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Two busloads of migrants reported missing; CDMX shelter at capacity

Human rights official claims about 100 are missing after they were kidnapped and turned over to criminals

by Mexico News Daily

Two busloads of Central Americans traveling as part of the first migrant caravan were kidnapped and handed over to a criminal organization, a human rights official claims.

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) said today that about 80 migrants are missing.

Oaxaca human rights ombudsman Arturo Peimbert said yesterday that both he and the Mexico office of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had received reports that around 100 migrants disappeared while traveling through the state of Puebla on Saturday.

Peimbert told the news website Huffington Post that the migrants were abducted by the bus drivers and handed over to suspected criminals who presumably belong to the Zetas drug cartel.

He said that neither state nor federal authorities have responded to reports of the incident.

Criminal groups have long preyed on Central Americans transiting Mexico, forcing men into working for them and pushing women into prostitution. Those who refuse to cooperate run the risk of being killed.

Edgar Corzo, a human rights academic who is serving as a caravan observer for the CNDH, told a press conference this morning that the commission is “taking the corresponding steps” to search for the missing migrants.

Contradicting Peimbert’s earlier claim, Corzo said the migrants had disappeared in Isla, Veracruz, and that the CNDH is “seeking information and questioning people” in that municipality in order to try to establish exactly what happened.

He added that the CNDH had warned migrants and authorities that the route the migrants took through Veracruz “is quite a complicated stretch in terms of security” due to “organized crime risks.”

As the two busloads of migrants remain missing, thousands of their erstwhile travel companions are camping at a sports stadium in the Mexico City borough of Itzacalco.
Borough chief Armando Quintero said today that 7,020 migrants have arrived at the makeshift shelter that is now at “the limit of its capacity.”

He explained that authorities had only expected around 4,000 people, adding that there are worried about how they will cope with the arrival of even more migrants who are still traveling through southern Mexico.

“We have no other option than to deal with the situation but we are worried because contingents continue to arrive,” Quintero said.

He added that medical personnel are attending to the migrants and that hygiene precautions are being taken to avoid the spreading of illness.

Mexico City Mayor José Ramón Amieva said that more migrants are expected to arrive today and tomorrow. He added that the stadium has a capacity for 5,500 people.

According to the Mexico City Human Rights Commission, there are 4,000 people currently at the shelter, meaning that it is only 72 percent full, contradicting Quintero’s claim.

The second caravan of migrants, made up of around 1,500 people, is resting today in Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, while yet more migrants are even farther away from the capital and the United States border.

As the thousands of Honduran, Salvadoran and Guatemalan migrants have traveled through southern Mexico over the past two weeks — walking long distances and hitching rides when possible — they have depended on municipal authorities for food and shelter.

Mexicans in large numbers have also handed out food and water to the migrants and offered transportation.

However, a poll conducted by the research firm Consulta Mitofsky shows that opinion is divided over whether migrants should be offered assistance as they travel through the country towards the United States border.

Asked whether Mexico should protect migrants and provide humanitarian aid or conversely not offer help and pressure them to return to their countries of origin, 51.4% of 1,000 survey respondents supported the former proposal.

Almost 34% of those polled said that migrants shouldn’t receive any government assistance while just under 15% didn’t respond or said they didn’t know.

Women, people living in rural areas and those of lower socio-economic status said that migrants should be helped and protected in greater numbers than men, people living in urban areas and wealthier respondents, the poll showed.

At least 160 migrants have been deported by Mexican authorities while an even greater number has voluntarily sought assistance to return home.

Some migrants are expected to remain in Mexico to seek work but most remain determined to reach the United States border to seek asylum despite warnings from U.S. President Trump that they won’t be made welcome.

Source: EFE (sp), Huffington Post (sp), Milenio (sp) El Economista (sp)

In other news in México:

Guerrero bishop seeks Christmas truce through dialogue with feuding narcos
Salvador Rangel intends to discuss the proposal with cartel leaders

A bishop in Guerrero is aiming to broker a Christmas truce between feuding cartels in the state’s Sierra region.

Salvador Rangel, bishop of the Chilapa-Chilpancingo diocese, said he is seeking to hold talks with cartel leaders to that end.

“If wars stop at Christmas even at the world level, why not in Guerrero? Let’s make that period, the most beautiful of the year, one in which we can live in peace,” he said in an interview after attending the first day of a peace forum held this week.

Warring cartels previously agreed to a truce during the electoral process leading up to the July 1 elections, Rangel said.

The “truth” about anti-oxidants

by Ben Fuchs
First person

I get lots of letters.

Mostly they’re honest questions from folks trying to resolve health issues and get back on track with taking care of their bodies, getting off prescription drugs and getting on a good nutritional supplement program.

Sometimes I get positive feedback or kudos encouraging me to carry on with my efforts to wake people up to the power of nutrition.

And sometimes (not too often fortunately) I get letters criticizing my work or the positions I take on health care, prescription drugs or vitamin and mineral supplementation.

Yesterday, I received a note that falls into that last category from a gentleman in Texas that referenced a story that appeared in the mainstream media questioning the health benefits of anti-oxidant type supplements.

The article threw cold water on the importance of these highly regarded nutritional substances and attempted to debunk the idea that they could have beneficial effects on health on longevity.

Even worse, it was headlined “We Spend Millions on Anti-oxidants, But Now Researchers Say They Make Our Bodies Age Faster” and implied that anti-oxidants may even have a harmful pro-aging effects.

Needless to say, as a longtime advocate for the use of these types of supplements, the letter and the title both grabbed my attention. However, after reading the study itself which was published online in the May 8, 2014 edition of the prestigious journal ”Cell”, what I discovered was, that despite the compelling and somewhat incendiary newspaper headline, that’s not what the researchers from McGill University in Canada actually concluded.

Rather than stating that anti-oxidantnutrients were harmful (the study actually never even mentioned the word “anti-oxidant”),the researchers were simply making the point that some toxic free radical effects that would ordinarily be neutralized by protective nutrients can potentially have longevity inducing effects.

This idea that substances that are toxic or poisonous may actually provide health benefits is based on the science of “hormesis”, a tried and true theory that says that small amounts of ordinarily harmful material may actually promote health. In other words, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Clearly there’s lots of evidence to support this theory, which, for example, explains the body building benefits associated with the stresses of exercise-induced muscle trauma as well as homeopathic practices which involve giving infinitesimally small doses of poisons to activate healing mechanisms.

But this idea of stresses and toxins supporting health should not be misconstrued to mean that the use of protective nutrients like anti-oxidants are somehow hurtful and can have an anti-health and anti-longevity effects. If that were the case then the next logical next step would be to immerse ourselves in toxicity and keep ourselves deprived of essential and protective nutrients lest we interfere with the hormetic, health promoting effects of toxins.

Clearly that’s nonsensical.

While no one disputes that some stresses whether they’re in the form of exercise, homeopathic medicines OR free radicals can be beneficial and can stimulate growth as well as health and longevity, to make that obvious truth mean that anti-oxidants, by virtue of their protective effects against cell damage, can somehow accelerate the aging process, is an inaccurate conclusion is at best a stretch and at worst a misleading unwarranted conclusion that flies in the of logic and common sense.

Local victories power California tenant movement, despite Prop. 10 loss

by the El Reportero’s wire services

Proposition 10, the proposed initiative to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, was stymied at the state ballot Tuesday thanks to an unprecedented $74 million in real estate industry opposition money, but there were also victories for rent control at local ballots across California.

In Oakland, voters approved Measure Y to close eviction loopholes, a significant expansion of Oakland’s local eviction protections to cover thousands of smaller buildings that were previously exempt. Nearby in Alameda, renters defeated Measure K, a real-estate industry measure to preempt rent control efforts, despite heavy spending in favor. Measure K was a trial balloon by the real estate industry of a recent strategy to gut local momentum for rent control and its failure has statewide significance.

In 2018, ten California municipalities gathered signatures, most for the first time, to put rent control on the ballot. With rent control maintaining broad popularity across the California electorate, more campaigns plan to launch for local rent control expansions, including the Sacramento rent control ballot measure already confirmed to appear on the November 2020 ballot. Los Angeles County is poised to adopt rent increase limits at a meeting next week, one of the most extensive expansions of renter protections in recent history. Meanwhile, a recent Los Angeles Times poll showed that “lack of rent control” was cited by Californians as the primary reason why housing in California remains unaffordable.

“Since the first new local rent control ordinances in over 30 years passed in Richmond and Mountain View, we’ve seen an incredible wave of interest in rent control to stabilize communities,” said Dean Preston, executive director of Tenants Together. “The more the real estate industry attempts to enforce a broken status quo at the expense of working-class renters, the harder California renters will fight for protections from unfair rent hikes and evictions. These local fights are the heart of this movement.”

Migrant minors and adolescents assisted in Mexico

The National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF) informed that 106 unaccompanied children and 45 teenage migrants who are now housed in the Palillo Martinez Stadium in this capital have been counseled.
The DIF also attended to 85 families from the first migrant caravan, mostly Hondurans, who remain in the sports facility of Iztacalco.

The institution said that it had restored the rights to six children traveling alone to begin the process of obtaining refugee status, and had assisted others to return to their countries.

The DIF added that it has provided immediate attention to the seven precautionary measures issued by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), which involve inter-institutional coordination, always aiming at the protection and restoration of the rights of children and adolescents. It said in a statement that it maintains coordinated work with the CNDH and agreed on actions with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The DIF explained that it has been providing assistance to minors in the caravan since October 24, in the state of Chiapas, and now in the capital of the country.

Led Zeppelin continues battle for Stairway to Heaven’s rights

by the El Reportero’s news services

The members of the legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin are fighting in court for the copyright of the iconic song Stairway to Heaven, specialized media reported on Thursday.

The lawsuit over Stairway to Heaven was filed two years ago, when it was claimed in court that Led Zeppelin had copied the beginning of the song Taurus, by the US band Spirit.

The group that made history in the genre from the late 1960s to the 1980s has maintained the claim at the Ninth Circuit Justice of San Francisco to reverse an October ruling that revived a lawsuit about the introduction of the famous song.

According to the claim, the ruling may cause ‘widespread confusion’ and alter the ‘delicate balance’ between copyright protection and public domain, so the musicians of the highly-acclaimed British band asked the court to reconsider the annulment of a jury order in 2016 that assures that there is no violation.

US Ballet dancers perform at Festival Gala in Cuba

Dancers from several American companies will perform Monday in Cuba during the 26th Alicia Alonso International Ballet Festival in Havana.

The festival, opened on Sunday, takes place in Havana until November 6 with the participation of ballet dancers from more than a dozen countries.

Under the title ‘Stars of American Ballet’, representatives of the New York City Ballet (NYCB) and other relevant American companies will carry out a gala at Mella Theater on Monday and Tuesday.

Among the announced dancers are Daniel Ulbricht, Teresa Reichlen, Ask la Cour, Sterling Hyltin, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Indiana Woodward and Gonzalo García, of the NYCB.

Joseph Gatti and Danielle Diniz; as well as Ukrainian ballroom dancers Antonina Skobina and Denys Drozdyuk, now living in the United States, will join to the gala.

Drozdyuk is a three-time world champion in ballroom, two-time U.S. national champion and has several awards in this dance modality; while Diniz has a vast experience in musical theater works in her country.

Much of the choreographies in the program belongs to renowned creators such as George Balanchine (the pas de deux of ‘Tarantella’, ‘Apollo’ and ‘Diamond’), Christopher Wheeldon (Liturgy) and Alexei Ratmansky (Pictures at an Exhibition Pas).

Skobina and Drozdyuk will dance one piece of the acclaimed ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson; while Gatti and Ulbricht will show virtuosity to the rhythm of ‘The Animals’ in the superb version of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’, with choreography by Brazilian Marcelo Gomes.

Pharrell Williams demands Trump to stop using his song Happy

U.S. singer and producer Pharrell Williams is among the artists who have demanded that President Donald Trump stop using his songs in campaign-style rallies led by him.

The Los Angeles Times reported that on Monday a lawyer for the rapper sent a letter of cease and desist to the ruler for putting the song Happy during a political rally last Saturday, shortly after the mass shooting in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a mad ‘nationalist,’ you played the song Happy to a crowd at a political event in Indiana, lawyer Howard E. King wrote in the letter.

There was nothing happy about the tragedy inflicted on our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for the use of this song for that purpose, he added.

King noted that the singer is the owner of the rights of that work, and stressed that Williams has not granted the President, nor will he grant him permission to play or publicly broadcast his music in any way. ‘The use of Happy without permission constitutes a copyright infringement,’ he said.

Other figures in the world of music who have banned the head of the White House from using their themes for political rallies are the British singer Adele, the Canadian singer Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones and Queen bands.

Opera singers to compete in Metropolitan Opera auditions in San Miguel

Up to four winners will advance to the next step in the auditions process

by the El Reportero’s news services

Classical music promoter Pro Musica of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, has been named the Mexico organizer for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (MONCA).

The competition gives young opera singers the opportunity to launch major careers and ultimately win US $15,000 in cash prizes.

Auditions in San Miguel will take place on Nov. 8 and a public winners concert will be held two days after.

“Mexico has a vibrant opera history with Mexican stars like the late Oralia Domínguez, Javier Camarena and Ramón Vargas gracing the stage of the world’s great opera houses. That legacy continues today and Pro Musica is honored to be partnering with the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in helping more talented young singers achieve their dreams,” added Michael Pearl, president of the organization.

More than 1,000 opera singers between the ages of 20 and 30 are expected to participate in the 2019 MONCA program, the longest-running singing competition in the United States.

Up to four winners of the San Miguel-Mexico district will each receive $1,500 in prize money and move on to the 2019 Gulf Coast Regional Finals to be held in January in New Orleans.

Past winners include some of the world’s best-known opera stars, among them Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Jessye Norman, and Frederica von Stade. On average, nearly 100 alumni of the National Council Auditions are seen each season in Metropolitan Opera performances.

Throughout the four-stage competition process, members of the Met’s artistic staff and other professionals from the opera world judge the auditions, giving each singer feedback that includes career advice and ideas on future engagements. (Mexico News Daily).

ROMA will be available in theaters and on Netflix in December

The most personal project to date from Academy Award®-winning director and writer Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien), ROMA follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst political turmoil of the 1970s. Cuarón’s first project since the groundbreaking Gravity in 2013, ROMA will be available in theaters and on Netflix in December.

Colorful carpets adorn the streets of Tlapa, Guerrero, for annual procession
Señor del Nicho is a fusion of religious traditions

Daily life in the streets of Tlapa de Comonfort, Guerrero, came to a standstill on Tuesday but not because of another wave of violence.

It was time for a yearly celebration dedicated to an image of Jesus Christ that mixes pre-Hispanic traditions with modern acts of faith.

Early in the morning on October 23 the main streets of the eastern Guerrero city are closed off to traffic and entire families begin working on what will become colorful and ephemeral sawdust carpets.

Each carpet will vary in design and intricacy, but all are dedicated as an offering to el Señor del Nicho.

Traditions in pre-Hispanic times called for the paths followed by dignitaries and other prominent citizens were to be adorned with intricate carpets made out of flowers and petals.

“Imprisoned” benefit screening in support of Puerto Ricans in Action

by the El Reportero‘s news services

An Imprisoned Benefit Screening in support of Puerto Ricans in Action (PRiA) will take place, to raise funds for Hurricane Maria relief efforts through donations made at this star-studded, red carpet event.

The Imprisoned Benefit Screening presented by OPENING showcase, in association with the American Cinematheque, will be hosted by Esai Morales and Lisa Vidal and will take place on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018 at the American Cinematheque’s historic Egyptian Theater.

A portion of the proceeds raised from the event will be donated to Puerto Ricans in Action, an organization formed in 2016 with the sole mission to ensure the vibrant future of the Puerto Rican people by strengthening Puerto Rican identity, communities, and connection with Puerto Rico .

Cuban musician Chucho Valdés to be honored at La Musa Awards

Cuban musician Jesus ” Chucho ” Valdés will be honored on Thursday at the 6th edition of the annual La Musa Award due to his career and contributions to that event throughout his 50-year career.

The awards, presented by Spotify and directed by American Broadway producer Richard Jay-Alexander, highlight the development of Latin music and the global association of composers who, as Valdés, contributes so much to contemporary music.

The renowned pianist will also receive the Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence 2018 during a gala on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas, the United States.

Neruda case awaits response from Chilean government

Highly revered in Madrid and Barcelona, Pablo Neruda is a prominent figure in the world of letters, but in his homeland, Chile, he still waiting for a more preponderant place in society.

There are many awards on his name, but there is no street named after him, or a memorial to remember his career, including a Nobel Prize for Literature. There are justified doubts about the true causes of his death.
On the 45th anniversary of his death on September 23, 1973, there were just a few tributes in Chile to remember Neruda. However, I was highly honored in other countries.

A few days ago, the Sweden-based Pablo Neruda Committee sent a letter to Chilean President Sebastian Piñera to express ‘deep concern’ about the government’s failure to pay the international laboratories that are investigating the writer’s death. Prestigious experts from Canada, France, the United States, Spain, Denmark and Chile are investigating the cause of death of Ricardo Eliecer Neftali Reyes Basoalto, his real name.

In the letter, the Committee said that it had learned that the Chilean State had informed Special Judge Mario Carroza that it lacks the funds to pay for the services from the laboratories.

The debt, which amounts to some 38,000 dollars, prevents Canada’s Mac Master Laboratories and Dr. Niels Morling, from Denmark, to continue the investigation, and the reports were already handed over to the panel that met here in 2017.

‘We consider that this situation should be resolved soon by the State of Chile in order to continue the progress of the investigation, whose expecting advance we observe from Europe,’ the letter said.

Daddy Yankee to be honored with the icon award during the “Latin American Music Awards”

by the El Reportero’s news services

Daddy Yankee, who is up for six awards this year, will be the recipient of the special Icon Award at the upcoming “Latin American Music Awards” (Latin AMAs). The Latin AMA Icon Award is given to the most distinguished and beloved artist of the Hispanic world, who is recognized on every continent as the King or Queen of its music genre. The recipient of the Latin AMA Icon Award interprets our life in his songs, forms an important part of Latin America’s history and is considered a musical hero. Daddy Yankee will also be performing at the Latin AMAs, which will broadcast live from the prestigious Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on Thursday October 25, 2018 at 8pm/7c, preceded by the one-hour carpet pre-show La Alfombra de Latin AMAs at 7pm/6c. The show will also air simultaneously on Spanish-language entertainment cable network, Universo.

Daddy Yankee will come to the Latin AMAs at the heels of his hugely successful world tour that recently took him to Shanghai, where fans welcomed him dancing to the tune of Dura. The Puerto Rican artist, who recently collaborated with Janet Jackson in her latest comeback “Made For Now,” triumphed in the world of reggaeton, but it was his album Barrio Fino with his international hit Gasolina that propelled him into international stardom, introducing audiences worldwide to the rhythm of this new genre.

U.S. Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame to Award Cuban Artists

The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that it will award the Cuban duo Gente de Zona (GZ) and composer Descemer Bueno during the 2018 annual La Musa Awards gala to honor the world”s greatest Latin music creators.

According to the announcement on its official website, the GZ binomial composed of Alexander Delgado and Randy Malcom will be honored with the Premio Triunfador Award, while Bueno will receive the Premio Conquistador Award, in tribute to his contributions to Cuban music.

During the ceremony, scheduled for Oct. 18 at the James L. Knight Center in the city of Miami, the special award ‘Legend in Life’ will be presented to Spanish singer Raphael and the iconic Puerto Rican salsa icon Victor Manuelle.

Likewise, Puerto Rican singer Ektor Rivera will be recognized with the Host Award and Colombian Karol G with the Musa Elena Casals, an award that highlights the performance of the women in the music industry.

As a highlight of the gala, there will be a tribute to Mexican Gloria Trevi, Cuban Chucho Valdes, Ecuadorian Carlos Rubio Infante and Venezuelan Fernando Osorio, who will enter the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame this 2018.
Among the musicians already belonging to the Hall of Fame, Mexican Ana Gabriel, Spanish Camilo Sesto, Puerto Rican Jose Feliciano, Chilean Miriam Hernandez and Salvadoran Alvaro Torres standing out.

EstrellaTV reveals list of nominees for the 19thEdition of Premios de la Radio

EstrellaTV, announced today the list of nominees for its Premios de la Radio awards ceremony from Auditorio Telmex in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

For this year’s edition of Premios de la Radio, which will be held in Mexico for the first time in its history, the artists that garnered the highest number of nods include: Christian Nodal (5), followed by Alfredo Olivas (4), El Fantasma (4) and Virlán García (4); while superstars Julión Álvarez, Banda MS and Gerardo Ortiz obtained three nods each.

For the first time in the history of the awards ceremony, EstrellaTVwill broadcast the show live from Guadalajara, Jalisco as a sign of solidarity with those recording artists that have been denied visas to work in the United States.

By taking its music awards show to Mexico, the network is also standing firm with Latino immigrants who have been deported and whose families have been separated at the border.

Effective today, online voting is open to the public, so that they may vote for their favorite artists and bands on www.premiosdelaradio.com. The three-hour show will be broadcast live on November 8th on EstrellaTV from 8-11PM/7-10PM C and will also be live streamed simultaneously on the aforementioned web site.

Vanity Fair magazine recognizes Salma Hayek

The Mexican actress was named Personality of the Year by the magazine’s Spanish edition

by the El Reportero‘s staff

Mexican actress Salma Hayek has been named Personality of the Year by the magazine Vanity Fair Spain.

A gala hosted by the Teatro Real opera house of Madrid was the setting for Hayek’s acknowledgement, a ceremony that also celebrated Vanity FairSpain’s 10th anniversary.

“Thank you very much, I am honored by this acknowledgement and by sharing this night with all of you,” she told the audience as she stood on the stage with friend and Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, who presented the award.

“Penélope and I had a different type of ambition, we both wanted to be good actresses, and it was important for both of us to also be good people. It was important to not lose our roots, our values, on the way,” said Hayek, 52, adding that in Cruz she found a companion with whom she “navigated the turbid waters of Hollywood.”

“It is very special for me to receive this award from someone who has been a pillar in my life,” she continued.

A prominent voice in the international #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault, Hayek emphasized the importance of empowering women, something she considers “important for the well-being of humanity.”

“It is tragic, unfair and stupid to strip us of the right to be respected as human beings. We are human beings and should at least be respected as one. And in many places and in many ways, we are not given even that minimal respect,” she said.

Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, in 1966. Her career started in 1988 and has led her to conquer Mexican TV screens and the international silver screen.

Latin American Music Awards 2018: Ozuna and J Balvin Lead Nominations

Colombian singer J Balvin and Puerto Rican Ozuna are leading the list of nominees for the 2018 Latin American Music Awards, with nine nominations each.

The artists are competing in the main categories of the lauros, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Favorite Artist.

The fourth edition of the awards also features Nicky Jam (eight nominations), Daddy Yankee (six), and Bad Bunny, Sergio Lizarraga’s MS Band and Christian Nodal (five).

Other nominees are Luis Fonsi, Maluma, Romeo Santos, Shakira, Wisin, and the Cuban duo Gente de Zona, the latest in the Tropical Favorite Artist category.

The awards ceremony will take place on October 25 at the Dolby Theater in L.A, and according to its organizers, Cardi B, Christian Nodal, the CNCO group, Ludacris, Prince Royce, and Becky G, among others, will participate.

Nominations for the Latin American Music Awards, now in its fourth year, are based on record sales of digital albums and songs, radio broadcasts and streaming.

These awards recognize the best of Latin music, and the winners are chosen by the vote of the audience.

Receives the Latin Grammy nomination in the category Best Rock Album

The Uruguayan band No Te Va Gustar (NTVG) was pleasantly surprised to receive the Latin Grammy nomination in the Best Rock Album category for their most recent production and one of the group’s most praised albums, “Suenan Las Alarmas” (Popart).

This is the eighth nomination the Montevideo-based group receives from the Latin Recording Academy throughout their career. Para Cuando Me Muera the single that anticipated the album, also received a nomination for Best Alternative Song last year.

With this album the group embraces the solidity and elegance that the band has built for over more than two decades of trajectory between songs, albums, collaborations, concerts and restless tours in Latin America, the United States and Spain.

The group is currently in Los Angeles on their U.S. tour for Suenan Las Alarmas, where they will perform tonight at the Üateke Rock Fest and on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the same festival in San Diego, California.

If the migrant caravan is an ‘invasion’ What’s the term for what the US is doing in Syria, Iraq, etc?

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Dear readers:

Much has been written in the media about the caravan of people – mainly from Honduras and other neighbor nations – who have left their Central American countries and seen walking on highways – in pursuit for a new beginning in their lives, as their own homelands have not been able to provide them with the security one needs to live as a human being.

They lack what we in the US have, the means for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” which is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the “unalienable rights” which the Declaration says have been given to all human beings by their creator, and which governments are created to protect.

But those rights are absent there. Instead, you’ll find: criminal gangs, government violence, poverty, lack of jobs and opportunities. This has pushed many to leave their homes and are now heading to the US, even if it means risking their own lives.

Although it is suspected that there is a hidden agenda behind the caravan that has been called an invasion, and that George Soros is responsible for promoting and channeling the funds to pay for many of the expenses associated with the travesty in order to destroy Donald Trump’s goverment, the truth is, the US has a big responsibility for those countries’ failures and plights for supporting corrupt military governments that have abused their power for decades, while they ransacked the coffers of their nations.

Written by Matt Agorist, from the Free Though Project, the following article gives us a deep analytical point of view of who is right and who’s wrong in the debate of the caravan that is slowly travelling north of Mexico toward the border of the US, to request for political asylum. – Marvin Ramírez.

______________


No, the 5,000 people fleeing violence—created by the United States—is not an invasion, but US tanks rolling through the streets of Syria certainly is

by Matt Agorist

Depending on which side of the TV you get your information from, you’re either waiting for thousands of migrant women and children seeking their part of the American dream to show up in Arizona, or, you are waiting for armed terrorists sent here by George Soros on an invasion mission ready to kill you and take your job. The reality, however, is neither of these.

On Monday, President Donald Trump tweeted out that the “migrant caravan” is “an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!” This rhetoric is not only dangerous, but it’s entirely inaccurate.

It is a verifiable fact that roughly 5,000 men, women, and children are making a northward trek by foot, bus, and any other means, through Mexico. The reason for their trip, however, is not to “invade” the United States but rather to seek asylum from an assault originating in Washington DC that has long been perpetuated against the people of Central and South America by both parties.

The reality is that these folks are not “moving” or “migrating,” rather they are fleeing the violence in their homeland that is a direct result of American policy in that region. While the United States does not have a migrant crisis, we most assuredly have a refugee crisis—and it’s our fault.

Starting under Ronald Reagan, the US has been funding extremist military regimes who’ve carried out mass murder, kidnappings and tortures in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

US-backed military coups, exploitation of resources, and America’s history of spreading economic neoliberalism in El Salvador have sent the entire region into chaos—just like what happens in all the countries who’ve been unfortunate enough to receive some “freedom” from the US. What’s more, it’s effectively created a climate where paramilitary-aligned drug cartels can and do thrive.

People fleeing conflict in their country—that is a direct result of bipartisan American policy—does nothing for either of the parties’ platforms. However, when you can spin what’s happening to make “the other guys” look bad by lying to Americans about why there are thousands of people walking through Mexico, then you have the makings of a political campaign.

To call this an “invasion” is not only entirely inaccurate, but it’s insanely hypocritical. Even if the majority of this caravan does make it to the US border, there is absolutely no way that they would or could invade us—even without the US military that Trump is sending that way. To be entirely clear on that notion, here is the definition of “invasion”:

NOUN

1. an act or instance of invading or entering as an enemy, especially by an army. (They have no army)
2. the entrance or advent of anything troublesome or harmful, as disease. (They are human beings, not a disease)
3. entrance as if to take possession or overrun: (5,000 people could never take possession or overrun anything in such a well armed country)

Fleeing to another country because your children are being kidnapped, murdered and tortured as a direct result of foreign governments meddling in your country is not an invasion.

On the contrary, however, flying tanks, bombs, jets, and troops overseas and stationing yourself inside the borders of a sovereign nation—without being invited—is an invasion.

Democrats and Republicans are all for invasions when it’s the US who is carrying them out. One need only look at the nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries across the planet that the US maintains to prove this point.

Moreover, one need only look at list of countries the United States has entered without permission over the last two decades—like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, to name a few—and laid waste to their infrastructure, populations, and environments.

US tanks rolling down the streets of southern Syria in At Tanf is what an “invasion” looks like—not men, women, and children feeling US-created violence.

Drones flying overhead, dropping hellfire missiles on hospitals, blowing up dozens of innocent children is what an invasion looks like.

Troops raiding homes in the middle of the night, holding entire families at gunpoint while searching the house for non-existent evidence of ties to Al-Qeada is what an invasion looks like.

Currently, the only country raiding homes in America and holding entire families at gunpoint, spying on them with unethical technology, and killing innocent people is the United States. Until that changes, any talk of an actual invasion is merely that, talk.

In 2009, Ron Paul summed up American foreign policy and the direct impact it has on creating terrorism, fostering refugees, and stoking hatred toward the US. Although the speech below is over nine years old, it still holds true today. If you really want to know what creates problems around the world, like refugees and terrorism, you need to imagine what it feels like if it actually happened to you.

Caravan No. 1 waits in Juchitán hoping for transportation to Mexico City

Migrants want help getting to the capital where they wish to meet with lawmakers

by Mexico News Daily

Around 4,000 Central American migrants will remain in Juchitán, Oaxaca today as they attempt to organize mass transportation to Mexico City.

At a meeting last night, members of the first and largest of the three migrant caravans now in Mexico formed a committee to negotiate with authorities to try to secure buses to take the weary migrants to the capital.

The mainly Honduran migrants, including many women and children, are currently camped out at a disused bus station in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec city that last year was ravaged by a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake.

Around 4,000 Central American migrants will remain in Juchitán, Oaxaca as they attempt to organize mass transportation to Mexico City.

At a meeting last night, members of the first and largest of the three migrant caravans now in Mexico formed a committee to negotiate with authorities to try to secure buses to take the weary migrants to the capital.

The mainly Honduran migrants, including many women and children, are currently camped out at a disused bus station in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec city that last year was ravaged by a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake.

Water tanks were set up at the site to allow the travelers to bathe and a giant screen projected soccer matches, children’s shows and the movie Coco.

Most members of the caravan slept on the ground on blankets or cardboard with tarps tied to foliage providing only rudimentary protection.

“We are waiting to see if they are going to help us out with buses to continue the trip,” 27-year-old Honduran farmer Omar López told the Associated Press.

Red Cross personnel today bandaged López’s feet, left badly-swollen after walking on highways through Guatemala and Mexico every day for the past two weeks and sleeping exposed to the elements with nothing more than a thin sheet of plastic for cover.

If Mexican authorities do provide transportation — as yet they have provided no indication that they will — caravan representatives said they will travel to Mexico City to meet with federal lawmakers.

Most migrants intend to continue their journey towards the United States border after stopping in the capital despite threats from U.S. President Trump that they won’t be welcome when they arrive.

Trump continued his hardline rhetoric against the Central American migrants today, writing on Twitter:

“Our military is being mobilized at the Southern Border. Many more troops coming. We will NOT let these caravans, which are also made up of some very bad thugs and gang members, into the U.S. Our Border is sacred, must come in legally.

Mexican authorities are treading a fine line between trying to avoid upsetting the United States government and treating the migrants in accordance with international humanitarian obligations.

During the caravan’s first week in Mexico, Federal Police sometimes forced migrants off paid minibuses, citing insurance regulations, and stopped trucks from giving the Central Americans rides.

However, in recent days officials have helped organize transportation for straggling women and children and police have stood by as migrants clambered onto passing trucks.
The Secretariat of the Interior (Segob) said in a statement yesterday that two Honduran men who requested entry to Mexico were found to have arrest warrants against them in their country of origin, one for suspected homicide, the other for drug offenses.

The two, who were arrested in Chiapas, were deported to Honduras. Segob said the men were part of the migrant caravan but didn’t specify which.

A second caravan of as many as 2,000 migrants is still in Chiapas after entering Mexico Monday while a third contingent of Salvadoran migrants legally crossed into the country yesterday.

Despite Trump’s repeated claims that criminals are part of the migrant caravans, reporters traveling with the Central Americans and migrant advocates have denied that to be the case.

Asked about the U.S. president’s hardline stance on immigration, Honduran migrant Levin Guillén said “according to what they say, we are not going to be very welcome at the border” before adding “but we are going to try.”

The 23-year-old farmer from Corinto, Honduras, said that he had received threats in his homeland from the same people who killed his father 18 years ago.

Guillén hopes to find an aunt who lives in Los Angeles, where he hopes he will have the opportunity to live and work in peace.

“We just want a way to get to our final goal, which is the border,” he said.

Carlos Enrique Carcamo, a 50-year-old boat mechanic who is part of the second migrant caravan, echoed that sentiment although he added that if it doesn’t work out, there is also a Plan B.

“Continue on to the United States, that is the first objective,” he said. “But if that’s not possible, well, permission here in Mexico to work or stay here.”

Source: Associated Press (sp)

In other Mexico news:

Jalisco installing logistical hub in Honduras for Latin American exports

Small and medium-sized companies look to take some market share away from US

A group of exporters from Jalisco plan to establish a logistical hub in Honduras to help drive expansion into the Central American and South American markets.

The hub will be installed at Puerto Cortés, a port city on the Caribbean coast located 50 kilometers north of San Pedro Sula.

“We changed [the location of] the hub because Panama, where it was initially going to be set up, is renovating the Puerto Colón Free Trade Zone and Puerto Cortés offered us what we needed,” said Miguel Ángel Landeros, president of the western branch of the Mexican Foreign Trade Council (Comce).

“It’s a very modern port that’s practically in the middle of Central America. That’s where we’ll start operating,” he added.

Landeros said there are currently 19 Jalisco companies involved in the Comce-backed hub project who are seeking to tap into the southern markets.

The logistical hub will mainly benefit small and medium-sized Jalisco companies, giving them a warehouse that will allow them to ship their products more quickly and efficiently to different parts of the region.

According to Comce statistics, the seven Central American countries import products from the United States with a value of US $50 million per year.
By having a logistical hub in Honduras, the Jalisco companies hope to take some of that market for themselves.

Mexico currently lags well behind the U.S. in terms of exports to Central America.

For example, Honduras buys US $9 billion worth of products from the latter annually compared to just $US600 million from Mexico.

As part of their expansion into Central America, some of the Jalisco companies are also interested in setting up new production plants there.

The companies are planning to carry out trade missions to several Central American countries next year to strengthen their relations in the region and ensure that the hub project is a success.

Landeros said that in the first eight months of 2018, the value of all Jalisco’s exports was just under US $35.5 billion and the expectation is that the year will end with similar figures to last year when exports totaled US $48.4 billion.

For comparison, that figure puts it on a par with the states of Florida or Ohio, whose exports are worth only slightly more than those of Jalisco.

The Central American expansion is expected to help grow Jalisco’s export economy, which is made up of companies in 19 different sectors including agriculture, food and beverages, technology, auto parts, furniture and jewelry.

“Expectations for next year are very good because we will continue to broaden our [trade] links with other international markets,” Landeros said.

Source: El Economista (sp)

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