Brazilian singer Ceu continues to experiment with diverse genres

On her sophomore project, "Vagarosa," Brazilian singer-songwriter Céu continues to embrace music from far and wide, reports Reed Johnson:

If you've set foot in a Starbucks lately, chances are you've caught a few bars of Céu's music. The Brazilian singer-songwriter's self-titled debut album was picked by the coffee chain to be the first release from an international artist featured in its Hear Music Debut CD series.

Critics showered praise, the disc rose to the top of Billboard's world music chart and Céu (pronounced say-u) scored a Latin Grammy nomination for best new artist of 2006 and a Grammy nomination for best contemporary world music album of 2007.

Céu's creamy vocals and camera-friendly looks helped make her the rare foreign chanteuse who can break through the English-language barrier that often blocks world music artists from the U.S. market (she sings almost exclusively in Portuguese). With her much-anticipated follow-up, "Vagarosa," to promote, she's back on tour and has a return engagement Friday at the Roxy.

Read the rest of this report here on the LATimes Pop & Hiss music blog.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Mexico 'at the vanguard of the disabled-rights movement'

The Economist reports on how Mexico is now "at the vanguard of the disabled-rights movement in the developing world":

At the main international airport for Mexico City, the first thing to notice is that the path from the baggage claim is lined with smiling employees guiding passengers to their taxis or connecting flights. The second is that they are all in wheelchairs. Since the opening of a new terminal in November 2007, the airport has hired some 60 disabled, bilingual workers to serve as Mexico’s face to the world. Their presence delights both passengers, who frequently offer congratulations and ask to take their picture, and their superiors. “They’re professional, attentive, always in a good mood, and never miss work,” says Héctor Velázquez, the airport’s director.

Read the whole report on the Economist website.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

More Puerto Ricans live in the 50 states than in Puerto Rico

A new report from the Pew Hispanic Center published yesterday shows that there are now more Puerto Ricans living in the 50 United States than on the island itself.

"Some 4.1 million Puerto Ricans resided in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in 2007, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. That is a slightly greater number than the population of Puerto Rico itself in 2007, which was 3.9 million.

"Puerto Ricans are the second-largest population of Hispanic origin residing in the United States, accounting for 9.1% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2007. Mexicans constituted 29.2 million, or 64.3%, of the Hispanic population. "

Download the Pew Hispanic Center report on Puerto Ricans in the United States.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

 

Online course for Mexican journalists covering drug trafficking

Journalists in Mexico can use all the help they can get when reporting on organized crime and the country's drug-trafficking problems. Members of the profession who report on those issues are often threatened and sometimes killed.

As we reported earlier this year, some nonprofit organizations are helping out by providing on-the-ground training and survival tips. But if journalists scattered around Mexico can't make it to class in the flesh, they can sign up for an online course the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is running.

New call to release Cuba's jailed journalists, reports Knight Center for Journalism

The International Press Institute has called on the Cuban government to free 22 jailed journalists, almost all of whom have been imprisoned since 2003, the Spanish-language news agency EFE reports.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas blog writes that "a report by the United Nations Human Rights Council praised Cuba for its successes in promoting the right to education, food, and health care but criticized it for restricting freedom of expression. The IPI commended the council for airing those concerns but worried that the report effectively minimized freedom of expression and the press as fundamental human rights."

“Cuba’s suppression of dissenting voices, thoroughly and systematically carried out for so many years, strongly affects our ability to understand and assess the situation in the country,” the director of the International Press Institute said.

Read more about journalism in the Americas on the Knight Center blog.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Is Mexico's drug offensive working?

Ken Ellingwood and Tracy Wilkinson report on the progress made so far by President Felipe Calderon's 2 1/2-year offensive against Mexico's drug traffickers.

Calderon launched the military offensive 10 days after assuming office in December 2006, saying it was necessary to restore government authority in parts of the country. Today, 2 1/2 years later, Calderon and Mexico face a stark reality: The longer and harder the war is prosecuted, the more complex and daunting it becomes.

The offensive has exposed corruption so widespread that key institutions, from police forces to city halls, appear rotten to the core. And a battered society has grown increasingly worried about the effects of the massive military deployment on its democracy.

Read the rest of the report here, and watch the video below for a tour of Mexico's Museum of Drugs.

For more stories on Mexico's drug war, go to our Mexico Under Siege page.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Illegal immigrants again in the budget spotlight in California

As California lawmakers struggle with a budget gap that has now grown to $26.3 billion, one of the hottest topics for many taxpayers is the cost to the state of illegal immigrants, write Anna Gorman and Teresa Watanabe.

"The question of whether taxpayers should provide services to illegal residents became a major political issue in California's last deep recession, culminating in the ballot fight over Proposition 187 in 1994. That history could repeat itself in the current downturn, as activists opposed to illegal immigration have launched a campaign for an initiative that would, among other things, cut off welfare payments to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Those children are eligible for welfare benefits because they are U.S. citizens.

"State welfare officials estimate that cutting off payments to illegal immigrants for their U.S.-born children could save about $640 million annually if it survives legal challenges."

The report also includes the following findings:

'La Mission' opens L.A.'s gay and lesbian OutFest film festival

Outfest, the 27th annual Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, opens tonight at the Orpheum Theatre with Peter Bratt's drama "La Mission," starring his brother, Benjamin Bratt, Screening Room reports.

Dole strikes back against "Bananas!" documentary

You might remember this post we did in June on a documentary about Nicaraguan banana-plantation workers and the Dole Food Co.

Well, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Dole accused Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten of slander and libel in making the documentary, which was shown at last month's Los Angeles Film Festival.

The film "Bananas!" chronicles a 2007 case against Dole and prominently features L.A. attorney Juan J. Dominguez, who now faces contempt charges.

The Times' Victoria Kim reports:

In light of the judge's finding of fraud by the plaintiffs' attorneys, Dole attorneys contend in the complaint that "Bananas!" unfairly demonizes Dole and is riddled with factual inaccuracies.

Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney, in a 60-page ruling dismissing two pending lawsuits, said attorneys for the Nicaraguans engaged in a brazen scheme to recruit men who had never worked on banana plantations, train them to lie on the stand and fabricate medical evidence to back up the claims."

Read the rest of Kim's story about the Dole lawsuit here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

'The Chicas Project' wants your thoughts on immigration (and tacos?)

Crash and Yasmin, the lively and outspoken hosts of the mun2 cable network’s hit show “The Chicas Project,” hit the road for the series’ fourth season … and the show’s cameras are pointing at you.

Over the course of the season’s 11 episodes, the pair will travel cross-country and collect video of Latinos sharing their views on various topics, from immigration to the economy. The odyssey will culminate in Washington, where the duo will present their findings on Capitol Hill when they meet with the president of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

But these mujeres aren't just looking for outlooks on politics.

To promote the show’s fourth season, the gals will head to Hollywood and Highland on Thursday (starting at 2 p.m.) to find out once and for all -- using the unscientific method of seeing which food they can give away the fastest -- whether Angelenos prefer hot dogs or tacos. 

In Los Angeles, where taco establishments (both mobile and stationary) reign supreme, the winner would seem obvious, right? Maybe. Except that each night Pink’s Hot Dogs on La Brea Avenue is bustling with frankfurter connoisseurs.

So, naturally, settling the matter would require the two chicas to face off in a food smackdown. Crash, the outspoken rock chick from L.A., will be handing out 1,000 Joselito’s tacos and Yasmin, the fiery songstress from Queens, N.Y., will be giving away 1,000 Pink's hot dogs. The outcome will determine which kind of takeout rules Angelenos' hearts.

But if you want your Crash-and-Yasmin fix without excess fat, catch the premiere Thursday at 7 p.m. 

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Photo: Yasmin, left, and Crash tempt Angelenos with Pink's hot dogs and Joselito's tacos. Credit: mun2