TwitterFacebookInstagram

Latin America

Bolivia. Water: source of life in the Andean Pacha.

The Andean peoples preserve their ancient wisdoms with great care in order to lead a good life. Wisdoms that have been transmitted for hundreds and thousands of years. The wisdom of water. We Andean people consider our Pachamama as the Mother of  the universe, as the Mother of the Pacha. The name Pachamama is made…

Read more

Nicaragua. Street Children’s Circus.

They are at the traffic lights, juggling their torches and coloured balls and performing acrobatics. The street children have invented a new approach to raising funds by amusing the motorists. It is evening and the traffic flows along the brightly lit street of Managua. At the traffic lights, children both large and small have exchanged…

Read more

Qhapaq Ñan. Symbol of integration.

The Qhapaq Ñan is an extraordinary set of roads constructed by the Incas. This network connects several Andean villages and sites that highlight the Inca ancestral architecture. This road system was a route of trade and it contributed greatly to cultural exchanges. The Qhapaq Ñan is a set of roads, which is said to be…

Read more

Brazil. Close to the people.

Brazil is the country struck hardest by Covid 19. Combonian Father Saverio Paolillo has sent us some reflections. Rethink our lifestyle. The Covid-19 pandemic is ravaging Brazil. It has become country with the second largest number of victims after the United States, with over 65,000 deaths and 1.6 million confirmed cases. The figures are probably…

Read more

Mexico. Arms that speak of peace.

A visual Mexican artist collects arms used during violent times in his country and transforms them into works of art, to demonstrate how human beings have more powerful arms to convey their message in the form of images, literature, thoughts and words. Originally from Jalisco, one of the Mexican states situated in the western part…

Read more

Colombia. An Uneasy Peace.

Since the ratification of the historic Peace Accord between the then President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) Rodrigo Londono, (24 November 2016), peace has made little progress in the country. Lights and clouds overlap in an ever more difficult journey. The positive lights that encourage hope, despite…

Read more

Mexico. Pre-Hispanic city of Uxmal.

The ancient pre-Hispanic city of Uxmal and its three surrounding sites: Kabhá, Labná and Sayil admirably demonstrate the social and economic structure of late Maya society. One of the great mysteries of humanity is the sudden disappearance of the extraordinary Mayan civilization at the end of the eleventh century which would contribute so much to…

Read more

Brazil. The Magic and Colour of Movement.

A school of dance for the blind, the only one of its kind in the world, located in the outskirts of São Paolo. The challenge of a young woman. Innovative methods. Working against prejudice. A liberating dance. “I have learned to cover my eyes and open my heart”. On the tips of her toes she…

Read more

Brazil. Frevo, infectious joy.

If the samba is the sound of Rio de Janeiro, the frevo is that of Recife in North-East Brazil, where it began towards the end of the nineteenth century: a rhythm inseparably tied to the exuberance of the Pernambuco carnival, which, in 2012, became part of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The word itself expresses…

Read more

Guatemala. The native flavour of boj.

Boj, which originates from the northern region of Alta Verapaz, has a cultural and spiritual meaning to the Q’eqchi’ people, it is served at religious celebrations and indigenous festivities. The inhabitants of the Alta Verapaz department say that the basic ingredient of this drink is corn, which has cooked on a wood fire for three…

Read more

Mexico. Calakmul, the Lost City.

Its name means “The Place of Adjacent Mounds.” This site was contemporary with Tikal and Palenque. Calakmul was at its peak between around 431 and 790 A.D. but it was already an important city in the late Pre-classic, with dated monuments being erected around 200 A.D. Calakmul was inhabited for 1500 years and was a…

Read more

Mexico. Being a priest in Acapulco.

Once the Pearl of the Pacific, it is now a hell inhabited by those involved in the drugs trade and warring criminal bands. Acapulco has become one of the most dangerous cities in the world. One of its parish priests, Father Hugo Hernandez, describes it for us. Saint Nicholas of Bari is a small blue…

Read more

Advocacy

Semia Gharbi. Fighting against eco-mafias.

She played a key role in a campaign that challenged a corrupt waste trafficking scheme between Italy and Tunisia, resulting in the return of 6,000…

Read more

Baobab

The swallow brings the summer.

The Black and white swallow flew high up in the clear, blue sky, wheeling and diving, his fast, pointed wings carrying him at a great speed. Swallow…

Read more

Youth & Mission

Pope Leo and the Youth.

Welcoming, listening and guiding. Some characteristics of Pope Leo with the youth During the years when Father Robert Francis Prevost was pastor of the church of Our…

Read more