Solar Villages
AL JAZEERA / TRAILER: A documentary about the potential of solar energy to transform isolated rural communities, profoundly changing the lives of people struggling to survive at the margins of civilization.
The Nuyorican Revolution
NARRATIVELY: For half a century, spoken-word savants have seized their roots and given a voice to the Puerto Ricans of New York, creating a dynamic literary movement that continues to evolve in the city's shifting cultural landscape.
Flight for Survival
BBC / ROADS & KINGDOMS: In the Mexican town of Papantla, the gravity-defying “Voladores” ritual is helping the Totonac people preserve their heritage against the odds.
Family of slain Chilean singer seeks justice in US
AP: The family of Victor Jara claims to have solved the 40-year-old mystery of who killed the revered folk singer during Chile’s 1973 coup.
Welcome to Okinawa, Bolivia
MONOCLE 24: A rare visit to the remote colony founded for migrants from a Japanese island devastated by World War Two.
Bolivians protest Morales flight scandal
MONOCLE 24 / LIVE: The refusal of four European states to allow Bolivia’s presidential plane into their airspace triggered a diplomatic crisis, and a wave of demonstration across the South American country – also fueled by deep anti-American tensions.
Cultures collide at Cumbre Tajín folk festival
MONOCLE 24: The Cumbre Tajín festival celebrates indigenous identity, combining scores of cultural activities with a distinctly popular musical lineup. Traditional folk dances share a stage with the likes of Fatboy Slim – but does this formula work?
Loft Chronicles
THE WIRE: Minimalist composer Phill Niblock has been living in his Chinatown loft since the late 1960s – and curating concerts there for almost as long.
Fighting Corruption, One Bribe at a Time
MONOCLE: A new app available in Russia is designed to collect anonymous reports of illicit payments and visualize them online – with the goal of quantifying the country’s rampant corruption problem.
For Mexican Prisoners, Music Brings Inner Freedom
VICE: Inmates at Santa Martha Acatitla prison in Mexico City have found a welcome escape – metaphorically, of course...
Archery on the rise in NYC
MONOCLE 24: The U.S. men’s Olypmic team won silver at London 2012, and “The Hunger Games” film broke box office records. The main character was a highly skilled archer – so could she be a new Robin Hood for today’s generation?
Saving Mexican culture with cocktails
MONOCLE 24: By using traditional ingredients to create original beverages, a group of “etnomixologists” hope to preserve indigenous Mexican culture in today’s globalized world.
