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 week …

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 of …

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 will …

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 seen …