Shakira: Every little thing she does is magic

Writer Amy Turner of The Times (of London)  profiles Colombian popstar Shakira in this article, pondering the star's combination of sexuality and philanthropy:

Shakira, she of the bum-gyrating, belly-wriggling Latin pop songs Hips Don’t Lie and Underneath Your Clothes, is being kissed by nuns. Around her swarm photographers, reporters, fans and minders, as you'd expect of a 40m-album-selling artist; "Shaki, Shaki, over here," they shout. She poses for pictures, patient as the sisters, smiling serenely. She has just stepped offstage, but she's not wearing her usual low-slung hipsters or bikini top, and she hasn't been gyrating tonight. She's all in black -- a sleek, smart shift dress -- and her trademark tousled curls are soberly straight.

Last year, we covered the launch of one of Shakira's latest philanthropic ventures ALAS (Wings) here in Mexico City -- see the video below and click here for more details.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Book review: 'The Accountant's Story,' a tale about narco baron Pablo Escobar, by his brother

If you speak a little Spanish and recently have spent a bit of time anywhere near the border, you've probably heard a narcocorrido, a ballad sung to danceable norteño-style music with lyrics that romanticize the drug trade, writes Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times book section.

Rutten writes that "The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel" is the literary equivalent of a narcocorrido -- "without the redeeming virtue of a catchy, polka-inflected beat."

The book's cover bears two additional subtitles: one informing us that this is "the true story of Pablo Escobar"; the other that the author, Roberto Escobar, is his brother.

But the reviewer is unimpressed with Escobar's account of his brother's cocaine empire which, according to Forbes magazine, accounted for 80% of the world's cocaine traffic:

This oddly flat and, frankly, repellent book is certainly not confessional and is, in fact, less a memoir than it is an apologia for the brother Roberto quite obviously admires still. Pablo's drift into criminality is, in his brother's mind, at least, the inevitable consequence of growing up poor and ambitious in a violent, underdeveloped society. The fact that hundreds of thousands of other young men growing up in similar circumstances didn't elect to better themselves by profiteering on misery and death is airily passed over; Pablo, after all, was 'a born leader.

Read the full review here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: A visitor tours a Colombian ranch once owned by Pablo Escobar. Credit: Luis Benavides / Associated Press

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.

Colombian street artist's "timeless" work

Juxtapoz, the San Francisco-based arts and culture magazine, is raving about a Colombian street artist called Bastardilla.

The artist, says the magazine, sent them a link to her Flickr page, which features photos of her work.

"Not only do we rarely receive mail from Colombia, but we hardly ever see such a wealth of great artistry from an artist we were not yet familiar with," says Juxtapoz on its website.

Bastardilla's work is impressive, using paint and an extraordinary array of colors to adorn Bogota's public spaces. But it appears she's not chasing fame. In an e-mail to La Plaza, she said she wanted to remain anonymous. She did reveal, however, that she's a 27-year-old woman living in Bogota.

See Bastardilla at work in the video below, embedded from her Vimeo site at http://www.vimeo.com/bastardilla.

*Brillo en las calles /       Shine on the streets* from B a s ta r d i l l a on Vimeo.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: One of Bastardilla's works in Bogota, Colombia, from her Flickr page and courtesy of the artist.

Internet use grows in Latin America

More affordable computers and an expanding broadband network are two of the factors helping to push Internet use in Latin America, according to a survey conducted by Pyramid Research for Google.

The Miami Herald reports that the recent expansion of Internet users in Latin America has been dramatic.

In 2007, for example, Colombia added 5.4 million Internet users, or about 12% of its population of 45 million -- an 80% increase in the number of Colombia's Internet users that year.

Brazil added 7.4 million Internet users in 2007 (17% growth), Mexico more than 2.2 million (an 11% increase) and Venezuela 1.58 million (38% growth).

Read the full report through the link above.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Colombian coffee growers threaten to sue U.S. cartoonist

The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia threatens to sue "Mother Goose & Grimm" cartoonist Mike Peters, after the publication of a cartoon strip that the group claims "attacks the national dignity and the reputation of coffee from Colombia" by linking organized crime and coffee, according to the Associated Press.

In the comic strip, which you can see here, a character says: "Y'know, there's a big crime syndicate in Colombia. So when they say there's a little bit of Juan Valdez in every can, maybe they're not kidding." The joke plays off a former marketing slogan used by the federation, AP says.

Juan Valdez is a fictional character that has appeared in advertisements for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia since 1959, representing the Colombian coffee farmer.

The lawsuit against Peters will reportedly be filed tomorrow and seek at least $20 million in damages, as well as demand a retraction from any newspaper that published the Jan. 2 cartoon.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Figure in alleged Colombia scam extradited

Chris Kraul reports:

The president of a failed Colombian financial services firm suspected of laundering drug profits and bilking thousands of mostly poor investors of millions of dollars has been arrested in Panama and deported, officials said Thursday.

David Murcia Guzman, 28, founder of the DMG financial services firm, was detained Wednesday night near Panama City as he prepared to flee to Costa Rica, where there is no extradition treaty with Colombia, Colombian National Police Chief Oscar Naranjo told reporters.

DMG is one of 40 financial services firms in Colombia under investigation for running suspected pyramid, or Ponzi, schemes. The firms, which attracted investors with promises of extraordinary returns, are suspected of simply paying early investors and enriching promoters with money from people who invested later, police said.

Read more of "Figure in alleged Colombia scam extradited" here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Colombia declares emergency over investment scams

The Times' Chris Kraul reports:

Colombian government officials declared a state of emergency Monday, boosting their powers of arrest and money seizure, to help deal with multimillion-dollar investment scams that have targeted mostly poor investors.

Panic spread last week among investors across Colombia after one suspect financial agency halted payments. Disturbances broke out in 12 states, police said, and investors stormed offices in the southwestern cities of Pasto and Popayan, threatening to lynch the managers.

Police closed 59 offices belonging to DMG, one of the largest among dozens of firms under investigation. Gen. Orlando Paez Baron said he had stationed riot police at the offices in advance of seizing records and confiscating the firm's remaining cash.

In the last week, police have arrested 52 employees from several financial agencies on suspicion of fraud, confiscating $30 million, which they say will be distributed to investors.

President Alvaro Uribe's office said the declaration of emergency was made in view of the "serious deterioration in public order" in connection with "massive illegal collection of public funds."

Read more of "Colombia declares emergency over investment scams."

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Juanes sweeps Latin Grammys

Associated Press reports:

Colombian rocker Juanes ruled the Latin Grammys on Thursday, sweeping awards in five categories -- including record of the year and album of the year -- and setting a record for total wins.

Juanes' joy-filled love song "Me Enamora" won record of the year, song of the year and best short-form music video. He also took trophies for the year's best album and best male pop vocal album for "La Vida . . . Es Un Ratico."

After taking the top honor and final trophy, Juanes spoke to U.S. Latinos: "You have chosen the right president. Congratulations. It is time to change" -- the last line being the title of his latest song.

The awards bring his total Latin Grammy wins to 17, breaking Alejandro Sanz's record of 14.

Read more of "Juanes sweeps Latin Grammys" here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Colombian free trade pact -- dead?

The deal may be on life support but Colombian President Alvaro Uribe refuses to declare a bilateral U.S. free-trade agreement dead.

During a state visit to Mexico, Uribe enlisted the support of President Felipe Calderon to lobby on Colombia's behalf. President Bush has not given up hope, either. But President-elect Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, says a trade bill won't be on the Democrats' agenda during the lame-duck congressional session kicking off Monday.

Democrats' labor and human rights constituencies are against the pact without major revisions or improvement in Colombia's human rights record. Still, a Democratic U.S. congressman told The Times that there was a sliver of a chance for the controversial bill. Bush apparently told Obama during his visit to the White House on Monday that he might agree to terms of Democrats' financial stimulus package if Democrats passed the trade bill. The congressman said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not ruled out such a deal.

-- Chris Kraul in Bogota

Photo: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, left, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Credit: EFE