Short poems, anecdotes, mocking or reverent tributes, called calaveras or “skulls,” are given to celebrate public or private figures. In Los Angeles, for the last seven years Tropico de Nopal Gallery has taken the custom into the realm of performance art-fashion show-walking altar display.
Recent Posts
Bagobo Agung Ensemble – Philippines 1960s
The Bagobo are an indigenous Proto-Austronesian tribe of Mindanao in southern Philippines. Here is a traditional Bagobo Agung ensemble taken by anthropologist Robert Garfias during the 1960s.
Destructive Progress: Brazil-Peru Transoceanic Highway
With completion of the 3,400-mile Transoceanic Highway, the Amazonian state of Acre in Brazil now connects with the southern Pacific Coast of Peru, unleashing numerous impacts to the environment and indigenous people.
Maya K’iche’ Reject Resource Exploitation in Guatemala
On a historic day, residents from the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché – one of Guatemala’s most important hubs and the birthplace of the Maya K’iche’ people – unanimously rejected the exploitation of natural goods and resources, in particular through mining and hydroelectric activities.
Re-envisioning LA Sprawl – Multi-Modal, Multi-Layered, Costing Multi-Billions
One method to rescue this unsustainable, fossil-fuel-addicted, disease-inducing polluted mega-metropolis from its sterile streetscape of cars, exhaust, and non-descript sidewalk-life, is to provide alternative transportation that cuts out the need for parking and forces people to walk.
Rigs-to-Reefs: Another Big Oil Remediation Subsidy – By Jack Eidt
Sunken offshore oil rigs are not a scientifically proven habitat for marine life, may leave significant contamination in the ocean from polluted shell and debris mounds, and pose possible safety and liability issues for the State of California.
Correa’s Ecuador: Police Insurrection Fails as Coup But Challenges Remain
The police insurrection turned failed coup d’état against Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa illustrates the many shades of gray between national sovereignty, ethnic and regional autonomy, multinational corporate development interests, and international political movements.