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Panorama Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and events from around the hemisphere with AQ's Panorama. Each issue, AQ packs its bags and offers readers travel tips on a new Americas destination. In this issue: Mexico is Still Waiting for “Los Bitles” World Games, Cali American Sabor 10 Things to Do: Ponce, Puerto Rico Heart-Stopping U.S. Food Festivals From the Think Tanks Yesterday: Mexican journalist César Aguilera and his Beatles memorabilia. Photo: Raymundo Marmolejo Mexico is Still Waiting for “Los Bitles” The Beatles never played a concert in Mexico, yet no other country in the region has been able to match its Beatlemania. Forty-three years after the band dissolved, Mexico boasts more than 50 Beatles tribute bands and holds the record for radio time—12 hours weekly—dedicated to music of “Los Bitles,” as they are known in Mexico. It may be the result of a thwarted passion: in 1965, Mexico’s then-authoritarian regime banned a Beatles tour on the grounds that Mexican youth “were not ready” for male rock’n’rollers with long hair. The Beatles stopped touring in 1966, and although Paul McCartney played a Mexico City concert last year, Mexican fans never quite got over missing the chance to see the Fab Four. In 2009, Mexican filmmakers and self-proclaimed Beatlemaníacos Diego Graue and Raymundo Marmolejo followed Ricardo Calderón, president of Mexico City’s unofficial Beatles fan club Todos Juntos Ahora (after The Beatles song “All Together Now”), to Liverpool, where Calderón organizes an annual pilgrimage of Mexican tribute bands to the city’s Beatles Week Festival. The bands joined hundreds of Beatles impersonators for the honor of playing at The Cavern, the club where their four idols were discovered in 1961. Calderón, an eccentric 59-year-old collector of Beatles paraphernalia, is the star of the 90-minute film released three years later under the title Esperando a los Bitles (Waiting for The Beatles). Ironically, few Mexicans have actually seen the film. The directors have not been able to gain the rights to the film’s soundtrack—which prevents it from being distributed to theaters. To date, however, it has successfully been shown at local non-profit cultural events as well as U.S. film festivals, and Graue hinted that it might soon become available online. It is not simply a film about The Beatles, he says, but a tribute to their millions of fans around the globe, and a passion that cuts across age, social class and national borders. Indeed, as the film demonstrates, The Beatles have long since transcended their music. The film’s allusion to the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot is no accident. Graue compares Mexicans’ obsession with The Beatles to their craving for spiritual and emotional fulfillment. View photos of Mexican Beatles fans and their Beatles paraphernalia. All photos courtesy of Raymundo Marmolejo. Back to top World Games, Cali In July 2013, athletes from all over the world will gather to compete for gold medals and a chance to make their country proud. This isn’t the Olympics, but the World Games—a quadrennial competition that highlights unconventional sports such as artistic roller skating, canoe polo, sumo wrestling, tug of war, billiards, and parachuting. This year’s World Games take place in the Colombian city of Cali, known as the “sports capital of the Americas” because it has hosted the Pan American Games (1971), the National Games (2008) and the uci Track Cycling World Cup (2009). The ninth World Games officially open on July 25 and end on August 4. More than 4,000 athletes are expected to compete. Founded in 1981, the International World Games Association (iwga) comprises 33 international sports federations and promotes sports not included in the Olympic Games. While the World Games adhere to all the principles for athletic competition in the Olympic Charter, they have added another: environmental sustainability. The iwga encourages host countries to use existing sports venues. This means the sports featured at the games vary every four years, depending on the facilities available in each host city. Aside from three new event spaces, the city has opted to make improvements to existing venues that will hold the 31 scheduled events. Aided by community groups, the iwga has planted 6,000 trees to offset the carbon footprint generated by the games. Prestige and a continuing sports legacy are not the only benefits of hosting the World Games. Rodrigo Otoya, president of the Cali Local Organizing Committee, expects nearly 10,000 visitors during the 11-day games. Rather than building an athletes’ village, competitors will stay in area hotels. Otoya believes the increased tourism in Cali will boost the city’s blooming logistics and commercial sectors. The Pan American Games “transformed [Cali] and allowed a social and economic evolution that provided rapid economic growth,” he says. “The World Games will not be an exception.” Back to top American Sabor Rhythms of salsa, merengue, boogaloo, and Cuban son will be drifting out of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts this summer as part of the Experience Music Project’s American Sabor, a traveling exhibit that celebrates the influence of Latino musicians on music and culture in the United States. The exhibit, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, explores the evolution of musical traditions since 1940 in New York, San Antonio, San Francisco, Miami, and Los Angeles—cities where music styles deeply rooted in Latino beats emerged and flourished. As it travels, the exhibition showcases music and artists from across the country, focusing on the musical contributions of the exhibit’s current city. American Sabor tells a story of migration and cultural exchange, and “challenges people to think about the importance of respecting cultural difference as well as bridging cultural gaps,” says co-curator Marisol Berríos Miranda. As immigrants brought their traditions north, new music sprang from their experiences on U.S. soil. A key exhibit goal is “to make people aware of the Latino styles, musicians, and communities that have shaped popular songs they know and love,” says Berríos Miranda. One of the ways American Sabor does that is through its interactive music stations that play popular U.S. songs alongside the Latin rhythms that inspired them. For example, Marvin Gaye borrowed signature riffs from salsa, while Richard Berry’s 1955 hit “Louie Louie” enthralled audiences with rhythms of the cha-cha-chá. Shania Twain built on the conjunto and Afro-Cuban beats that inspired the mambo. The exhibit involves more than just looking and listening. At each of its locations, American Sabor includes an open space where visitors can try out a few steps while absorbing the music. An interactive website, www.americansabor.org, will feature tunes from Radio Sabor, an online jukebox that features all the artists and musical styles. Back to top 10 Things to Do: Ponce, Puerto Rico BY LEANI GARCÍA Located on the southern coast, Ponce—La Perla del Sur (the Pearl of the South)—is Puerto Rico’s second-largest city. Founded in 1692 by Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the legendary Spanish explorer’s great-grandson, Ponce’s museums and colonial buildings date to when it was Spain’s capital for the island’s southern region. 1. Stroll through Plaza las Delicias. Constructed in 1670, the Plaza of Delights is the heart of Ponce’s historic zone. Visit the city’s oldest colonial building, the Casa Alcaldía (City Hall), cool off at the Fuente de los Leones (Fountain of the Lions), or hop on a trolley to other city attractions. 2. Get lost in the Museo de Arte de Ponce. Ponce’s art museum boasts a 4,500- piece permanent collection from Europe, Africa and the Americas, including works spanning 30 centuries. ($6) 3. Mingle with Ponceños at La Guancha. Ponce’s boardwalk overlooking the Caribbean is a great place to sample local cuisine at the kiosks. Try a cold malta (a nonalcoholic carbonated malt beverage) and cuchifritos (fritters), including bacalaitos (fried codfish) and pastelillos (meat or cheese turnovers). 4. Visit the house that rum built. Constructed in 1926 during the height of sugarcane production in Ponce, El Castillo de Serrallés (Serrallés Castle) was once home to the powerful rum-producing family of the same name. When the tour ends, buy a bottle of Don Q, Serrallés’ most popular rum. (Tour fee: $7) 5. See Ponce’s most iconic symbol. Constructed in 1882, the wood-framed, red-and-black-striped Parque de Bombas was the first fire station on the island. Today, it is a museum honoring Ponce’s firefighters. (Free) 6. Step back in time. The Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center site, about three miles from Ponce, pays tribute to the pre-Columbian Igneri and Taíno who originally inhabited the archipelago. It includes the largest known Indigenous burial ground in the Antilles, a reconstructed village and a museum. ($3) 7. Learn about Puerto Rico’s Independentistas. Once a shoemaker’s shop that served as a clandestine meeting place for the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, the Casa de la Masacre de Ponce (House of the Ponce Massacre) commemorates the 1937 police killing of 19 peaceful protesters and chronicles Puerto Rico’s pro-independence activism. (Free) 8. Experience a hydro-powered coffee plantation. At its height, the nineteenth-century Hacienda Buena Vista produced 10,000 pounds of coffee per year. The restored plantation, about seven miles from Ponce, features the only existing model of the Barker hydraulic turbine. Reservations required. ($10.70) 9. Leave civilization behind. Take a ferry ride to the Isla Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island), where you can hike, visit the lighthouse constructed in 1887, snorkel, kayak, or just enjoy a day on the beach. Bring your own food and water. Reservations required. ($25) 10. Feel the island rhythm. The Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña (Museum of Puerto Rican Music) celebrates the island’s musical heritage, with special emphasis on traditional danza, bomba and plena. (Free) View a slideshow of photos from Ponce, Puerto Rico. All photos courtesy of the author. Back to top Heart-Stopping U.S. Food Festivals State fairs are traditional summertime family attractions across the United States. With agricultural themes, rodeos, carnival rides, and music, they’re also notorious for their artery-clogging food. The national winner in the latter category is the Texas State Fair, which attracts 2.6 million visitors every September to a competition for the most “original” deep-fried concoctions. Some examples of past specialties include fried beer—created by injecting beer into salty pretzel-like dough and deep frying it—fried bacon cinnamon rolls, fried pizza, and even fried cheesecake. Florida’s Tampa State Fair is a close runner-up. Its offerings have included a “milkshake burger,” a cheeseburger topped with deep-fried ice cream. For the more adventurous eater, in Alameda, California, there are chocolate-covered scorpions. At the California State Fair in Pleasanton, a popular dish was raccoon on a stick. However, the showstopper last year might just have been the Alameda County Fair’s 777-pound burger, which took a 10-person crew 13 hours to cook. View a slideshow of U.S. county fair food. Back to top From the Think Tanks The World Bank Latin American countries have made substantial progress toward reducing poverty and increasing equality, yet the region still faces significant hurdles to achieving prosperity across the board. In a recent report, “Shifting Gears to Accelerate Shared Prosperity,” the World Bank concludes that GDP and job growth have had the greatest impact on reducing poverty. It warns that without a new set of fiscal and social reforms to address continued income gaps—including policies to strengthen transparent institutions, create healthy markets accessible to all and improve risk management—the region risks backtracking on recent advances, especially if faced with economic shocks or severe weather brought on by climate change. Plataforma Democrática Power balances have shifted globally, and Brazil, with the largest economy in Latin America, has emerged as a leading economic force in the region. In its recent report “O Brasil e a Governança da América Latina: Que Tipo de Liderança é Possível?”, Plataforma Democrática, the research arm of the Fundação Instituto Fernando Henrique Cardoso, analyzes Brazil’s role as a regional leader. Written by scholars and policymakers, the report looks at Brazil’s investment prospects, the potential for regional energy collaboration, challenges of physical integration in Latin America, China’s growing role in the region, and border security, and examines Brazil’s potential to shape both regional politics and Latin America’s global presence. The Atlantic Council As Europe struggles to renew economic growth, Latin America’s increasingly competitive economies have become a powerful force for recasting the traditional two-way trans-Atlantic relationship between the U.S. and Europe. A new report by The Atlantic Council, “The Tri-Lateral Bond: Mapping a new era for Latin America, the United States, and Europe,” examines how Latin America, Europe and the U.S. can build upon shared values to strengthen their economies and trans-Atlantic relations. The report specifically looks at opportuniuties to integrate financial markets, improve education and technology exchanges, manage natural resources, address transnational crime, and expand Latin America’s participation in global governance institutions, among other issues.