Role of graffiti

Graffitis is the expression of feelings, thoughts and experiences in which the artist use the imagination and creativity to plasm on a wall what the want to say. Graffitis are also text that people can read. For example, if a foreign comes to our city, he or she could interpret the city seeing the streets graffitis. Many people see those graffitis as art bur many other see it like vandalism. 

Now, let's see some examples about graffitis and how it is seeing in different cities on Latin America. 

Colombia:

Bogota, the Colombia's capital is a cosmopolitan city in which many cultures converge. Empty walls are canvas that mixed with the the cold weather make the perfect scenery to exhibit ideologies, stories, history and back ground. Some of those are only simple lines bur others are made of colors and composition. Some example are graffitis as remainder of the days when street violence was endemic.

Some others show politics ideas and criticized some acts like "False positives" scandal during Alvaro Uribe's precedence where many innocents were killed and dressed with guerrilla's uniform and show it like a hitch to the crime. Another symbolizes  indigenous culture that is an important inspiration for artists. 

Argentina:

In Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, the graffiti is elevated to new levels. It seems like an open air art gallery. Animals took the city and people feel like being on a concrete jungle. One example is the tree dimensional serial extinct turtle that is up of a man who is setting next to a dog. Argentinean people are proud and consider each picture as an art piece and appreciate it because it gives vitality to the city.  Political and social stamens critics are also implied in Buenos Aires' graffitis and perpetuate beliefs. It can not be away Argentina's soccer passion that is present in streets paintings too. 

Honduras: 

Political graffitis in Honduras are also present as a protest form and to promote philosophies and ideas. There are many propaganda plasm on the street's walls.

Tegucigalpa has become one of the world's deadliest cities and one artist wants to highlight the problem through paint and trying to use sprays and aerosols instead guns and violence.The one and only thing that people know about my country is the violence. It is what paints our reality," says the graffiti artist who began his project a year ago. Criticized their politicians using that type of art is common on Honduras.

Brazil: 

Graffitis in brazil are color full and narrative. Those talk about brazilian living, but it is also art expression. Brazilian artist work, can be found in cities all over the world and now it is famous in competitions, even though, they still making art outdoors and are part of a research fellow in anthropology at London’s University College. Some artist say that when they began making street art he was protesting the destruction of nature in favor of big cities. Now their art is influenced by the political climate and corruption in Brazil.

Bangkok's 'Mexican' Gangsters

Globalization is a phenomenon that causes blurred limits and create a more homogeneous world. It permits to expound and export even cultures. Mass media have created a global village where information and communication is almost instantaneous. Bangkok's 'Mexican' Gangsters are an example of that phenomenon that become possible that in the other side of the world people can know and share some distinctive characteristics with totally different groups of people and cultures. They are from Bangkok and they feel identify with Mexican Gangsters.

Using tattoos, clothes, and specific hairstyles they emulate mexican group also known as "cholos". They probably took the inspiration from youtube and movies that represents a part of Mexican culture and the appreciation of their aesthetic. Although they love the appearance of Mexican gangsters, they rejected their brutal violence, no one of those "Bangkok's 'Mexican' Gangsters"want to imitate the violence that is often associated with real Latino bands. The biggest difference between those two groups is that Bangkok's 'Mexican' Gangsters have legal jobs and they don't deal with drugs.

Fashionable cultures are now a big show of the reach of Mass media and how it could change the way that we perceive the world. It could also extend and change our paradigms and promote our other's comprehension and maybe to adapt some cultural practices and values that we want to have to our lifestyle.

   

Racism against AfroColombians

Colombia is a multicultural country where converge traditions of different ethnical groups that enrich the culture and represents the historical mixes of europeans, africans and indigenous. Now, it is evident those mixes and it is present of our physical appearance, customs and it is also on our blood. However, nowadays most colombians not recognize the importance of those mixes and even knowing that we have more similarities than differences and that we share a lot of history, they ignore those people who is different on racial characteristics. According to the National administrative department of statics DANE, 10.62% of Colombia's population are Afro-Colombians.

Almost the 76% of them life in poverty, 42% are unemployed and only 2 of each 100 Afro-colombian students go to the university. It could be a cause of their poverty the lows levels of their academic education. The fact that when a family life in poverty and the children can not go to schools because they have to work to help to theirs families and for this reason they can not find good jobs and that continues of this way through generations.
Poverty also causes bad alimentation causing that Afro-colombians' children death is higher than the other children.

The improvement of their life is a social necessity. It is important to create integral strategies to help them to have a better life with better opportunities but keeping their's traditions and values because their culture is a very important part of ourself and we have to preserve it.

My experience in Intercultural Communication Class

Vacation is the perfect time to get relaxed, to get away for a period all the academic activities to focus on personal and leisure activities; but because of the necessity to finish the Uninorte English course, I am still at the university but for a good reason: to improve my english skills.
That is the reason of this publication, an english homework... but homework sounds boring, isn't it? let's call it netexperience! It is interesting those activities using the media to learn and to apply the knowledge.

It is enough of bla bla bla, I am going to introduce myself. My name is Daniela Barrios de La Hoz, I am studying mass communication and journalism at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla Colombia. Have I mentioned that I should be on vacations? 
I am interested in public relationship management using the communication as a business strategy creating emotional connection with all the groups that have a relation with the organization.
In my free time I love to spend time with myself doing the activities that I love and learning about everything because I am so curious and I try to learn something new everyday.

It is a little about my, and it is all for now, see ya!       

Ayudar a los niños con càncer: Un reto.

Como un golpe fuerte, directo y seco, capaz de estremecer y hasta parar al más fuerte de los corazones. Así llega la muerte, acechante y sigilosa. La mortaja que no distingue entre raza, género, edad, estatus social. Ella se lleva a todos por igual, y nadie sabe el día y la hora. Y la enfermedad, la usual predecesora de la muerte y verdugo de sus víctimas que algunas veces se sale con las suyas, entregando un cuerpo agonizante a su eterna cómplice.    

Pero ¿Y cuándo la víctima de esta letal y villana pareja es un infante quién en ésta etapa de su vida sólo debería preocuparse por los deberes escolares del siguiente día, por reír y jugar con sus amiguitos, por divertirse y aprender para así cumplir los sueños que nacen en los más profundo de sus diminutos pero fervientes corazoncitos? ¿Qué pasa cuándo una tragedia acalla cada esperanzado latido y cierra forzosamente aquellos ojos que miraban hacía un futuro bienaventurado y feliz?  ¿Podrá tener sus propias vidas un final feliz análogo a los relatos y aventuras animadas que amenizan las tardes de estos pequeños?

Y si, aunque algunos piensen lo contrario, la vida real es bastante similar a los cuentos de fantasía, y, como en toda historia de aquellas que solíamos exaltar cuando éramos niños, donde hay villanos siempre hay héroes; y estos, con tesón, coraje y valentía lucharán contra la enfermedad, la muerte y sus secuaces. Estos héroes, sin capa están provistos únicamente con los superpoderes de  la buena voluntad, el amor por el servicio al otro, la entrega en cuerpo y alma a la causa, la disposición y la sed de cambio. Y es que todas estas armas son necesarias cuando se hace frente a un enemigo peligroso y difícil de combatir, tan temible que en algunas ocasiones su nombre se torna impronunciable: el cáncer. Por esto, cuando los niños y sus familias necesitan refuerzos en su lucha contra esta terrible enfermedad, hacen el llamado a su héroe y este atiende prestamente.

Pero el camino a la victoria no siempre es fácil y lastimosamente no siempre se llega a la meta aunque se tenga un ejército de héroes a disposición, y menos aún cuando el terrible villano del cáncer cuenta con sus secuaces iguales de  peligrosos y alarmantes.

Marlein Echeverría es el caso de una luchadora de 13 años vencida en combate por ser atacada múltiplemente por su fuerte adversario el cáncer en complicidad con el deficiente sistema de salud que atacó de imprevisto con aparentes municiones de negligencia médica y cócteles molotov de indiferencia. Y aunque en la batalla acudieron en su ayuda sus héroes defensores Karla Iguarán (Directora fundación reto, grupo de apoyo contra el cáncer) y más tarde David Peláez (Secretario de Salud) la muerte terminó borrando su nombre del libro de la vida.

Con los ojos llenos de lágrimas pero con voz fuerte e inquebrantable, la compañera de lucha de Marlein, su prima Zarieth Camargo contó como la audaz guerrera a pesar de las heridas físicas y emocionales nunca borró la sonrisa de su rostro. “Ni la muerte podrá borrar esa sonrisa, siempre estará en nuestros corazones”.

Así mismo, y con un comprensible resentimiento fácilmente legible en su mirada, contó las peripecias y los obstáculos que se interpusieron y contribuyeron a la partida de Marlein de este mundo. Relató que inicialmente el dolor que presentó la niña en la rodilla izquierda se le atribuyó a un golpe sufrido en una divertida fiesta de cumpleaños en el momento del afán y el ahínco por recoger los caramelos y confites de la piñata. Llevada al hospital local de Malambo, la menor fue diagnosticada con una lesión menor, pero al percatarse de que el dolor y la inflamación persistían a pesar de los medicamentos suministrados por los médicos, los padres decidieron consultar una segunda opinión. Luego de una larga lucha con los procesos de afiliación a las entidades prestadoras de servicios de salud por la aparente afiliación múltiple a distintas EPS y cinco meses después de la aparición de los primeros síntomas, es atendida en la clínica San Martín en la cual mediante una biopsia detectan un tumor óseo en la pierna izquierda. Debido al mismo problema de multi afiliación y posteriormente por la falta de camillas en el centro hospitalario, fue interrumpido el ciclo de quimioterapias correspondiente.

En una de sus visitas a las clínicas en las cuales busca nombres de personas enfermas de cáncer con escasos recursos económicos, la heroína Karla Iguarán se topa con el caso de Marlein y decide apoyarla. Iguarán, de la mano otros héroes con conocimientos de la parte legal y jurídica lograron una indemnización por el monto de 3’000.000 de pesos que fueron invertidos en el tratamiento, pero al agotarse el dinero, la paciente fue remitida al CARI en donde, y según palabras de Zarieth Camargo, la tenían en un vaivén con una mala atención puesto que no proveían a la familia con las órdenes necesarias