Category Archives: blog

Venezuelans flee violence in Ecuador (New Internationalist)

QUITO, ECUADOR – Ricardo Perez says he feels scared walking down the streets of Quito these days. He can’t wait to get back to his home in Venezuela. The 24-year-old migrant says he has long received dirty looks, been called names for being Venezuelan, and told to go home. Tensions hit a peak last weekContinueContinue reading “Venezuelans flee violence in Ecuador (New Internationalist)”

PhotoVideo ¡ Dia de Santa Cruz ! Angangueo, Michoacan

(Please hit the HD button when watching this video!) The small town of Angangueo is a colourful little place surrounded by mountains in the central Mexican state of Michoacan.  On May 3rd they celebrate el Dia de Santa Cruz with enough fireworks to blow up a small planet.  El Dia de Santa Cruz (Day ofContinueContinue reading “PhotoVideo ¡ Dia de Santa Cruz ! Angangueo, Michoacan”

Photovideo Filadelphia Street – Public Space, Change and Stability (Mercado de Martes)

Fascinated by the varying uses of public space, Visual Anthropologist Paola Frances Garnica and I documented the use of a particular street in Mexico City.  Looking at Filadelfia Street in the area Benito Juarez, we explored how the stability of the street can guide people’s actions (for example, where there is a chair I willContinueContinue reading “Photovideo Filadelphia Street – Public Space, Change and Stability (Mercado de Martes)”

Oaxaca’s Diversity at Odds with Mexico’s Education Reforms

Last week, students of Oaxaca, Mexico protested the new education reforms recently passed by Mexico’s new president Enrique Pena Nieto.  President Nieto has been very busy lately enacting new reforms.  Many international media have been hailing the education reforms as being a positive thing for the country, since Mexico’s public school system is largely seenContinueContinue reading “Oaxaca’s Diversity at Odds with Mexico’s Education Reforms”

Lucha Libre – Theatre, Sport or Critique of Capitalism?

Every Tuesday evening a group of men gather together to put on tight spandex pants, form fitting masks, bright capes, and in some cases lather themselves with oil and enter a ring to try to pin each other down for three seconds.  Welcome to Mexican Wrestling, known in Spanish as Lucha Libre. Lucha Libre differsContinueContinue reading “Lucha Libre – Theatre, Sport or Critique of Capitalism?”

Love, Loss and the Mexican Border

(From my ‘travel blog’ series, documenting by trip from Toronto, Canada to Mexico City by land.) The bus was more full than all the other transit I had taken so far.  We were on our way from San Antonio, Texas down to Mexico.  I was feeling anxious because I felt that I didn’t have spaceContinueContinue reading “Love, Loss and the Mexican Border”

Tales from the Dining Car. Chapter 2.

(From my ‘travel blog’ series, documenting by trip from Toronto, Canada to Mexico City by land.) About half way through Missouri a whole new set of heads emerged in the dinning car.  That’s when I met Buzz.  Buzz was sitting with a man that he clearly just met.  Much like the Texan earlier, Buzz wasContinueContinue reading “Tales from the Dining Car. Chapter 2.”

Tales from the Dining Car. Chapter 1.

(From my ‘travel blog’ series, documenting by trip from Toronto, Canada to Mexico City by land.) He had shaggy blond hair that flowed out of his cowboy hat and piercing blue eyes.  He was clean-shaven, had a slender built and couldn’t have been older than 25.  He wore a stripped shirt that he tucked intoContinueContinue reading “Tales from the Dining Car. Chapter 1.”

Three hours in Chicago 🔊

(From my ‘travel blog’ series, documenting by trip from Toronto, Canada to Mexico City by land.) On the way down to Austin, the train stopped in Chicago for about three and half hours – just enough time to meander through the downtown core.  This is the resulting sound walk: an aural glimpse of Chicago.  You’llContinueContinue reading “Three hours in Chicago 🔊”