Thank you to all of the new students that have been sending in photos. I know that I really enjoy learning more about those that will join us very soon. For new students that want to contribute, please see this entry for instructions on how to submit your own photos for posting.
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The first set of photos was contributed by Marcelo Ballvé, an incoming dual degree student (MPA) spending the first year at SIPA and the second year at FGV-EAESP-São Paulo.
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The first photo was taken in Tegucigalpa, Honduras last year during protests following the June 2009 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. I was there as a reporter, so I spent a lot of time mingling with protesters in the streets. I thought this shot conveyed the intense mix political engagement and anxiety Hondurans were experiencing at the time. The fellow to the right is trying on a homemade gas mask, since many protests were being dispersed with tear gas.
I was in Tegucigalpa to cover the politics, but also happened to be present when Honduras qualified for the World Cup. Once the game ended, the politically divided country briefly came together in a spontaneous outburst of joy. I had left my hotel to see the celebrations and was standing on a corner below a street light when this kid began twirling his shirt around.
The last photo was taken in Santiago, Cuba, right around the time of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution early in 2009. Santiago is the city in far-eastern Cuba where rebels began their cross-country blitz to take control of the island in the first days of 1959. Now the city is as frozen in time as the rest of the island, but the “ciudad rebelde” hosted Raúl Castro’s anniversary commemoration.
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The second set of photos come from Madeline Knaup, an incoming MIA student.
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Madrid, Spain: The church of San Antón, a patron saint of animals, celebrates “Las Fiestas de San Antón” where people bring their pets from all over the region to have them blessed.
