#honduras
Honduras: As Berta Cáceres Murder Trial Nears End, Will True Perpetrators Be Brought to Justice?
Eight men are on trial in Honduras for the murder of environmentalist Berta Cáceres, who was gunned down in her home in La Esperanza in 2016. A verdict is expected this week—but UC Santa Cruz historian and author Dana Frank said on Democracy Now! today that the trial has been flawed from the outset:
“The trial itself has been a travesty. The government prosecutors have not introduced or taken into account a vast range of evidence of text messages, seized computer messages, phone call records that implicate all kinds of people. And they’re not taking that into account. And also Honduran law says that the family of the victim has the right to review all of the evidence, has the right to be there in court, and that has been violated over and over and over again.
So we’re going to get some kind of verdict—probably somebody’s going to take a fall for this—but we should not in any way confuse that with justice for Berta. The fact that there is even a trial is mostly because of international pressure, including from the United States Congress and people like yourselves. There is going to be a lot of pressure to act like somehow justice has been done and we’re going to put this under the rug, sweep it under the rug.
And it’s really important to say that this is not going to be justice for Berta. This is going to be some kind of a—something for show, as they say in Honduras—and that we still have to call for justice for Berta and have the true perpetrators fully brought to justice.”
See the full interview here.
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Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month!
On this day in 1821, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador & Guatemala gained independence from Spain. Happy Independence Day!
Milla biflora
This marvellous fragrant geophyte’s native range spans Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and south-east Arizona, south-west New Mexico in the United States. It emerges from dormancy with the onset of summer rains producing large fragrant fleshy white sequential blooms with striking green stripes on the abaxial surface of the flowers.
Milla biflora requires a rainy subtropical summer and a mild dry winter. A friend of mine grows these beautifully outdoors in Los Angeles during the summer with minimal care (kept dry and given protection from winter rain). Our current climate’s summers are too cool for this species to grow optimally but it will tolerate the cool temperatures so long as watering is carefully metered out. In dry Kaimukī (Honolulu) I grew this species successfully with daily summer watering however when I moved to Upper Mānoa I found out that it was too wet and humid for this species and other Milla species as many rotted in these conditions. In my experience most of the Mexican Brodiaeoidae are prone to rot when high temperatures, high rainfall are coupled with high humidity.
It belongs to a group of ornamental cormous species that include the popular genera BrodiaeaandTriteleia formerly classified as members of the Themidaceae, however now they belong to subfamily Brodiaeoidae of the huge Asparagaceae family.
© Uluwehi Knecht (photo and text)
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This may or may not be a picture of my butt.
As for the ruby slippers, I clicked the heels three times and they took me to Roatan, affectionately known as the Kansas of Honduras.
Like Kansas, Roatan is an island in the Caribbean Sea, about 70 km long but only 7 km at its widest point. The land is an outgrowth of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef and the waters which surround it contain rare species of turtles, mollusks and fish–along with world’s largest population of manatees.
Anyway, back to the bum, which, as I noted earlier, is not necessarily mine. It was on display last week with about a dozen others at the Paya Bay Resort, a large property toward the eastern end of Roatan. Despite the long coastline and an extensive network of rain forest trails, only a smattering of people visit at a time, as lodging facilities are limited to about 15 small bungalows. (Some units were vacant during my stay.) For people who prefer to wear swimming outfits, there’s a (suit)able beach, but the rest of Paya Bay encourages or requires naturism.
So that’s the update, the reason for my Tumblr lapse: I officially took out a card-carrying membership in the sorority of fraternal nudists (which, frankly, can be a bit aggravating when you don’t have any pockets).
Evangelical naturism, I think, backfires when it tries to persuade people they must undress to find some sort of mystical joy. That wasn’t my experience. Forsaking clothes while on vacation was not such a big deal. It helped me connect to the luscious environment but, unlike yogic flying, I knew I wasn’t changing the world.
Well, maybe there was a small sense of liberation in letting go of the fear of being seen as imperfect. Sometimes achieving peace can be as easy as deciding to stop fighting.
Whether I was napping under the sun or swimming in sea, nakedness allowed me to feel completely immersed in nature. So, yes, I would do it again–and seek out opportunities, not just wait for them.
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Honduran dancers, Honduras, by Oro Lenca
This is Moises, 17, and his dad Tavo. His dad is begging him to leave Honduras to stay alive and avoid getting recruited into a gang. They live in San Pedro Sula, which had the highest homicide rate in the world in 2015.
In San Pedro Sula, boys are often groomed for gang activity from the age of 6 or 7. At first they may be given small assignments — like buying snacks for gang members or monitoring who’s coming in and out of a neighborhood. Bit by bit they graduate into bigger responsibilities.
In this photo, Moises had just found out that his girlfriend Cindi is pregnant. Tomas Ayuso, the photojournalist who captured the images of this project, says that this made it easier for Moises to make his decision to leave Honduras.
Cindi and her baby girl in San Pedro Sula. Her boyfriend Moises left the neighborhood a few months after she became pregnant. Cindi sent photos of the baby to Moises via WhatsApp. But a few weeks ago, he stopped responding to her texts, which worries Cindi. She hopes he’s safe and to hear from him soon.
Read the full story here
Hondurans in the town of Gracias partake in the annual Chief Lempira Day Festival
“The festival celebrates the Lencan leader Chief Lempira who managed to unite historically warring tribes as Spanish conquistadors descended in the 1500s. Chief Lempira ultimately cobbled together an anti-Spaniard force 30,000 strong which caused the Spaniards considerable trouble. The Lencan leader was eventually killed by the Spanish, however, and in his absence the popular uprising fizzled. But Chief Lempira’s legend lives on. The currency of Honduras is called the Lempira and he is still a hero to the Lencans. His annual festival day transforms Gracias, normally a sleepy town of 25,000, with a parade, fireworks, rock concerts, an air force fly over, even the President of Honduras helicopters in for the event.”
Source: http://trans-americas.com/blog/2012/05/gracias-honduras/
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A rush of water in freshet season collapses Tegucigalpa’s arched bridge in Honduras, August 1916.Photograph by F. J. Youngblood, National Geographic
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Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 because this day marks the anniversary of independence for five Hispanic countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico achieved independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.
I don’t think I ever posted this here but some Honduran Dancers!
Its a bit unfinished but that’s all right. I spent a night watching a bunch of traditional Honduran dancers. And then I asked my mom “Hey did you ever do this” and she was like “No”
So that was that.
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Catedral de San Pedro Apóstol, Cortés, Honduras
Construction of this Neo-Colonial beauty began in 1947. Designed by architect José Francisco Zalazar, its patron is St. Peter the Apostle. It is one of the main cathedrals in Honduras.
Taken by professional photographer Zug55.
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