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Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America by Chesa Boudin

Bilingual Librarian — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:54:49 +0000

Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America by Chesa Boudin

I picked up this book because of the title; I’m a big fan of the word “Gringo.” And for those of you who are about to get offended, know that I am the daughter of a self-proclaimed “gringo” and am a half “gringa” myself; to me the word just means someone from the US of A.

Chesa Boudin‘s memoir recounts his adventures throughout Latin American during a 9 year stretch. Boudin first arrived in Guatemala to learn Spanish, but eventually visited Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. For each country he recounts some of the country’s history and current situation. And amazingly Boudin happens to find himself in the middle of many of the region’s unfolding news stories. He was in Chile during 9/11, and was in Buenos Aires when Argentina’s economy collapsed. He spent some time in Caracas while Chavez was seeking reelection in 2006, and visited Peace Communities in Colombia. In Ecuador he describes the intense socio-economic divisions in the country, and in Bolivia he talks to miners who recount the hardship of their work.

In general this is another story of another “gringo” traveling through the region, there are plenty of those memoirs out there already, but what sets this one apart is that Boudin is the son of two former Weather Underground member, and his background clearly permeated everything he sees. Boudin isn’t one of those self absorbed “gringos” traveling while trying to discover their roots or who think they already know everything about the region, instead he openly acknowledges that his outside status often gets him amazing deals; He even has a name of this, it’s the “gringo wild card!” The gringo wild card allowed him to cross international boarders without hassles, got him the best seats on long bus rides, and allowed him to befriend people from every soci0-economic background.

All in all a good read.

Empece a leer este libro por el título, me encanta la palabra “Gringo”. Y para aquellos de ustedes que están a punto de ofenderse, sepan que yo soy la hija de un auto-proclamado “gringo” y soy mitad “gringa.” Para mí, la palabra simplemente significa alguien de los EE.UU.

Las memorias Chesa Boudin relata sus aventuras por América Latina durante un trecho de 9 años. Boudin llegó por primera vez a Guatemala para aprender españoly durante el transcurso de los años termina visitando Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile y Argentina. Para cada país Boudin narra parte de su historia y la situación actual. Y sorprendentemente Boudin logra encontrarse en medio del despliegue de noticias en la zona. Estuvo en Chile durante el 11 de septiembre, y estuvo en Buenos Aires cuando la economía de Argentina se desplomó. Pasó algún tiempo en Caracas mientras que Chávez buscaba su reelección en el 2006, y visitó las comunidades de paz en Colombia. En el Ecuador describen las intensas divisiones socio-económicas del país, y en Bolivia habla con los mineros que relatan las dificultades de su trabajo.

En general esta es otra historia de otro “gringo” viajando a través de la región, y ya hay un montón de estas memorias por ahí, pero lo que distingue a esta es que Boudin es el hijo de dos ex-miembros del Weather Underground, y sus antecedentes claramente filtran todo lo que ve. Boudin no es otro “gringo” absorto en si mismo que viajan para tratar de descubrir sus raíces o quien cree que ya sabe todo sobre la región. Boudin reconoce abiertamente que recibe trato preferencial por ser extranjero; incluso tiene un nombre para este fenómeno, ¡la “carta fantástica del gringo!” La “carta fantástica del gringo” le permitió cruzar fronteras internacionales sin problemas, le consiguió los mejores asientos en viajes largos por bus, y le permitió entablar amistad con personas de todas las clases socio-económicas.

En definitiva un buen libro.

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Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America by Chesa Boudin originally appeared on Bilingual Librarian on February 7, 2010.

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40th anniversary of Che’s capture

Bilingual Librarian — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:24:52 +0000

Today is the 40th anniversary of “Che‘s” (June 14 1928-Oct 9, 1967) capture and execution (Oct 9th) in the Bolivian mountains. After studying medicine in Argentina, and later traveling throughout Latin America, Ernesto Guevara met his destiny in Mexico and joined a group of young idealist who would come to overthrow the Batista regime in Cuba.

After helping win a revolution “Che” became Cuba’s National Treasurer, a bizarre position for a man who seemed mostly concerned with loftier notions of freedom and equality for all. Still, “Che” has a number of opponents, many of whom had to sufferer through his harsh and often inflexible treatment towards those he felt weren’t helping improve this world.

I’ve read a couple of biographies on “Che,” and while I admire him for having the courage of his convictions, and for being deeply committed to improving this world, I’m also bothered by how he (like many other guerrillas, and revolutionaries) was able to distance himself from the people closest to him in order to help “save” others. “Che” fought for people in distant lands whom he had no direct connections to, like Cuba, the Congo and Bolivia.

You can read more about the celebrations taking place today in places like Cuba, Argentina and Bolivia in an article from the BBC. The BBC has a second article today recounting the story of his capture and execution. There’s a whole wealth of information on him on his Wikipedia entry.

The Guardian has a great set of images of “El Che” from around the globe.

Image info here.

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40th anniversary of Che’s capture originally appeared on Bilingual Librarian on October 8, 2007.

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Bufeos

Bilingual Librarian — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:36:43 +0000

A few days ago the Christian Science Monitor had an interesting article about conservation efforts for bufeos, (also known boto, pink dolphins, or fresh water dolphins). Scientist Fernando Trujillo from the Colombian based Omacha Foundation is behind a five nation project which also includes Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Their research hopes to gather information on population numbers and the current state of the species in order to help project it, and to use the bufeo as the poster child for a larger preservation campaign of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.

Hopefully these efforts won’t be coming too little too late, as was the case just last week with the less fortunate fresh water dolphin in the Yangtze River whose extinction seems to have been confirmed. The Indus, Ganges and Mekon rivers also have fresh water dolphins, the populations of none of which are in good shape.

I’ve been lucky enough to have seen pink dolphin while drifting down the Orinoco river many years ago, but the memories are as fresh as if it had been just yesterday; they really are an impressive sight, and hopefully this charisma will help preserve them and the larger river ecosystem in which they live.

The International Society for the Preservation of the Tropical Rainforest has some more information on pink river dolphins here, so does Project Boto, here. A good book on the subject is the Journey of the Pink River Dolphin by Sy Montgomery.

Boto image by Pasajero on Flickr.

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Bufeos originally appeared on Bilingual Librarian on August 12, 2007.

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Banco del Sur

Bilingual Librarian — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:38:31 +0000

Several nation leaders in Latin America seem to be waking up to the fact that International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) loans aren’t truly benefiting the majority of people there, so they are joining forces to create Banco del Sur. Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay have become the founding members to Banco del Sur , which is promoted as an alternative to the IMF and WB. The bank which is to begin functions in 2008, is being promoted as coming from Latin America, for Latin America. The idea originated with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and is being largely funded with Venezuela’s oil money.

Lack of faith in organizations like the IMF and WB started to gather momentum in Latin American during the 1990s, and this perspective was further solidified after Argentina disregarded IMF advice and defaulted on their loans, which lead to economic recovery. Those opposing this regional bank proposal argue that it is only one more ploy by the emerging left in Latin America, still IMF loans have steadily been declining in the region during the last decade; they currently stand at around $3 billion after being at $50 billion just five years ago. Latin American countries have also been turning to other regional initiatives such as the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) for loans.

Some former and current employees of the IMF and WB explain that maybe this is a wakeup call to these institutions to make more of an effort to customize the services they provide throughout the world. Apparently the IMF has been impacted enough about this to have had to sold some of their gold reserves. This also means that the USA treasury is affected as well, since they are the largest IMF shareholders.

I would like see the Banco del Sur actually succeed and create some wealthy competition.

“… there is life after the IMF, and it’s a very good life.” -Nestor Kirchner, Argentine President

You can read more about this from an article in the Christian Science Monitor, and an article in Upside Down World.

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Banco del Sur originally appeared on Bilingual Librarian on July 12, 2007.

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World Water Day

Bilingual Librarian — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:19:02 +0000

In 1992 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution making March 22 World Water Day; This year’s theme is “Copying with Scarcity”. When thinking about water, a number of complex issues need to be address, including cultural norms, lifestyle, ethnicity, race, and socio-economic level, just to name a few. Water scarcity is a huge issue not only because natural reserves are being depleted, but also because potable water is increasingly being privatized. This has lead to violent confrontations in several cases, the most notable being Bolivia.

This water imbalance in the world has created a movement wanting to address the situation. Water Partners International is part of this effort, trying to provide clean drinking water to communities throughout the developing world. Another one is International Water Management Institute, a non-profit scientific research organization trying to promote sustainable water and land use. There is also the World Water Council, which tries to promote awareness and build political commitment to address water issues at all levels. The International Water Association try to address water concerns both through research and practice.

Although this is just a symbolic drop in the bucket, you can send an e-card and remind others of this important day.

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World Water Day originally appeared on Bilingual Librarian on March 23, 2007.

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