We are a noise-free newsletter that helps you follow Central American news.
(3)
📎 Our newsletter is also looking for an editor during this period of growth - help us format the stories we curate each week for Central American News.
Send us a line to learn more about the role, either through social media or by emailing us at [email protected]!
Central Americans - particularly Black, Indigenous, and those traditionally erased by mainstream media - are strongly encouraged to apply.
Photo credit: Steven Molina Contreras for Aperture Magazine.
✔️ Thanks to our followers for sticking in there as we worked behind-the-scenes to reconfigure the shape our team takes going forward. In this next phase of Central American News, we'll need a lead to help guide us in project coordination, HR management, and team-set objectives.
Interested? Don't hesitate to reach out to us by message or email ([email protected]) for more details!
Central Americans - particularly Black, Indigenous, and those traditionally erased by mainstream media - are strongly encouraged to apply.
Photo credit: Nelvin C. Cepeda for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
🇬🇹 Guatemala news also needs someone to help cover it during our team’s period of growth. Help us put the call out or message if interested by May 31st!
Central Americans - particularly Black, Indigenous, and those traditionally erased by mainstream media - are strongly encouraged to apply.
Artwork credit: Collective mural painted in Guatemala during the protests, as featured in our December 7, 2020 newsletter.
🇭🇳 During this time of transition for our newsletter and staff, can you help us look for our next Honduras news curator? Our DMs - and email, [email protected] - are open for inquiries and expressions of interest by May 31st!
Central Americans - particularly Black, Indigenous, and those traditionally erased by mainstream media - are strongly encouraged to apply.
Artwork credit: Killjoy, Mazalt, and Stinkfish for the Cuma Project with Copinh Honduras in Intibucá, Honduras in 2016.
🌱 A time of transition.
Central American News has delivered weekly curated news of the region, along with good reads, art and cultural recommendations, for nearly four years. We do this out of love of Central America, Central Americans, and to keep information easily accessible for people of all walks of life.We believe in...
🇸🇻 The Central American Historical and Ancestral Society (CAHAS) published vintage postcards of El Salvador in the last century:
These vintage postcards capture some of El Salvador's heritage, from the indigenous experience to exclusive lifestyles in the capital.
🇳🇮 Tania Daley became the first non-Brazilian Latina to be crowned “reina” of a samba school in Sao Paulo. Confidencial prepared a report on her life and career:
La historia de una gran bailarina empieza en el escenario de Hertylandia, un parque acuático en el Jinotepe de los años 90, el parque de diversiones más grande de Nicaragua, en ese entonces, recién in
🇭🇳 Apologies for the late newsletter this week - we wanted to include the historic extradition of the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández. On April 21, 2022, Hernández boarded a flight towards New York, where he will face trial for drug-trafficking charges. He is accused of participating in an international affair to traffick more than 500 tons of co***ne from Honduras to the U.S.
But there is also other important news coming from Honduras. Legislators repealed the Employment and Economic Development Zone (ZEDE)s, citing that these territories and cities with a special jurisdiction to attract investors put national sovereignty at risk. Honduran communities had actively opposed them.
Additonally, today is Earth Day. In Central America - despite concerns over the climate crisis, deforestation, drought, and forced migration - more positive recent news regarding the environment includes Panama granting nature rights and Honduras banning open-pit mining.
Welcome back! Apologies for the late newsletter - we wanted to include the historic extradition of the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández. On April 21, 2022, he boarded a flight towards New York, where he will face trial for drug-trafficking charges. He is accused of participating...
🇳🇮 Are you our next Nicaragua News Curator? Drop us a line outlining your motivation to join the team at [email protected], or through direct message. We also welcome sharing (far and wide)!
Central Americans - particularly Black, Indigenous, and those traditionally erased by mainstream media - are strongly encouraged to apply.
Artwork curated by Nicaraguan activist Milton González, who sells art made by Nicaraguan refugees to help them pay for rent, food, and medicine.
🇭🇳 As it probably goes without saying, our podcast team is made up of amazingly talented producers with backgrounds in journalism, broadcasting, filmmaking, and multimedia. Here’s a look behind the scenes (or the soundboard) with Andrés Guillen!
Andrés was born in Honduras and immigrated to the states when he was 5. He grew up in a small town in Florida where he fell in love with the work of Hollywood filmmakers George Lucas and Peter Jackson.
Andrés graduated from Barry University studying Broadcasting & Emerging Media in 2020. While there, he became a member of the Gamma Xi chapter of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Inc, the nation’s first Latin fraternity.
Andrés currently lives in LA county and works for a post-production studio called Zoo Digital, as well does freelance filmmaking on the side. He also currently serves his fraternity as a member of the local alumni board for LA county.
🇳🇮 Nicaraguan media Divergentes - Periodismo de Investigación won the Ortega y Gasset journalism prize in the multimedia coverage category. Their report, called “The Challenge After the Massacre: Memory, Truth, Justice and Non-Repetition”, reconstructs Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s violence, gives voice to its victims, and offers an analysis of transitional justice:
Para la sociedad nicaragüense es indispensable comenzar a promover la Justicia Transicional como alternativa inamovible, para así sumarse firmemente a la dem...
🇵🇦 Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado won the Grammy for Best Latin Tropical Album with “Salswing!”. Listen to the album below:
RUBEN BLADES con Roberto Delgado & Orchestra - SALSWING!Dedicamos este trabajo a la memoria de nuestro amigo y colega Carlos Pérez-Bidó.¨Paula C¨ (Video Liry...
🇸🇻 Introducing another team member you may have seen around your feed! On top of her work with La Ceiba Journal , Kirsten Cintigo is Central American News’ El Salvador News Curaror. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kirsten is an undergraduate at Cal State University, Northridge where she is majoring in journalism and minoring in Central American and Transborder Studies.
As a Salvadoran student-journalist, she hopes to one day professionally pursue her goal of covering Central American communities within the U.S. - something she gets to do already as an editor for La Ceiba and her work with our team.
Kirsten originally joined the newsletter as a way to keep up with the news in El Salvador and to stay educated on the country’s current affairs. Since joining in July of last year, she’s enjoyed working with our team every week and is constantly inspired by everyone’s drive and determination.
In Kirsten’s limited free time, she enjoys crafting, watching movies, and hanging out with her baby sister. She also enjoys baking and sometimes stays up late at night trying out new recipes.
🇨🇷 Under the banner of “make Costa Rica prosperous again,” former World Bank economist Rodrigo Chaves won the country's presidential elections. More than 42% of eligible voters abstained from the ballot, illustrating Costa Ricans’ lack of enthusiasm for the candidates. Chaves, who was accused of sexual harassment during his work at the World Bank, vows to deregulate commerce.
Salvadoran news is also making headlines worldwide as the country's state of emergency continues following the spike in murders at the end of March. A few days after journalistic revelations about the release of four top gang leaders from prison – who had been requested for extradition by the U.S. – Salvadoran deputies voted to effectively censor media work regarding gangs.
Belize, meanwhile, has legalized the recreational use, commercial production, and sale of cannabis - and a Belizean literary anthology from publishing company Bent Pin Press is making waves!
Under the banner of "make Costa Rica prosperous again," former World Bank economist Rodrigo Chaves won the presidential elections, becoming Costa Rica's future president. More than 42% of eligible voters abstained in this election, illustrating Costa Ricans' lack of enthusiasm for the candidates. Ch...
🇸🇻 As El Salvador went through a spike in homicides last weekend – the highest in decades – the government put in place a state of emergency that hinders constitutional rights. The tension is particularly felt in low-resourced communities. More than 2,000 people were arrested on gang-related charges in a matter of days. Their relatives and human rights defenders claim that many have been detained completely arbitrarily.
The killing spree is the latest in what appears to be a trend in El Salvador – low official rates of homicides interrupted by short bursts of violence.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights criticized the government’s measures limiting the human rights of prisoners. President Nayib Bukele responded with a belligerent discourse by threatening to leave international organizations.
Human rights organizations have pleaded the Salvadoran government for years to focus on integrating gang members and at-risk youth into society by nurturing community relationships and tending to structural injustices. They claim mano dura techniques do not work.
As El Salvador went through a spike in homicides last weekend -- the highest in decades --, the government put in place a state of emergency that hinders constitutional rights. The tension is particularly felt in low-resourced communities. More than 2000 people were arrested on gang-related charges....
🇸🇻 Bianka Rodríguez, a Salvadoran spokesperson for the rights of trans people, obtained her ID after several complex judicial processes in El Salvador:
La activista salvadoreña reconocida por su vocería en favor de los derechos de la población trans obtuvo su DUI tras distintos y complejos procesos judiciales en El Salvador, un país conservador y...
🇳🇮 Nicaraguan visual artist Patricia Belli strives to conjure up emotions and conversations surrounding femininity, trauma, and survival, particularly within Nicaragua itself. Her work is now exhibited at the Tate Gallery in the U.K.:
Back to Materials and Objects Patricia Belli, Broken Column 1996 . Lent by the Tate Americas Foundation, courtesy of the Latin American Acquisitions Committee 2018 . © Patricia Belli Room 4 in Materials and Objects Patricia Belli 9 rooms in Materials and Objects Marisa Merz and Nairy Baghramian Col...
🇧🇿A posthumous pardon is likely to be granted to Nora Parham, the only woman to have been hanged in Belizean history. The 36-year-old mother of eight was a known victim of domestic violence and condemned to death for allegedly setting her husband on fire in 1963, with pleas for mercy on her behalf having been ignored:
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Mar. 10, 2022– In the coming weeks, a posthumous pardon is likely to be granted to Nora Parham, the only woman to have been hanged in Belizean history. The motion to exone…
🇳🇮 This past week in Nicaragua, the Ortega-Murillo government has continued to shut down NGOs and Mayangna Indigenous leader Salomon López Smith was found dead with signs of torture. His nephew asserts that people illegally appropriating Indigenous land were to blame for the crime.
For those who want to leave the country, the risks are high. Two Nicaraguan women died crossing the Rio Bravo at the Mexican-U.S. border on March 21st due to strong currents. One of the women, Felícita Lucrecia Soza, had lived in the U.S. for 22 years as an undocumented person and had gone back to Nicaragua to visit her children. More than 13,000 Nicaraguans tried to informally enter the U.S. in February 2022.
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), more and more Central American, Haitian, and Dominican women have been migrating north, resulting in the “feminization of migration.”
In Honduras, female students have protested against rapes happening on their campus, aiming to break the silence surrounding gender-based violence and to bring a recent suspected criminal to justice. It looks like they are succeeding.
Let's highlight Nicaraguan news. This past week, Nicaragua's Ortega-Murillo government has continued to shut down NGOs and Mayangna Indigenous leader Salomon López Smith was found dead with signs of torture. His nephew asserts that people illegally appropriating Indigenous land were to blame for th...
🇬🇹 You may recognize our newest Guatemala News Curator, Jody García, as part of the Plaza Publica team! Jody is a journalist with ten years of experience. She began her career covering criminal cases in the Guatemalan justice system, later carrying out investigations related to politics, corruption, and human rights. In recent years, her work has covered environmental, migration, and judicial issues.
A stringer in Guatemala for The New York Times in addition to her work with Plaza Pública, Jody has worked at Diario La Hora and Revista Nómada Guatemala, and counts Agencia Ocote, No-Ficción, and Prensa Libre among her freelance collaborations.
In 2018 Jody was awarded a United Nations fellowship as a journalist program intern, and in 2021 was a fellow of Climate Tracker, a global network of environmental journalists. In 2022, through a scholarship at the University of Missouri through Press Partners, Jody will complete an internship at The Miami Herald.
When not tracking down important stories, she likes to draw and paint.
🇬🇹 After a week of protests from women, the LGBTQ community, and students in Guatemala, the country's Congress shelved the law that toughened prison sentences for abortion and prohibited same-sex marriage. Analysts believe that social pressure led the president to back down from his pro-life agenda.
Further south, the Honduran Supreme Court approved the extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernández on New York drug trafficking charges. This week's newsletter also casts light on Belizean Nora Parham and Waqxaqib’ B’atz’ (Lunar New Year) in Guatemala.
After a week of protests from women, the LGBTQ community, and students in Guatemala, the Congress shelved the law that toughened prison sentences for abortion and prohibited same-sex marriage. Analysts believe that social pressure led the president to back down from his pro-life agenda.Further south...
🇬🇹 Guatemalan rapper Rebeca Lane releases Flores Rojas (Red Flowers), a song and illustrated music video that seeks to share a new narrative about menstrual blood - including positivity, love and tenderness - instead of harmful myths:
a las niñas e infancias menstruantes, porque menstruar en dignidad es un derechoGuionAndrea Isabel Aguilar FerroCecilia Pérez JuárezAnimaciónAnna Guerrero"Fl...
🗯 Throughout Central America, thousands of women protested for their right to live and decide over their bodies last week. Femicide rates continue to be high in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as impunity for these crimes. Access to safe abortions is thoroughly limited, if not impossible.
Additional March 8th demands were made depending on the country - in Guatemala, for example, demonstrators also asked the state “to end the judicial persecution” of anti-corruption prosecutors and in Panama, women demanded the recognition of unpaid domestic labor in social security considerations. In Nicaragua, women could not protest due to Ortega’s ban on civic demonstrations.
This next week, we're continuing on with stories about Central American women - including those of our Guatemala and El Salvador News Curators!
Throughout Central America, thousands of women protested for their right to live and the right to decide over their bodies this past week. Femicide rates continue to be high in Central America and the Caribbean and impunity for these crimes as well. Access to safe abortions is thoroughly limited, if...
🇬🇹 The Guatemalan budget allocated for 2022 school health insurance is double what was allocated last year - but these parents and teachers cannot use it:
Según el cronograma oficial del Ministerio de Educación (Mineduc), el ciclo escolar para el sector público arrancó este 21 de febrero. En medio de los preparativos para volver a las aulas, directores y docentes aún desconocen si hay un seguro médico disponible para sus estudiantes, ese que el ...
🇳🇮🇺🇦 Sofía Dvoynos, a Ukrainian Nicaraguan, shares perspective on her experience of the Russian invasion:
Sofía Dvoynos es una nica ucraniana que cuesta su testimonio de cómo ha vivido la invasión de Rusia a Ucrania y las preocupaciones por sus familiares en Kyiv.
🌎 Central American governments condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, except for El Salvador and Nicaragua. Until now, El Salvador’s foreign ministry has stayed silent and Nicaragua’s diplomacy largely blamed NATO and Ukraine’s “2014’s coup d’etat” for leading up to Russia’s attack. Below our headlines in this week’s newsletter, you can see a story that analyzes military cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua over the years.
In other news, Honduras’ Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines declared all Honduran territory free of open-pit mining. Former Salvadoran military officers and President Alfredo Cristiani will face trial for the 1989 Jesuit Massacre, in which six Jesuit priests and two women were killed, and the country’s parliament must now reform the Natural Person Name Law so that transgender people can change their names according to gender identity.
All Central American governments condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, except two: El Salvador and Nicaragua. Until now, El Salvador's foreign ministry has stayed silent and Nicaragua's diplomacy largely blamed NATO and Ukraine's "2014's coup d'Etat" for leading up to Russia's attack. Below the he...
🇧🇿 Garifuna leaders joined their Mayan counterparts in protesting the Belizean government’s lack of consultation with them regarding land rights. These leaders reject the government’s Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) Protocol - which was, according to them, created without their consent.
Joseph Guerrero, Lands Minister of the Garifuna Nation, said “that it is high time for the government to stop administrating Garifuna lands without the consent of the Garifuna people traditionally living in those communities.”
Additionally, Monica Coc Magnusson, Director of Advocacy at Cultural Survival, argues, “Belize has a historic pattern of ignoring its duty to consult its Indigenous Peoples. Given repeated experiences wherein the duty to consult is either ignored or not properly applied, in 2014, the Maya people (…) created their own consultation framework, known as the Maya Consultation Framework (MCF).”
Garifuna leaders joined their Mayan counterparts in protesting the Belizean government's lack of consultation with them regarding land rights. These leaders reject the government's Free, Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) Protocol, which was, according to them, created without their consent.Joseph Guerre...
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Central American News posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Central American News:
🇭🇳 If last week's podcast episode with co-producer Andrés and Honduran News Curator Jalileh is still waiting for a download or a listen, catch it before the week's up! And be sure to leave us your questions and comments on the state of Honduran politics or Xiomara Castro's election below.
🇵🇦 Meet Yaliveth Roldán, who created Visual Expression of the Kuna World and has been developing the artistic theme through traditional mola designs. Photo credits (in order of appearance): TVN Noticias Panamá and Yaliveth Roldán (@yaliimola on Instagram).
🇵🇦 This news from Panamá was featured in our newsletter a few months back, when the Panamanian Ministry of Education initiated a program - including radio classes - to help students continue to learn their indigenous language and preserve their cultural identity. We'll continue looking for and honoring news about Central American Indigenous communities on Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - tomorrow - and every day.
💲Our podcast listeners answered, we recorded! In our first deep dive episode, our podcast producer and co-host José Luis Martínez talks us through Bitcoin and what it means for El Salvador with three analysts: Dr. Campbell Harvey from Duke University, Nelson Rauda from El Faro, and Ricardo Castaneda from the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI). As José observes, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly’s approval of a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender seems to be a step in the right direction for President Bukele, owing to the currency’s surging value. On the other hand, it represents an obscure economy to the majority of the country’s informal workers. Catch the episode on Buzzsprout in our latest newsletter (linked in our bio).
🇵🇦 In Panama, organizations that work on HIV prevention and with LGBTQI+ communities developed innovative care mechanisms to have their users’ needs met. Instead of the telephone being only a tool for answering calls, these organizations’ strategy provided “attention, information, and follow-up using virtual communication channels from traditional social networks [to] dating networks and chat channels such as WhatsApp.” Not only did this constant communication help ensure HIV and other critical care for users, it also helped promote COVID-19 infection containment measures.
🎥 Last week was a big week for Central American works in the media, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo and an independent film. This video gives a wrap of the who and what behind them! Photo credits (in order of appearance): Marcio J. Sanchez, Our Esquina, Columbia University School of the Arts, and Nathalie Álvarez Mesén.
🇵🇦 If you've seen our newsletters over the past few weeks, you might have noticed some stories connecting the dots on Panama's social and cultural history. In our first-ever video, we give you a glimpse into the country's audio-visual preservation, the Afro-Antillean Museum's fight to survive in a post-COVID world, and "The Americas' First Guerrillero" Victoriano Lorenzo - all part of the Panamanian narrative that often gets swept under the rug. Let us know what you think below! Photo credits (in order of appearance): Getty Images, La Estrella de Panamá, Sech’s "42" documentary, Fernando Mendez Corona, and TVN Noticias.
Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?
