NIU Latino and Latin American Studies

NIU Latino and Latin American Studies The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) at Northern Illinois University is an inter

Mi Teleférico also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an aerial cable car urban transit s...
09/04/2026

Mi Teleférico also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area in Bolivia. As of October 2019, the system consists of 26 stations (36 if transfer stations are counted separately per line) along ten lines: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, White, Sky Blue, Purple, Brown, and Silver. Further lines and extensions are in planning or construction. The system is the longest aerial cable car system in the world.

Mi Teleférico was planned in order to address a number of problems, including a precarious public transit system that could not cope with growing user demands, the high cost in time and money of traveling between La Paz and El Alto, chaotic traffic with its subsequent environmental and noise pollution, and a growing demand for gasoline and diesel fuel, which are subsidized by the state. The Red, Yellow, and Purple lines connect the neighboring cities of La Paz and El Alto, which are separated by a steep slope about 400 m (1,300 ft) tall, and which were previously only connected by winding, congested road.

In July 2012, Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma drafted a bill for the construction of a cable car to connect El Alto with the center and south of La Paz and sent it to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. Morales called together the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla, the mayor of El Alto, Édgar Patana, and the governor of the La Paz Department, César Cocarico, to participate in the project. The project was financed by the country's National Treasury with an internal loan from the Central Bank of Bolivia.

The cable car system has benefited the region by significantly reducing the time spent on transportation. It has caused a shift to public transportation and increased employment opportunities for the region. A journey from El Alto to the center of La Paz is about three times faster on the Teleférico compared to taking a bus or taxi.

🔗https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi_Telef%C3%A9rico

Bolivia declares state of emergency amid blockade crisisFor several weeks, a wave of protests has erupted over President...
09/03/2026

Bolivia declares state of emergency amid blockade crisis

For several weeks, a wave of protests has erupted over President Rodrigo Paz’s austerity measures.
By AP and Reuters 20 Jun 2026

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz has declared a state of emergency, which gives the military the power to remove blockades that have disrupted food and fuel supplies.

Barricades that have been erected on key roads have effectively isolated the administrative capital, La Paz, after a wave of protests calling for Paz to step down over austerity measures have brought the economy to a halt during the past 50 ⁠days.

Addressing the nation early on Saturday morning, Paz said antigovernment blockades were no longer a social protest but an organised attempt to destabilise Bolivia’s democracy.

“This is not a state of emergency to restrict people’s lives. It is a state of emergency to give people back their freedom,” the president said in a televised address.

He said the state of emergency was to ensure fuel supplies, which have been disrupted by roadblocks that have left tanker trucks stranded.

According to a government statement, the decree will last 90 days but could be lifted earlier if “violence and threats against the population come to an end”.

But more specifically, the decree prohibits “blocking streets, avenues, roads and highways in ways that affect transportation and supplies”.

It also orders the armed forces to temporarily support the police “in restoring order, reopening roads and protecting the population.”

🔗https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/20/bolivia-declares-state-of-emergency-amid-blockade-crisis

Evo Morales (born October 26, 1959, Isallavi, Bolivia) is a Bolivian labour leader who served as president of Bolivia (2...
09/02/2026

Evo Morales (born October 26, 1959, Isallavi, Bolivia) is a Bolivian labour leader who served as president of Bolivia (2006–19). A member of the Aymara people, Morales was Bolivia’s first president of indigenous descent.

Born in a mining village in Bolivia’s western Oruro department, Morales herded llamas when he was a boy. After attending high school and serving in the Bolivian military, he migrated with his family to the Chapare region, in eastern Bolivia, where the family farmed. Among the crops they grew was coca, which is used in the production of co***ne but is also a traditional crop in the region.

In the early 1980s Morales became active in the regional coca-growers union, and in 1985 he was elected the group’s general secretary. Three years later he was elected executive secretary of a federation of various coca-growers unions. In the mid-1990s, when the Bolivian government was suppressing coca production with assistance from the United States, Morales helped found a national political party—the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (Spanish: Movimiento al Socialismo; MAS)—at the same time serving as titular leader of the federation representing coca growers.

🔗https://www.britannica.com/biography/Evo-Morales

Introducing the Bolivian writer Liliana Colanzi, You Glow in the Dark glimmers with an unearthly light and a nearly radi...
09/01/2026

Introducing the Bolivian writer Liliana Colanzi, You Glow in the Dark glimmers with an unearthly light and a nearly radioactive power

The seven stories of You Glow in the Dark unfold in a Latin America wrecked and poisoned by human greed, and yet Colanzi’s writing―at once sleek and dense, otherworldly and intensely specific―casts an eerily bright spell over the wreckage. Some stories seem to be set in a near future; all are superbly executed and yet hard to pin down; they often leave the reader wondering: was that realistic or fantastic? Colanzi draws power from Andean cyberpunk just as much as from classic horror writers, and this daring is matched by her energizing simultaneous use of multiplicity and fragmentation―the book's stylistic trademarks. Freely mixing worlds, she uses the Bolivian altiplano as the backdrop for an urban dystopia and blends Aymara with Spanish. Colanzi never gets bogged down; she can be brutal and direct or light-handed and subtle. Her materials are dark, but always there’s the lift of her vivid sense of humor. You Glow in the Dark seizes the reader's attention (from the title on) and holds it: this is a book that announces the arrival of a major new talent.

Join the Latino Resource Center-NIU to celebrate the start of a new academic year and welcome Huskies to the Fall 2026 s...
08/31/2026

Join the Latino Resource Center-NIU to celebrate the start of a new academic year and welcome Huskies to the Fall 2026 semester! Latin Chill, will be on August 31 from 4-6pm at the Latino Center. This is where new and returning Huskies can connect, learn about our student organizations, resources, and enjoy being in community! We hope to see you there!

𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥 - 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔; 𝟒-𝟔𝐩𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫.
(𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧/𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭: 𝐇𝐒𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲)

Please note that the area of the Latin Chill will be next to the Latino Center on Newman Lane; this section of Newman Ln will be closed to traffic from 3pm-7pm

U.S. expands deportation of Mexican nationals to Honduras and GuatemalaThirty-five Mexicans deported from the United Sta...
08/31/2026

U.S. expands deportation of Mexican nationals to Honduras and Guatemala

Thirty-five Mexicans deported from the United States arrived in Honduras on Thursday, part of a recent shift in which U.S. authorities are increasingly sending Mexican nationals to Central America before their return home.

🔗https://bit.ly/45Xe3Of

(AP video shot by: Claudio Escalón)
Published 8:29 PM CDT, August 20, 2026

Guatemala has major sea turtle nesting grounds along its Pacific coast, where species like the Olive Ridley, Leatherback...
08/28/2026

Guatemala has major sea turtle nesting grounds along its Pacific coast, where species like the Olive Ridley, Leatherback, and Green turtle lay eggs. Popular coastal towns like Monterrico and El Paredón run hatcheries and public baby turtle releases, primarily peaking between July and December

In Guatemala, there are 6 of the 8 marine turtle species in the world. At a national level, they are recognized in the list of endangered species of Guatemala. Many international conventions have been created to reduce the threat of illegal trade of these endangered species.

The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is one of the biggest marine turtles and one of the most nomadic. They can be found in the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Indian or Pacific ocean.

The black turtle (Chelonia mydas agassisi) can be seen on all American continent coasts. Its main nidation areas are the Galapagos islands and Michoacán beaches, Mexico.

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) can mainly be found on the Caribbean coasts. There is no register of this species in Guatemala, but during the nesting season there are a maximum of 5,000 hawksbill sea turtles.

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is also a great traveller and can be found all over the globe.

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the biggest sea turtle in the world, weighing an average of 400 kg. Its main nesting areas are in Mexico and Costa Rica.

Finally the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the smallest sea turtle. They are mainly located in the Pacific coast of Mexico. In Guatemala, to encourage its protection, it’s the most controlled species.

https://terra-guatemala.com/blog/news/turtles-guatemala

https://turtlesurvival.org/species-spotlight-central-american-river-turtle/?srsltid=AfmBOor1k22j7PY3SiAJNpSC13v71U8HEAUL9wCh1AHyFHJ4TUNg44XM

https://www.anywhere.com/guatemala/attractions/tortugario-monterrico-national-reserve

Efraín Enrique Recinos Valenzuela (May 15, 1928 – October 2, 2011) was a Guatemalan contemporary architect, muralist, ur...
08/27/2026

Efraín Enrique Recinos Valenzuela (May 15, 1928 – October 2, 2011) was a Guatemalan contemporary architect, muralist, urbanist, painter and sculptor. Recinos' works adorn the facades and interiors of many of Guatemala's landmark buildings, being best known for his work in the National Theater of Guatemala. However, he is best known as the architect of the Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias, which serves as the county's national theater and largest cultural complex, opened in 1978. Recinos designed the large, white structure set on a hill to resemble a jaguar, using inspiration from more traditional Mayan motifs. The government considers the theater as a National Heritage site.

Recinos painted the murals located in the Guatemalan National Music Conservatory. Other examples of his work can be found inside La Aurora International Airport and the National Mortgage building. The government of Guatemala awarded him the Order of the Quetzal, one of the country's highest honors for his artistic contributions during his career. Recinos was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, in 1928. He died at the Hospital Hermano Pedro in Guatemala City on October 2, 2011, at the age of 83. He had been treated for an ulcer.

https://cowlatinamerica.voices.wooster.edu/archive-item/efrain-enrique-recinos-may-15-1928-october-2-2011/

La novela El Señor Presidente se llamó primero Los mendigos políticos. Era un cuento que Miguel Ángel Asturias ya tenía ...
08/25/2026

La novela El Señor Presidente se llamó primero Los mendigos políticos. Era un cuento que Miguel Ángel Asturias ya tenía escrito cuando en 1923 partió de Guatemala para instalarse en Europa. Asturias había sido testigo desde muy joven de la situación de desigualdad entre las clases, de la explotación injusta del campesinado y de la sensación palpable del miedo a los horrores de las dictaduras, pero no comprendía aún las razones por las que tales circunstancias existían y cuál era la forma de conjurar la situación. Fue en Europa donde tomó conciencia de los valores escondidos en la cultura tradicional de los "hombres de maíz". Y fueron muchos los pasos que tuvo que dar en su larga preparación de ilustración universal, de confrontación de ideas y estilos, para que siguiendo el consejo que le diera Paul Valéry llegara a describir a su pueblo para ser universal. Así se produjo la larga gestación de El Señor Presidente, que por encima de su condición de novela-denuncia trasciende los ecos surgidos en la memoria colectiva a partir de la resonancia natural de las palabras, las fantasías oníricas asimiladas de manera gradual por la realidad de la vida.

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