Virtually every year between the months of May and July, dark storm clouds gather over the small town of Yoro and unleash a tremendous storm with lightning, thunder, strong winds and heavy rain. After the downpour, hundreds of living fish are found on the ground. People take the fish home to cook and eat them. Locals believe the phenomenon is nothing less than an act of god. They trace its origin to a 19th-century Spanish missionary who prayed for a miracle to feed the people. Biologists say it can be explained scientifically, but have yet to provide any conclusive evidence. Either way you look at it, it’s an occasion for a party: the annual Festival de la Lluvia de Peces includes parades, music and lots of fried fish.

Base yourself in bustling San Pedro Sula, with its great entertainment and nightlife; from here it’s a three-hour bus ride to Yoro.

At the tip of the South American continent, Chilean youth rocked the country with massive demonstrations starting in May. The largest social mobilization since the fall of the Pinochet regime in 1990, the student movement is demanding “free and quality education” for everyone. Under the dictatorship much of education was privatized and today 70% of university students attend private institutions.

The students are part of a broader movement that is calling for the transformation of Chile. During the past year, copper mine workers have gone on strike, massive mobilizations have taken place to stop the construction of a huge complex of dam and energy projects in the Patagonia region of southern Chile, gay rights and feminist activists have marched in the streets, and the Mapuche indigenous peoples have continued to demand the restoration of their ancestral lands. Faced with the intransigence of the conservative government of billionaire president Sebastián Piñera, the movement is calling for a national plebiscite.

“If the government is not capable of responding to us, we will have to demand another non-institutional solution: the convocation of a plebiscite so that the citizens can decide on the educational future of the country,” asserts Camila Vallejo, part of the leadership of the Student Federation of the University of Chile and also a member of the Communist party.

Forty-two social organizations grouped together under the banner “Democracy for Chile” have rallied to back the student movement. Their manifesto proclaims: “The economic, social and political system is in a profound crisis that has compelled the communities to mobilize . . . An unprecedented and historic movement of citizens is questioning the bases of the economic and political order that were imposed in 1980” by the Pinochet constitution. The coalition supports the students’ call for a referendum, and argues that it should be “multi-thematic” and allow voters to decide whether to convene a constituent assembly that would have the power to draft a new constitution.

At the other end of Latin America a very different movement has emerged in Mexico to confront the violence of the drug cartels and the state. The drug war, launched by Mexican president Felipe Calderon shortly after he took office in 2006, has lead to an ever increasing spiral of violence that has taken the lives of upwards of 50,000 people. The United States, under Presidents Bush and Obama, has fully backed Calderon’s war and is sending hundreds of Drug Enforcement Agency agents deep into Mexico, some of which engage in direct combat.

Javier Sicilia – a renown poet and essayist whose son was a victim of the drug war – launched the Movement for Peace With Justice and Dignity with an open letter to Mexican politicians in May titled, “Estamos Hasta la Madre,” Mexican slang roughly translated as “We’ve had it up to Here.” The movement’s caravans have travelled across the country, drawing tens of thousands. Adhering strictly to non-violence, their objective is to galvanize the national consciousness with an awareness of the deaths and disappearances of both the innocent victims and the criminals. Movement supporters believe their struggle is rooted in the recent history of Mexican mobilizations, including the 1968 student uprising and the 1994 Zapatista rebellion in southern Mexico. Like these earlier movements, the Movement for Peace With Justice and Dignity is focusing attention on the poverty and economic despair that breeds violence in the cities and the countryside.

Time Magazine listed Sicilia as one of the global protestors that it declared “Person of the Year” in 2011. While acknowledging the transcendent importance of the Arab Spring and the indignados movement in an interview, Sicilia sees the Mexican peace and justice movement as having its own particular dynamic: “The movement’s success surprised me quite a bit. My intention at the beginning was just to signal the horror of the crimes committed as well as the government’s faulty reaction to it.” He concludes by saying that the broader concepts of “a community, a nation,” have helped reclaim “a public space for us and not the criminals.”

Under its broad umbrella, the peace and justice movement has also spawned two major occupations in Mexico City, one in front of the Mexico City Stock Exchange. People in these camps see themselves as part of the indignados and the Occupy Wall Street movements and practice horizontal decision-making at general assemblies.

Receiving scant attention are the protests against the extractivist model of economic development in Latin America. This model undergrids the centre-left governments as well as the more traditional regimes of Latin America. Oil and gas, minerals, and agricultural commodities comprise the bulk of the region’s exports, and even Brazil, the predominant manufacturing country of South America, receives over half of its export revenue from raw materials and agricultural commodities. While the region has weathered the more severe effects of the current global Great Recession, the growing extraction of these trade goods has often led to community and environmental protests over the abuse of lands and water resources that destroy the livelihood and even sometimes the very lives of the local populace.

As 2011 drew to a close the state of Cajamarca in northern Peru was shaken by demonstrations against the U.S.-based Newport Mining Corporation, which plans to make a $4.8 billion investment in a new gold mining operation. The company had first come to the state in 1993 to open up the nearby Yanacocha gold mine, the largest in Latin America, covering 535 square miles. Its operations there have contaminated the local water resources and lagoons. A large spill of mercury along a 45-kilometer stretch led to the contamination of over 1000 local residents with a number of infant deaths and deformities attributed to the spill.

Just before his inauguration in July, the left-of-centre president Ollanta Humala proclaimed his opposition to the new mining project, saying, “the lagoons of Cajamarca are not for sale, because you can’t drink gold, and you don’t eat gold.”

Yet a few months later he was giving the green light to Newport’s new mining project, leading to large-scale protests by the residents of the nearby communities and a strike by the mine workers. Confrontations occurred between the police and militant demonstrators leaving dozens injured. Humala then proclaimed a 90-day state of emergency in parts of Cajamarca. His prime minister Salomon Lerner resigned, Newport suspended its operations and when the demonstrators agreed to talks, Humala lifted the state of emergency. For the moment, the communities of Cajamarca had won a victory.

Humala also faces unrest in the southern state of Puno. Last March 25,000 demonstrators mobilized against the Big Bear Mining Corporation of Canada over its plans to develop a silver mine. Highland indigenous communities near the town of Huacullani insisted that they had not been consulted about the project and that the mine would ruin their lands and their subsistence livelihoods based on farming quinoa and potatoes and rearing alpacas. They proclaimed “¡Agro sí, mina no!” (Agriculture yes, mining no!) Humala has temporarily suspended the mining project but he has given no indication of what he will do next.

In much of Latin America a transformative and radical dialogue is taking place at the grassroots that questions the very process of development. The increasing clashes between the social movements and many of the new left governments is over how best to improve the lot of the indigenous communities and the rural poor. In Bolivia the dispute over linking the country into a transoceanic transportation corridor by tearing up the heart of the lowland Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) has raised fundamental questions about development and who benefits. When roughly 1000 marchers set off on the 360-mile trek from the park to La Paz on August 15, Morales called them “tourists” beholden to foreign interests. They were in fact marching to stop the destructive capitalist development of their homelands and calling for an alternative based on collective aspirations and respect for the natural world and the human beings who share it.

In Ecuador, many of the social movements are denouncing President Rafael Correa for following traditional extractive policies to exploit the country’s petroleum and mineral resources. CONAIE, the major indigenous organization in Ecuador is openly challenging Correa’s developmentalist policies in mining, water rights, and the exploitation of oil reserves in one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world. About 180 people are charged with terrorism and sabotage after participating in demonstrations against the government’s water and mining laws.

This marks a new phase in the advance of the social movements that were central in the rise of a string of Latin American left-of-centre governments from Venezuela and El Salvador to Argentina and Paraguay. In the particular cases of Ecuador and Bolivia the social movements participated in the drafting of new constitutions that “refounded” their nations around participatory and community values. Both constitutions call for the people to live in concord with “Pachamama” (Mother Earth), and for Abya Yala, Buen Vivir or Good Living. This is a holistic cosmovision of the world in which people strive for harmony.

As the governments are found reverting to policies that reflect the interests of the old order, the indigenous and social movements have once again mobilized to demand more profound changes in their economies and societies. If there is a common theme that is driving the global upheaval – be it in the Middle East, Europe, the United States, or Latin America – it is the search for new values and participatory ways of living that will replace the old systems of domination and exploitation that are destroying our world.

We’re talking about coffee, of course, and great coffee spots to partake…

São Paulo

Brazilians like their coffee strong as the devil, hot as hell and sweet as love. In the morning they take it with milk (café com leite). After that, it’s cafezinhos, regular coffee served in either a glass or an espresso-sized cup. Thanks to its Italian heritage, São Paulo boasts Brazil‘s best cafés such as Café Floresta.

Medellín

Colombia is famous for its rich, aromatic coffee. Unfortunately, it exports most of its best beans, leaving a mainly mediocre brew for its own citizens. One exception to this rule is groovy Le Bon Café in Medellín. You can also visit plantations in the Zona Cafetera and purchase coffee directly from the growers.

Havana

Cubans love their coffee, which is served strong, black and sweet in small espresso-sized cups. Homegrown in the Escambray and Sierra Maestra Mountains, a fresh brew will be brought out as an icebreaker wherever you go. Coffee houses are sprouting by the minute in Havana, but you can’t go past local classic, Café de las Infusiones.

Santa María & Valle de Dota

Coffee is probably Costa Rica‘s most popular beverage – you’ll be offered cafécitos everywhere you go. Aware of its energising qualities, the country’s government even decreed in 1840 that all labourers building roads should receive a free cup every day. Visit Santa María and Valle de Dota for an insight into the Tico coffee industry.

For those who wish to explore and take this experience further and visit the countries highlighted during the London festivals, a family trip to South America could prove to be the trip of a lifetime. There are many cheap airlines that depart from the major UK airports that provide either package holidays or just flights for your family holiday.

One of the countries to visit that should be at the top of anyone’s list is Argentina. A very popular holiday adventure is to go trekking in beautiful and wild Patagonia. Do read the Bruce Chatwin book In Patagonia before you go, as it will give you a sense of the history of this region, and help you understand its surreal landscape. Alternatively, you might like to spend your time in the gracious city of Buenos Aires, sometimes called ‘the Paris of South America.’ This is a very lively city and you will need to retain your spirit of adventure whilst there. Be prepared to sample some of the stunning Argentine wines, and the whole family can enjoy the local herbal drink of Mate. Try the amazing Argentine food and you and your family will be certain to enjoy this beautiful city. When in Buenos Aires you must visit one of the local tango clubs where you can learn the steps and then watch a stunning performance of this dance. The Viruta in Armenia 1366 is one of the best examples of these clubs.

South America is made up of many different cultures with equally diverse traditions, varying types of cities and differing climates. For family holidays try to travel between November and February, remember that you are in the southern hemisphere. You need not worry that your children will be bored if you set out on the Inca trail in Peru, the astonishing spectacle of the ruins of Machu Picchu will enthral the most bored young people and give them plenty of stories to enhance their standing with their peers when they return home. The starting point, the city of Cusco, offers both a Spanish colonial and Indian experience. The trail can be hard work but the tour guides will be able to take your family’s fitness and energy levels into account and devise a trek that will be suitable.

If you are truly adventurous take one of the many cheap flights and visit Bolivia. From treks through the jungle along the River Negra, to an adventure in the Amazon you will be able to see the last vestiges of unspoiled rainforest. You will most probably fly directly to La Paz. In the city, among the many other attractions, try to stop by the Witches’ Market, this bustling place specialises in ingredients for spells, including dried frogs, and aphrodisiac concoctions. The Sunday market in El Alto is a great place to go for more traditional tourist memorabilia.

South America is vast and you will need to decide which destination will suit you and your family best, but with a choice of cities and countries, a beautiful natural environment and ancient archaeological remains of lost cultures, this mystical place will provide the backdrop to an exciting family holiday.

More than 300 stalls offer handcrafted gaucho tools like the facón (a large fighting knife), the rebenque (leather whip) and boleadoras (a throwing weapon used to catch cattle), as well as traditional leather products, silverware and blankets. Gourds for drinking mate (traditional Argentina tea) make excellent souvenirs or gifts, and traditional Argentine foods like empanadas (filled pastries) and locro (stew) are for sale.

The gaucho shows here are well known throughout Buenos Aires, where cowboys demonstrate their horseback-riding skills and showmanship to the crowds through various feats – such as by galloping at full speed, upright on the stirrups, to try to spear a tiny ring hanging from a metal frame.

While tango is the most well-known dance in Argentina, folklórica is a close second, and these traditional folk dances, synonymous with gaucho culture, are performed at the fair by live musicians and dancers.

Located in the meatpacking district of Mataderos (which translates as ‘slaughterhouses’) on the outskirts of the city, the fair is held every Sunday between March and December, from 11am until 8pm.

Jabuticaba fruits are purple, juicy, and can be either eaten fresh, used in jellies, or left to ferment and made into wine and strong liquor. Dried Jabuticaba fruit peels can be used to treat asthma and diarrhea, and scientists hope it will prove useful in the fight against cancer, as several anti-cancer compounds have been identified in the fruit.

For years, the story of La Pascualita has been drawing loads of visitors, including media personalities, from all over Mexico to Chihuahua. Now, people from South America, the US and Europe have also started paying visits to the corpse bride. People smudge their noses up against the shop window, staring at the dummy, trying to figure out if she is real or not. They are taken in by her mesmerizing gaze and realistic-looking features. Most people walk away convinced that she has to be real.

La Pascualita was first installed in the store window on March 25th, 1930, dressed in a spring-seasonal bridal gown. The effect was instantaneous. People simply could not tear their sight away from this new mannequin, with the wide-set glass eyes, real hair and blushing skin tone. Soon, they realized that the mannequin closely resembled the shop’s owner at the time, Pascuala Esparza. It didn’t take long for them to come to the conclusion that the dummy was in fact the embalmed body of her daughter, who had died recently on her wedding day after being bitten by a Black Widow spider. This revelation did not go very well with the locals, and they started to express their disapproval. But by the time Pascuala could issue an official statement denying the rumours, it was too late. Nobody was willing to believer her. The daughter’s name has been lost over time, and ‘La Pascualita’ stuck through the years.

Of course, the speculated presence of a corpse must naturally be accompanied by supernatural happenings as well. Several odd incidents have been reported around the dummy, none of which have been confirmed, of course. It is said that a love-sick French magician would arrive at night and magically bring it to life, taking her out to town. A few others believe that her gaze shifts and follows them around the store. At night, she is also believed to shift positions in the window. These tales are pretty scary to some, perhaps most of all to the shop workers who have to see Pascualita every single day. The ones to leave the shop last are definitely not a happy lot. The dummy’s outfits are changed twice a week behind closed curtains. Sonia Burciaga, a shop worker says, “Every time I go near Pascualita my hands break out in a sweat. Her hands are very realistic and she even has varicose veins on her legs. I believe she’s a real person.” Now, an account like that coming from a person who has actually changed the mannequin’s clothes seems very believable. Could Pascualita really be a 75-year-old corpse?

But although most Chihuahua locals are convinced La Pacualita is actually a well preserved corpse, the Internet is full of explanations as to why that couldn’t possibly be true. The Museum of Hoaxes, for example, states that “it would be impossible to embalm someone and have their flesh be preserved that perfectly. For some reason, people tend to think that it’s easier to preserve a body than it actually is,” while one commentator adds “Yeah, bodies really go bad pretty darned fast unless you take some rather heroic measures to keep them from doing so. Both Lenin and Mao have basically been rendered to a state much like rubber, and are kept under extraordinarily monitored conditions. Most of the stuff that undertakers and whatall do is with the aim of making the corpse look good until burial. Anything over a couple weeks, and things start going very, very bad. A taxidermist might manage something, but it ain’t gonna be pretty.”

While they might look genetically-engineered, Pepquinos come from an ancient wild plant in South America, and are 100% natural. They are just 3-cm-long and 2 cm in diameter, but apart from their size, they look just like regular watermelons. But only on the outside, because once sliced, the juicy green flesh of a cucumber is revealed. They also have the crisp fresh taste of cucumbers and are usually served in luxury restaurants, as appetizers, in summer salads, stir fried and even as a sorbet.

The rare Pepquinos were discovered and brought to Europe in 1987, by a Dutch company that later began producing them and selling seeds. They’ve only recently started cultivating them in the US and Asia, but their popularity in foodie communities is growing rapidly. The growth cycle of the Pepquinos plant is between 60 and 85 days, and a single plant yields 60 to 100 fruit.

The Mayan calendar, which some say ‘ends’ in 2012, marks the end of the world.

Of course, the Mayans themselves didn’t believe the world would end in 2012.

Indeed, archeologists have just found a cache of
Mayan calendars which goes thousands of years past 2012.

I guess the flaky new age writers and Mexican tourist agencies will have to come up with another angle.

Several active organisms were identified, including two distinct isolates of Pestalotiopsis microspora with the ability to efficiently degrade and utilize PUR as the sole carbon source when grown anaerobically, a unique observation among reported PUR biodegradation activities.

Polyurethane is a big part of our mounting waste problem and this is a new possible solution for managing it. The fungi can survive on polyurethane alone and is uniquely able to do so in an oxygen-free environment. The Yale University team has published its findings in the article ‘Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi’ for the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal.