proclaimed: His fight against the Comunism, his contrition by the historical church mistakes, his habilities like a statesman. But there was something he had opportunity to do and he did not: To help to improve the life’s conditions of million people in Latin America being a Liberation Theology supporter. His position about this issue were in a certain way comprehensible due his Comunism personal phobia. Although at the end of his administration he made strongs critics towards wild Capitalism, at the very precise moment he did not use his influence on million people in order to stop it. His anti-comunism blinded to him and restrained at the same time, and not only that: He took action against the idea that the Church could improve the life in this earth. For the poor people of the world, the best consolation is still the hope of an eternal life in another place called "paradise".

This lost opportunity, as well as his positions about women, contraceptive methods and homosexuals, are the dark side of his history like the supreme guide of Catholic Church. Those facts must be remembered besides his virtues, and put in the balance.

Personally, when I go out to the street and I still see the fanaticism of people (adoring divine appearances in a fruit, for example) and the terrible submission and poverty, I just feel a big reproach towards Catholic Church. They are able to improve the world and they don’t use their influence. I live in a country where is very hard for me to feel any admiration by John Paul II.