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Terrorism and sabotage are just two of the criminal charges brought against more than 20 residents of the Dulcepampa watershed in Ecuador’s central Bolivar province for their opposition to a hydroelectric dam. A vast water authorization for the dam has curtailed locals’ access to water for irrigation and daily consumption, sparking widespread resistance. The eight-megawatt Hidrotambo run-of-the-river dam affects communities along its seven-kilometer path and reduces water access for 72 communities upstream. “The dam company has taken away the peace and quiet we once had,”…Continue Reading “Mongabay: Dam opponents claim criminalization by Ecuadorian government” →

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — El domingo a las 9 de la noche, al caminar por la colonia Roma Norte de la Ciudad de México, se escucha el ritmo inconfundible del dembow. El sonido viene de un edificio antiguo con fachada afrancesada. En el balcón del segundo piso se encuentran unos jóvenes bebiendo al ritmo de la música. Carlos Valletera, 30, se baja de un Uber junto con dos amigos y se dispone a entrar a la fiesta. “¿El reggaetón? Siempre me ha gustado,” me dice….Continue Reading “Fusion: El reggaetón está creando un vínculo musical entre las clases sociales de México” →

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – Miles de personas se congregaron alrededor del emblemático Palacio de Bellas Artes este lunes esperando ver las cenizas del cantante Juan Gabriel, quien murió de un infarto el 28 de agosto en California. La multitud llenó las banquetas del Eje Central para poder ver la caravana de vehículos que venía desde el aeropuerto. El artículo completo está en Fusion. 

I wrote for Al Jazeera yesterday on Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico City. Mexico City – Maria Eugenia Arguello, 52, summarises in three words what Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico makes her feel: “Indignation, shame and anger. “How can the president invite someone to our country who has offended us, who has humiliated us, who has treated us badly as Mexicans?” Read the full article here.

I have my first piece on Fusion, co-authored with Edgar Reyna. We reported from the anti-Trump protests yesterday in Mexico City. MEXICO CITY—Calls for a massive protest against the surprise visit of Donald Trump did not materialize Wednesday in Mexico City, as many Mexicans instead used the moment as an opportunity to criticize President Enrique Peña Nieto for inviting the guy in the first place. The full article is on Fusion.  

The English version of my report from Dilley, Texas has been published on The Americas Program. The original piece forms part of the En el Camino project of the Red de Periodistas de a Pie with support from Open Society Foundations. How a pro bono organization put the brakes on a “deportation machine” Arriving in Dilley, Texas, hotels and rental trailers seem to outnumber houses. The hotels and trailer parks fill up with the workers in Dilley’s two industries: fracking and private prisons. Dilley is…Continue Reading “Americas Program: Detained in Dilley” →

Hoy publicaron en el portal de En el Camino, un proyecto de Periodistas de a Pie, mi artículo sobre el centro de detención en Dilley, Texas. “Dilley, Texas.- En este lugar, los hoteles y remolques parecen superar en número a las casas. Es abril. Hoteles y estacionamientos para casas rodantes se llenan de la fuerza laboral de esta comunidad cercana a San Antonio y que vive de sólo dos actividades: la extracción de gas shale, mediante el controvertido método de fracking, y la administración de…Continue Reading “Dilley, una prisión para mujeres y niños migrantes” →

Read my first piece on Remezcla, profiling the Mayan hiphop group Balam Ajpu. ‘Talking with members of Guatemalan hip-hop group Balam Ajpu is a rapid-fire lesson in Mayan linguistics and culture. I recently sat down with members Tzutu Baktun Kan and M.C.H.E. in Mexico City; they were unwinding at a friend’s apartment after playing a handful of shows in and around the capital. Comprised of Rene Dionisio (Tzutu), Yefry Pacheco (M.C.H.E.), reggae and hip-hop artist Juan Martínez (Dr. Nativo), and producer Danilo Rodríguez, these musicians truly embody the…Continue Reading “Meet Balam Ajpu, a Mayan Hiphop Trio that Proves Indigenous Art Transcends Folklore” →

  I have my first piece out on Mongabay, the international conservation and environmental news website. Read the full piece here. “Forty women, a few small children, and one adventurous dog pile into pick-up trucks parked in the town square. It is an early Saturday morning in March in the small mountain town of Capulálpam de Mendez in Oaxaca, Mexico. Mist hangs over the mountains that ring the town center, 45 miles from the state capital. Capulálpam, home to 2,500 people, feels distant from the city,…Continue Reading “Mexican conservation success threatened by wave of mining concessions” →