A good movie

For those who are hesitating in watching EL CANTANTE or not, just wanted to drop a Top 5 on why to see the movie.

1. I think JLo and Marc Anthony acted very well and their team work as actors in the movie went beyond the fact that they´re a couple (and therefore were meant to act together).

2. If your grandparents or even parents were Hector Lavoe´s fans (as it is in my case) this movie can bring you closer to all that frenetic feeling that people had towards the whole Salsa movement, and it´s kind of cool to understand that!

3. Building on that, was also nice to see how the FANIA story (and the paralell of FANIA being the Motown of the latin salsa at that time) started and why the New York Salsa of the 70´s and 80´s is such an icon.

4. It´s just great to watch a movie with such a good music sound and known songs (and short enough to still enjoy them, not as in the hindy movies that the songs and dances are everlasting! - just kidding)... even if Hector Lavoe is not of my generation, you´re able to sing at least the chorus of almost every song of the guy!

5. It´s a real story, and it always makes stuff extremely interesting.

The best cities to do business in Latin America

For spanish (or portuguese) speakers!

Participate in the survey of America Economía (a business magazine) to portrait the best cities to do business in Latin America. Quite interesting, questions invite to very nice reflexions abt how competitive the city you live in ism and how competitive you perceive other cities in the region.

PARTICIPE Y ELIJA A LAS MEJORES CIUDADES PARA HACER NEGOCIOS EN AMÉRICA LATINA

Lo invitamos a participar de nuestra octava edición del ranking de las mejores ciudades latinoamericanas, compartiendo su opinión a través un cuestionario especialmente diseñado para nuestra comunidad de lectores.

Su opinión será de gran utilidad en el momento de definir cuáles son los mejores centros de negocios de la región, y también nos ayudará a tener una aproximación de las distintas realidades que se viven en las ciudades de América Latina.

Sus respuestas serán agrupadas y analizadas en el especial de Ciudades que circulará próximamente en AméricaEconomía.

Para participar, haga click aquí o ingrese a www.americaeconomia.com/ciudades

Al contestar la encuesta participará del sorteo de 10 suscripciones (o renovación) por un año a la Revista AméricaEconomía.

Atentamente,
Equipo AméricaEconomía

Introducing ATLAS CORPS

I´m glad to introduce to you to this recently created but quite amazing org called ATLAS CORPS. I got to know its founder Scott Beale (first virtually!) since India and recently here in Colombia, where he´s now based. If you feel a strong connection for what these guy´s are doing feel free to contact them or I can sure make you the link to them! If you are passionate about development issues, south - north (notice not north south!) talent exchange, international cooperation, or specially if you are acolombian NGO leader (or know some of them) just read below!

The Search For Colombian Fellows Is Underway ...

Did you know Atlas Service Corps, Inc. ("Atlas Corps") is a new international citizen sector (non profit or NGO) organization that will revolutionize international service and build a global partnership for development. Our mission is to create a global partnership for development through an innovative, sustainable and scalable Fellowship program that demonstrates that the global south should not just be a destination for support, but a partner in tackling the world's most pressing social issues. While in the U.S. Fellows will learn best practices from the United States, share unique perspectives from abroad, and then return home to create avenues of cooperation and continued learning. Atlas Corps Fellows will address a wide range of issues related to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals including hunger, poverty, education, gender equity, health, the environment, and human rights. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about the program and read about our fantastic staff and Senior Advisory Board that includes such notables as Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, and Senator Harris Wofford, one of the founding leaders of the Peace Corps - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=tyexx6bab.0.8xwi97bab.ijgtp9bab.6738&ts=S0235&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlascorps.org%2F

Atlas Corps is currently seeking outstanding rising leaders in the Colombian citizen sector to apply for a one-year fellowship in the United States. Candidates must be nominated by a citizen sector leader before their application can be submitted. Nominations can be submitted online at: http://www.atlascorps.org/nomination_es.html AtlasCorps is looking for 2 outstanding citizen sector leaders from Colombia for our inaugural 2007 Fellowship program. More details about the U.S. Host organizations and Fellow job descriptions can be found at: http://www.atlascorps.org/fellow_profile.html

Want to know more about Atlas Corps Fellowship? Additional information on the nomination and selection process in the section below...

Atlas Service Corps seeks to integrate a global citizen sector in order to create a global partnership for development through facilitating international fellowships for rising citizen sector leaders who contribute a year of service to the U.S. These Fellows then commit to work an additional year in the Colombian citizen sector, sharing new skills, best practices, and valuable experience. Atlas Service Corps (Atlas Corps) has engaged an innovative cooperation model which seeks to revert the traditional flow of voluntarism, training and collaboration, by mobilizing human capital from the global south to developed countries. Atlas Corps is looking to take 2 Colombian social sector leaders during its pilot year, to work at 2 social sector organizations in Washington D.C.

For this pilot program, Atlas Corps is searching for intermediate professionals with experience in the areas of marketing, health, computer science and youth leadership. The Fellows Hill travel to Washington D.C. in mid August, and will have a medical insurance and a living stipend during their stay, as well as a $2,500.00 bonus at their return. The pilot program it's being implemented in Bogota, New Delhi and Washington D.C. For additional information, please visit Atlas Corps web site:http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=ooxl76bab.0.8xwi97bab.ijgtp9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlascorps.org%2F

Basic Requirements for the Potental Partners

The basic requirement that aspiring candidates must fulfull are:

- Colombian Citizenship

- Professional

- Minimum 4 years of experience in the social sector

- English Proficiency

Host Organizations in the United States

For this pilot year, the Colombian Fellows host organizations are looking to count with the help of 2 national professionals. These host organizations are AYUDA y Mobilize.org.

AYUDA (http://www.atlascorps.org/ayuda.html) is a social sector organization seeking an individual with experience I marketing, web design and IT management skills who can be manage AYUDA's website, provide IT support to AYUDA staff and fulfill various other technological tasks.

Mobilize.org

(http://www.atlascorps.org/mobilizing_america_youth.html) is excited to welcome an Atlas Corps Fellow to serve as the Online Advocacy Director, responsible for maintaining the Youth Policy Action Center, the Mobilize.org website, and contractual obligations to clients, building on the success of the Youth Policy Action Center in 2006. The Fellow will develop a simple tutorial that takes an every day issue affecting the lives of young people, highlights what public policies are related to that issue, and assists young people in contacting their elected officials.

Nominate a Fellow!

Once you have read the requirements of both organizations as well as the Fellow profile, (http://www.atlascorps.org/fellow_profile.html), Atlas Corps is encouraging individuals to nominate potential fellows to participate in this social sector capacity building experience. http://www.atlascorps.org/nomination.htmlThe deadline to nominate a candidate is April 1, so please do so right now.

Thank you!

Please visit our site, sign up for our newsletter and contact us if you have more questions. Contact Alejandra Henao, the Colombia Country Director, at (1) 313-0043 and/or alejandra@atlascorps.org with questions.

Tomorrow ... Punta del Este, Uruguay!

"Projecting towards the South Atlantic, one narrow strip of land emerges proud, dividing the waters of the Río de La Plata and the Atlantic Ocean... Punta del Este"

I´ll be off to Uruguay tomorrow 13.03 and until 18.03 - my first work trip with Endeavor.

Uruguay was one of the countries that I did not manage to visit when I was Director of AIESEC International, so I feel more than lucky to have the chance to do it now with Endeavor as part of my induction process. I´ll be participating the Endeavor Latin American Selection Panel - the event where Endeavor officially selects entrepreneurs to become part of our network. Entrepreneurs passing through interviews by wonderful international panelists and Endeavor staff all together ... can´t wait to get inspired. Particularly Endeavor Colombia is bringing 3 pre-selected entrepreneurs, which we hope in the best scenario all 3 will be selected.

I can´t help to remember back AIESEC ... back to the travelling mood!

Discovery fo America OR the start of the largest mass killing of humans ever?

1. Colombus

One of the most significant dates during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs was 12th October 1492: the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

Today, 12 of October of 2006, we "celebrate" 514 years.

The fact that Christopher Columbus (who was not originally Spanish, but Italian) appealed to a foreign court to offer his services proved that the discovery of America was not incidental.
Portugal and Castilla (Spain) were well-advanced in the exploration of overseas mercantile routes and Sevilla, a wealthy and populous Spanish city, was by then an important commercial centre.

The Canary Islands were an excellent bridgehead for alternate routes. This is what Christopher Columbus offered and he offered it to a State that needed them, but which was also accustomed to and prepared for this type of venture. Unified Spain possessed in 1492 a powerful war machine, a solid economy, an exterior projection, naval experience including the exploration of trade routes and notable scientific-technical potential mathematicians, geographers, astronomers and shipbuilders who had been formed in a melting-pot of three cultures (Jews, Muslims and Christians). Its only rival was its neighbour, Portugal, which, as we know, had put a stop to Spanish expansion in Africa.

Columbus' offer was rapidly accepted in spite of his acknowledged errors. But during his journey to Asia his caravels unexpectedly came across the American continent. His original attempt was to find a new route to India and China, known as "the Indies".

The Spanish were especially well prepared by history to conquer, occupy, populate and exploit new lands and assimilate new people. America thus became the new frontier-land for those people used to its ways and with the military, diplomats and administrative arms at their disposal to face the challenge. By the middle of the 16th century, they had settled in the two most important viceroyalties, Mexico on the Atlantic, and Peru on the Pacific.

2. The start of the largest mass killing of humans ever

The European colonists, whose lifestyle included sharing close quarters with animal resevoirs of disease (cows, pigs, sheep etc.), introduced novel germs to the agriculturally-advanced indigenous peoples of the Americas. Smallpox (1525, 1558, 1589), typhus (1546), influenza (1558), diphtheria (1614) and measles (1618) epidemics swept ahead of initial European contact killing between 10 million and 112 million indigenous peoples of the Americas in the largest mass killing of humans ever. These unprecidented epidemics, which killed between 95% and 98% of the indigenous population, subsequently facilitated the conquest of these native civilizations.

Territories that at some point belonged to Spain (red) or Portugal (purple)

3. After our indigenours people were exterminated, Africans were called

The mass death of the Native Americans from slavery, disease and war led to severe changes in the population and ethnic identity of America's inhabitants. The slave labor of Americans killed by European incursions was replaced by that of sub-Saharan African peoples through the slave trade. Native populations became increasingly minor as the European and African slave populations grew rapidly. The dominance of white peoples continued through the period of widespread independence from European rule, begun in the late 18th century by the United States.

There is a substantial difference though, between the English and Spanish areas and models of colonisation. While Native Americans suffered death, slavery and exploitation throughout the Americas and were virtually exterminated almost everywhere, Native Americans, along with Mestizos, now make up the majority of the population in many Central and South American countries due to higher rates of intermarriage between the Spanish and Native Americans, [citation needed] the lower rates of European immigration there, and the lack of the black-white racial classification system found in the United States.

The number of Native Americans is increasing now in the U.S. by actual population growth, changing enrollment laws, and from the immigration from Spanish America, especially from Mexico, though the definition being applied to them is Hispanic.