Journalists protest elimination of degree requirement in Brazil

Journalism students, professionals and union members protested Monday in several parts of Brazil against the Supreme Court's ruling to eliminate the degree requirement for journalists, reports the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas blog.

Demonstrations occurred in the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Aracaju, Caxias do Sul, Brasília and Teresina, among others, according to the report. (See a map of the protest sites.)

In Rio, the demonstrators, dressed in black and wearing clown noses, marched to the headquarters of the Brazilian Press Association, O Globo reported.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Brazilian Caetano Veloso takes a tumble

Brazilian singer, songwriter and musician Caetano Veloso wowed his audience at a recent concert in the city of Brasilia, Brazil, but not so much with his tunes. 

Mexico on high alert for Obama; Americas summit awaits

Mexico City is on high alert this morning as it awaits the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama, expected here today in his first official visit to Mexico.

Brazil's 10 best beaches

The Brazilian equivalent of the British expression "Just my cup of tea" is "é minha praia" ('That's my beach"), which tells you all you need to know about the two countries' relative cultural values, writes Gavin McOwan for the Guardian.

The paper asked experts to list their favorite Brazilian beaches and here's what they came up with:

Brazil sets up women's ministry

Talking about the importance of women in the society, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday: "It's a cynical culture of the world that ignores the contribution of women who stop working to look after children."

The president announced the creation of a Ministry for Women that will be set up to develop specific policies for women and to promote gender equality in Brazil, reports China View.

The new ministry will take on the work of an office in the presidency devoted to the issue and get a bigger budget, Lula said at the opening of a seminar on the role of women in public institutions.

Read the full report on Brazil's women's ministry here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Brazil wants to turn beach culture into swimwear selling power

The International Herald Tribune reports on how Brazil is using some of its greatest assets to pull in more business in tough economic times -- its 5,000 miles of coastline and its 10 months (or more) of summer annually.

"We have the spirit of beach culture all around us and a natural sense of glamor for swimwear," said Paulo Borges, director of São Paulo Fashion Week, where eight of the 40 brands are focused on the beach/swim segment and several made guest appearances at the new Rio event.

"But sometimes your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. Perhaps we Brazilians have underestimated ourselves until now."

While the country's reputation as a great place to source beachwear has been known by specialty retailers and fans of collections like Rosa Chá and Salinas, [the country] had lacked a specialized event to bring all the brands together and consolidate their voice.

Now, those in the fashion business want to brand Rio de Janeiro as a world swimwear capital and Brazilian design as a must-have for those in the business of the beach.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Not everyone in Brazil loves carnival

Seth Kugel, reporting for GlobalPost from Brazil, features some video voxpop in this report of Brazilians who are not as in love with the annual carnival as some of their compatriots.

"A vocal minority of Brazilians absolutely detest Carnival," writes Kugel, and he has the soundbites to prove it.

Read the full report at the above link.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Valentine's Day in Latin America

Forbes magazine takes a peek at Valentine's Day around the world and includes Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala in its sweep.

Valentine's Day, or the day of "love and friendship" (amor y amistad), as it's called here in Mexico City, is a hit with many Mexicans.

"According to Jennifer Hirsch, professor of socio-medical sciences at Columbia University, the 'red rain' begins as soon as Christmas is over. It is common for Mexican men and women to exchange flowers, red balloons and anything red and heart-shaped. The gift-giving is an expression of love and prosperity, says Hirsch, especially among migrant laborers."

The Brazilians, on the other hand, celebrate  Dia dos Namorados ("the day of lovers") on June 12, not Feb. 14, in honor of St. Anthony, patron saint of matchmaking and marriage.

"Single women perform rituals, like writing the names of their crushes on pieces of paper the night before, folding them up and then opening one on the big day to determine who they should marry," reports Forbes.

And in Guatemala, El Día del Cariño, "the day of affection," is much like Valentine's Day in the U.S, only broader.

Guatemalans exchange flowers, chocolates and cards, but the day is also about showing fondness for friends and colleagues.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Violence against journalists continues in Latin America

Attacks on the Press 2008: Carl Bernstein on Self-Censorship of the Press from Meredith Megaw on Vimeo.

Here in Mexico, we keep our eye on the frequent press-freedom reports that come out, given the high levels of violence against journalists in the country and the culture of impunity that abounds.

Tuesday's release by the Committee to Protect Journalists, sadly, held no surprises.

Public and specialists decide the best blogs in Brazil

For the second consecutive year, the polls at the Blogs Brazil 2008 Award website were open from December through January, ending on Jan. 23 with a big party, Campus Party Brazil. Voters were split into two types, a jury and the public, with the finalist entries grouped into 30 categories, reports Global Voices Online.

The jury was made up of specialists, and more than 30,000 people participated in the public vote.

"According to the panel of specialists, the best blog in 2008 was Blog do Tas, whereas according to public opinion, Brogui deserved the top prize. With over 1,000 followers and almost 4,000 updates, Brogui was a brave contender to beat Blog do Tas, written by a successful and well known Brazilian journalist, Marcelo Tas. Being quite as informative as Tas, Brogui is more light-hearted, design-conscious and also outdoes Blog do Tas in interactivity with other blogs. Brogui won 1,621 votes ahead of the 1,415 won by third-placed Blog do Tas." (Global Voices Online).

Visit this link for the list of winning blogs, and read the full report on the Global Voices Online link above.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City