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Prost, Brazil! Grab a stein-full of caipirinha and stroll down to Ipanema beach in your lederhosen—it’s Germany-Brazil Year in Brazil. The yearlong festival, aimed at deepening German-Brazilian relations, kicked off in May with the opening of the German-Brazilian Economic Forum in São Paulo. “Brazil is one of the most successful new centers of power in the world,” says Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister. “We want to intensify cooperation with Brazil, not only economically but also culturally.” It’s no surprise that Brazil, the sixth-largest economy in the world, has caught the attention of Europe’s financial powerhouse. Brazil is Germany’s most important trading partner in Latin America, accounting for $14.2 billion in imports in 2012. With some 1,600 German companies in Brazil providing 250,000 jobs and 17 percent of industrial GDP, it’s an economic relationship that clearly has mutual benefits. But it’s not all about the money. Under the motto “Where Ideas Connect,” Germany is organizing some 400 events around Brazil in the fields of culture, sports, energy, science, and technology designed to foster dialogue. Cultural highlights of the festival include KulturTour, a cultural roadshow that will bring live performances, a media library, storytellers, and films to public spaces in 17 cities. And at the São Paulo Biennale in February 2014, the Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce will present Ecogerma—Future Visions, an exhibition of innovations for sustainable urban living that will tour the country. With the run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there is no better way to celebrate shared bonds than the favorite sport of both Germans and Brazilians: soccer. The exhibition Os Brasileiros na Bundesliga (Brazilians in the German National League) summarizes the rich history of German-Brazilian futebol relations and highlights some of the Brazilian soccer legends who have played in German clubs. For a full program of events, visit: www.alemanha-brasil.org. Back to top World Creole Festival The Caribbean island of Dominica is known as Nature Island for its natural beauty, quiet and rich ecology, but this month it will come alive with pulsing rhythms and dance to mark the 17th annual World Creole Music Festival. The October 25–27 festival draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. The music on display at the festival—including calypso, kompas, zouk, soukous, bouyon, and zydeco—reflects the rich diversity of Creole culture and music in places ranging from Haiti and Venezuela to Louisiana. Creole music grew out of the mingling of French and African music traditions during the colonial period. Though New Orleans brought world attention to Creole music during the first half of the twentieth century, the genre actually comprises a variety of styles, a reflection of the geographic diversity of the places that have given birth to Creole music and evolving tastes. Creole music serves as a vehicle for “the cultural history that links people of the Creole world,” says Benoît Bardouille, chairman of the Discover Dominica Authority. The festival coincides with Dominica’s Independence Day festivities, making for a week-long celebration of both Creole culture and the island nation’s independence. According to Tourism Minister Ian Dougla s, more local artists from Dominica will perform this year than in previous festivals. But the local stars will be part of an international lineup that includes Marchel Montano, a soca artist from Trinidad; Busy Signal, a dancehall reggae performer from Jamaica; Tito Puente Jr., the Latin jazz musician from New York; the contemporary Nigerian pop duo Bracket; Carimi and Nu Look of Haiti; and zouk artists Jean-Marc Ferdinand, Patrice Haulman and Alex Alexie, and Orlane, all from New Orleans. The festival has been a resounding success since it was launched in 1997 to bolster tourism in Dominica and “promote Creole music as a major musical art form,” says Bardouille. Visitors spend an average $2.5 million each year, and last year they came from more than 15 countries. Bardouille notes that “for every dollar we spend on hosting the World Creole Music Festival,” the country receives nine dollars in revenue. A series of exhibitions throughout the island will also highlight Dominica’s culture and history with examples of dance, food and Creole literature. Of course, with music as the central theme of the festival, all the events will be infused with rhythms of Creole music that seem to “arise naturally from the island’s geography and natural grace,” Bardouille says. Back to top Skip Traffic with EcoBici In 1992, Mexico City was dubbed “the most polluted city on the planet” by the United Nations. Ever since, city officials have been struggling to lose that tag. One of their most innovative (and successful) ideas is a bicycle-sharing program called EcoBici. Not only is EcoBici, launched in February 2010, the largest bikeshare system in Latin America; it is the ninth largest bike-sharing program in the world. EcoBici was developed by the federal Ministry of the Environment to promote alternative modes of urban transportation. Over the past three years, the program, which cost $6.25 million to implement, has reduced the use of motorized vehicles in the city’s congested urban core. Especially noteworthy: 13 percent of EcoBici users report they have stopped using cars to get around the city. But the bike-sharing program hasn’t just gotten cars off the street. Fifteen percent of EcoBici riders said they felt healthier, and 7 percent claimed to have lost weight—a noteworthy result in a country where nearly 33 percent of the population is overweight. EcoBici’s popularity can be measured by followers on social networks, such as Facebook, where the program boasts over 90,000 users who have made over 9.2 million trips to date. Riders who participate in the program can choose from 275 different locations and use the bike for up to 45 minutes per trip. Subscribers have the option of purchasing an annual subscription for 400 pesos($32) or a daily fare for 90 pesos ($7). If the health benefits aren’t enough to entice drivers away from their cars, the program also provides unique perks. Frequent users of the system are enrolled in a rewards program that enables them to earn points toward free movie tickets, complimentary cups of coffee and books on the environment. While EcoBici offers a healthy alternative to driving, joyriders beware: if the bike isn’t returned within 24 hours, a penalty of 5,482 pesos ($416) is applied. Back to top 10 Things to Do: Antigua, Guatemala BY NIC WIRTZ La Antigua, in Guatemala’s central highlands, offers a trip through several layers of time, providing snapshots of baroque Spanish colonial architecture, pre-Colombian Mayan cultures and ancient but still smoldering volcanoes. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s a short drive from the bustling national capital of Guatemala City. Don’t forget to bring sturdy walking shoes. 1. Explore 18th century ruins. Despite a devastating 1773 earthquake, Antigua is regarded as the best preserved Spanish colonial city in Central America. Don’t miss Las Capuchinas (Capuchin Convent), La Merced, the convent of Santa Clara, and the baroque-style El Carmen church. ($20 for a walking tour.) 2. Sample local art. Once you’ve toured El Fotógrafo, Guatemala’s only gallery dedicated entirely to photography, stop by Santa Chivita for fair-trade heirloom gifts and fine art created by local residents. 3. Lose yourself in the market. If anything encapsulates the spirit of Antigua, it’s market day. Held on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the varied traje (traditional dress) of the Indigenous vendors is as colorful as their fresh produce. Don’t be afraid to bargain. 4. Climb an ancient volcano. Hike up one of the nearby volcanoes, such as Agua Acatenango or the still-active Pacaya. The more adventurous can plan overnight stays—though with recent robberies of day-trekkers, even the adventurous should consider hiring security. ($45-$50 for a four hour climb.) 5. People watch in the Parque Central. Antigua once served as Guatemala’s capital, and it remains a crossroads for the country’s diverse Indigenous cultures, as well as a destination for every brand of tourist. Park yourself near the old fountain in the city’s central plaza and enjoy the passing parade. 6. Taste artisanal Guatemalan coffee. Stop by the Finca Azotea ($6) or Finca Colombia ($15) to see how Antigua’s renowned Arábica coffee is produced, from plantation harvest to roasting. 7. Sample street food. Street vendors in the city center offer a savory substitute for a sitdown meal, with delicacies such as chuchitos (corn dough with spicy salsa and meat) and atol (corn and cinnamon drink). 8. Experience Mayan culture. One Sunday a month, watch children from the nearby town of San Antonio Aguas Calientes perform traditional dances accompanied by a marimba band at Peña del Sol Latino. 9. Buy a traje típico. Each of Guatemala’s Indigenous groups is identifiable by elaborate handwoven textiles worn as traditional ponchos and sashes for men, and dresses or shawls for women. Before buying, visit La Pólvora (Museo Casa Del Tejido Antiguo.) Typical dress can range from $30 to well over $100. 10. Taste chocolate fit for a king. Guatemalan chocolate, like its coffee, is of excellent quality and fi ne heritage. A gift of Mayan chocolate was valued highly, and at ChocoMuseo you will see why. Spend a day at the cacao finca ($25 per person) or design your own chocolate ($23). View a slideshow of photos from Antigua, Guatemala. All photos courtesy of Nic Wirtz. Back to top El Barrio Tours East Harlem—also known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio—located in northeastern Manhattan, has long been a destination for immigrants settling in New York City. East Harlem—also known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio—located in northeastern Manhattan, has long been a destination for immigrants settling in New York City. Once a hub for recent arrivals from Germany and Italy, the neighborhood became a primarily Puerto Rican enclave after World War II. Andrew Padilla, a 23-yearold filmmaker who was born and raised in El Barrio, sought to document a new phenomenon taking place in his neighborhood: gentrification. El Barrio Tours, Padilla’s 28-minute documentary short, focuses on the changing demographics in an area once considered immune to gentrification due to the high number of public housing projects. The film, which won Best Documentary Short at the 2012 Puerto Rican International Film Festival and the 2013 Peoples’ Film Festival, documents some of the area’s most dramatic changes over the past decade. View a slideshow of El Barrio below: Padilla’s vivid and moving film underlines what happens to a close-knit community when its long-time residents are forced out. “When I was growing up,” Padilla says, “you knew the butcher, the baker and the coquito-maker, and these people looked out for you, [but]… as I began to get older, I realized that these people were moving away and that new people and businesses were taking their place.” The filmmaker himself was forced to leave his apartment due to rising rent and now sleeps on his parents’ couch. Padilla highlighted iconic members of the community, such as Claudio Caponigro—affectionately known as “Claudio the Barber”—who moved his shop after 60 years when he could no longer make rent. Not even its iconic status as one of the last vestiges of East Harlem’s Italian past (supporters recommended it for landmark status in a proposed East Harlem historic district) could save Claudio’s barbershop. Padilla, who had no formal training in film, hoped to produce more than just an exercise in nostalgia. He aimed to start a conversation about the unintended cost of gentrification. “You see the neighborhood getting better because gentrification is a form of development and it is seen as progress,” Padilla says, “but this type of development is not in the best interest of working and middleclass families.” The film premiered at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, and Padilla has since screened it in neighborhoods throughout New York, such as in East Harlem, the Lower East Side and the Bronx, as well as in San Diego and San Juan, Puerto Rico. His hope, he says, is to spark a dialogue between “the gentrifiers and the gentrified.” Such dialogue may help spur the creation of vibrant mixed-income, multicultural communities that can preserve the history and residents who live in these neighborhoods. With the success of his first documentary, the new director plans to focus future film projects on similar neighborhoods in transformation around the country in San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and Detroit. View the trailer below: All photos courtesy of Andrew Padilla. Back to top From the Think Tanks Human Rights Watch Ecuador’s criminal code limits women’s and girls’ ability to safely access reproductive care by imposing harsh penalties for those who seek abortion, including survivors of sexual assault and rape. According to a new Human Rights Watch report, Rape Victims as Criminals: Illegal Abortion after Rape in Ecuador, women and girls who obtain abortions face sentences ranging from one to five years in prison, with even harsher penalties given to medical professionals who perform the procedures. The restrictive laws have led many women and girls to seek unsafe and illegal abortions, contributing to maternal injury and death, and imposing obstacles for women seeking “potentially life-saving medical care.” Center for Strategic and International Studies The renewed Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has launched a series of new reports and initiatives. A policy brief issued in July predicted that Asian commerce will play an increasingly important role in shaping Pacific Alliance member states’ intra-regional relations and affairs with China. Another, on declining Mexican immigration to the United States, warned that the improving economic environment in Mexico could reverse current immigration trends and hurt the U.S. economy. Future reports will examine rule of law, finance, politics in Argentina, and the state of press freedom in the Americas. Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo, A. C. Mexico’s dependence on non-renewable energy sources threatens to curtail its unprecedented economic growth and limit its ability to satisfy growing domestic and commercial demand for energy. Renovando el Futuro Energético de México, a new report by the Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo, A. C. (Development ResearchCenter—CIDAC), finds that Mexico increased its greenhouse gas emissions by 330 percent from 1970 to 2010, while taking little action to develop institutions that can formulate a blueprint for sustainable long-term energy security. The report recommends developing a national policy framework to incentivize use of renewable energy sources; strengthening the authority of regulatory energy agencies; designating additional resources to develop improved infrastructure for sustainable energy production; and eliminating state subsidies for fossil fuel energy production.