Mexico’s Mariachi Bands

Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Cocula, Jalisco, and Mexico. Usually a mariachi consists of at least three violins, two trumpets, one Mexican guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón, a small-scaled acoustic bass. They dress in silver studded charro outfits with wide brimmed hats. The original Mariachi were Mexican street musicians or buskers. Many mariachis are professional entertainers doing paid gigs in the mainstream entertainment industry. Professionals are normally skilled at more than one instrument, and they also sing. They sometimes accompany ranchera singers such as Vicente Fernandez or even pop star Luis Miguel. Although ranchera singers dress in a traje de charro(Charro suit), they are not mariachis.Although mariachis are hired to play at events such as weddings and other formal occasions, such as a quinceañera, a girl’s fifteenth birthday celebration, they are very often used to serenade women because many of the songs in a typical repertoire have as a theme the desire to touch the heart of the opposite sex. Some of the songs are sad; others are about how much that special someone appreciates your company. Trios of mariachis can be found for hire in different places at night. The best known venues are Plaza de los Mariachis in Guadalajara and Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City for the purposes of serenading. Mother’s days are also another popular occasion for mariachis. Hiring prices can immensely vary and are normally not cheap. Large parties, weddings or special events should not go witho.Tourists frequently confuse mariachis with all types of buskers seen in Mexico, such as jarochos. Mariachi refers to musicians who dress and play in a style typical of the Mexican state of Jalisco, although the style and music played has spread far beyond the limits of Jalisco and jalisciense music itself. Generally a guitarrón and a vihuela must be included for a group to be considered a mariachi 

Why are Cuban cigars illegal in the U.S

Cuban cigars are illegal for U.S. citizens. The reason why Cuban cigars are not legal in the United States is ingrained in the memory of older cigar connoisseurs, but to younger cigar smokers, the reason can be found in the annals of history. Way back in February of 1962, President John F. Kennedy established a trade embargo against Cuba to sanction Fidel Castro’s communist regime, which seized control of the island in 1959, and then began to confiscate private property and other assets (including cigar companies). Castro continued to be a thorn in the side of the United States. In October of 1962, during the height of the Cold War, he permitted the Soviets to construct missile bases on the island capable of striking the Untied States. The U.S. responded with a blockade of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from delivering the materials to complete the project (not to be confused with the Cuban Trade Embargo, which started in February 1962). Because of Castro, the world never came closer to nuclear war than during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Numerous attempts were made by the U.S. to assassinate Castro (one including the use of poison cigars), but there is some speculation that Castro’s cohorts may have gotten to JFK first. Regardless, this Communist Dictator is no friend of the United States, and open trade with Cuba would be tantamount to supporting communism, at least in the eyes of U.S. lawmakers. As long as Fidel Castro still lives and Cuba’s government is still communist, the Cuban Trade Embargo is expected to remain in effect, despite efforts by some who are trying to build support for lifting the baN. In fact, the embargo was made even more restrictive in 2004. United States citizens cannot legally acquire or consume Cuban cigars, even while traveling abroad. This may be a law that is impractical to enforce, but it is still the law. There are substantial fines and penalties for violators, who are at a higher risk of being nabbe if they attempt to bring Cuban products (especially in large quantities) into the United States.

Puerto Rico’s “El Morro”

The oldest Spanish fort in the New World, El Morro was built to protect San Juan, Puerto Rico from attacks from the sea and to control entry to the harbour. The fort is called San Felipe del Morro. The name by which the fort is commonly known, El Morro, is the Spanish word for headlandwhich it refers to the headland on which the fort stands.Construction began in 1539 and went through several phases of building over the next 248 years. The external walls of El Morro swallowed the original construction as the site grew larger.Eventually standing six stories tall, with 140 ft (42 meters) high walls that are sometimes 18 ft (5 meters) thick, El Morro was completed in 1787. On the other side of the harbour is another fortress, San Juan de la Cruz, better known as El Cañuelo – together the forts were able to catch potential invaders in a deadly crossfire. Despite the defenses, El Morro did come under attack. Among them was English pirate Sir Francis Drake in 1595. In a sea-based attack that ended in failure, there is a story that a cannonball fired from El Morro passed clean through the cabin of his flagship. Following this attack, defenses were reinforced. This led to the construction of the city wall between 1630 and 1678. Also, another fortress was designed to protect against attacks from the east. Construction on San Cristóbal began in 1634.The final attack on El Morro was during in 1898. During the Spanish-American War, US Warships fired on the lighthouse and destroyed it. Under the United States El Morro continued to be used by the military. Gun emplacements were added during World War I, and when the United States entered into World War II in 1942, an observation post and underground bunker were added

Ecuador: The “Banana Republic”

 

Ecuador is the world’s premier exporter of Bananas which are available allyear round due to the 0.00 Latitude that the country sits on therefore enjoying all year round tropical climates. Currently the country exports to the main countries of the United States, Russia, Japan, China and the European Union.Some 325,000 acres or 130,000 hectares currently exists in the planting allocation of bananas in Ecuador while the fruit is exported with strong polybag lined protection, contained within boxes and put on pallets for onward. Ecuador exports twice as many bananas as any other country in the world. Yet the estimated 300,000 or so banana workers see few of the benefits of this production. Conditions for these workers are amongst the worst in the banana industry. The low-wage, non-unionised banana production in Ecuador is driving down conditions for banana workers around the world as companies relocate their own production and seek out the cheapest possible sources from which to purchase.       

                                 

The Dominician Republic, Baseball, and Sammy Sosa

 

From the sugar mill towns of San Pedro de Macroisand La Romana to fields all across the Domincan Republic, young, poor kids dream of someday playing major league baseball and bringing financial security to their families.The national sport and passion of Dominican Republic is baseball or “Beisbol” as the Dominicans call it. No matter where you go on the island you will find a baseball stadium/park, even in the poorest of towns. Today more than one in six players in the American league is from Latin America. The majority of them coming from the towns located on the southeastern coast Dominican Republic. When the teams finish their season, the winner will vie for the Carribean World Series, among other latin countries. Not only is the season incredible, but teams also feature american ballplayers that are trying to make it to the big leagues. When an organization has a top prospect and they want him to gain more experience, they will send him to a winterball league to hone his skills. Among one of the best players of all time, Sammy Sosa is from the Dominican Republic.