Floods Devastate SE Asia

It’s a bit crazy to imagine that countries I was discovering two years ago in SE Asia are now swamped from a typhoon. The following excerpt is from the Radio Australia: The Philippines is bracing for two more typhoons which are expected to hit the flood-ravaged country over the next two days. Emergency teams have [...]
Laura McNamara Photography Featured On Gaute Websites

Aside from contributing to Revue Magazine, I’ve been contracting out photography work for various clients here in Central America. In August, I photographed a private event for Pepsi. The event was Pepsi’s official launch of its new logo and image in Honduras. I was even interviewed briefly for TV towards the end of the event, [...]
Local Guatemalan Dead After Land Dispute
Another wonderful outcome of capitalist imperialism: (Reuters article by Sarah Grainger) A long-running land dispute between local residents and a foreign-owned nickel mine in Guatemala exploded in violence over the weekend, leaving one man dead and thirteen others injured, police said on Monday. The latest trouble broke out on Sunday when a fight broke out [...]
Smithsonian Unveils “Human Rights Breakthrough in Guatemala”

For more than a decade, the disappearance of thousands of residents during Guatemala’s civil war remained unsolved. Now, the world has answers. “A Human Rights Breakthrough in Guatemala” from Smithsonian.com: A chance discovery of police archives may reveal the fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared in Guatemala’s civil war. By Julian Smith [...]
Million Dollar Nike Corp. Not Paying Workers

An opinion piece in the Seattle Times urges The University of Washington to retract its deal with Nike upon the news that the million dollar corp isn’t paying workers in Honduras. Ughhh… how appalling: The University of Washington should re-examine its relationship with Nike because of the company’s closure of factories in Honduras without paying [...]
Coffee Not Coughing Up Enough in Guatemala
Times.com reports that small-production Guatemalan coffee growers can’t make ends meet, even with higher Fair Trade prices. Living in La Antigua Guatemala, I can’t escape the enticing aroma of “cafe.” Here, most of the cafe is supplied by major local producers whose farms carpet the hills surrounding the Panchoy Valley. Producers like the R. Dalton [...]
Nat Geo: Howler Monkeys of Central America

The first time I heard the eerie bark of a howler monkey was during my outdoor getaway to the Refugio de Cuero y Salado in Honduras (see Murky Mangroves). The sound of these mammals is extremely deceiving. I heard the animal before I ever saw and I thought it must be giant, like a gorilla. [...]
Massacre Survivor of the Rio Negro Fights to Memorialize, Not Forget, Victims
Global Voices Online has highlighted the unsettling testimony, yet inspiring work of Maya Achí activist Jesús Tecú Osorio. Tecú is one of the few survivors of the Río Negro Massacre, considered “one of the most horrific massacres of Guatemala’s armed conflict” and his recount of what happened is disturbing and graphic: “The military and paramilitary [...]
Horrorifying Sex Trade in Cambodia
I spent much of December 2007 and January 2008 in Cambodia. While I didn’t touch too much upon the disturbingly prevalent sex trade present there, this report from Change.org (below) does… as does the linked ABC report. It leaves one wondering, ‘What can be done?’ Makes my stomach churn… Warning: The the videos and commentary [...]
Oil Hunt in Guatemala
Guatemala is a strikingly beautiful country… stunning and magical. I cringe at how this latest quest to find oil and natural gas will affect this “Land of Green Light.” Read the report from Life in Guatemala: World Energy Research, a New Zealand-based energy research and investment company, is moving into energy exploration in Guatemala. WER [...]
A Parallel Guatemala
I just wanted to briefly comment upon the fact that I had to get online and read the news to realize that Guatemala, a Latin country that is slightly smaller than the state of Tennessee – the country in which I’m happily living – is enduring the worst drought it has faced in 30 years. [...]
Wildlife, Soccer and Sunken Ships at Monterrico

Monterrico has became a favorite weekend-destination for me. In the past several months, I’ve shuffled back to the lazy, Latin beach town at least four times, maybe more. There are several ways to get there, but hands down, the best way is to include “una lancha” or a small, motorized boat in your route. For [...]
Volcanic Booms

Recently, the days have truly been picture-perfect here in La Antigua with a bright sun peering out from big, puffy clouds that slowly trawl across a deep blue sky. Three volcanoes – Fuego, Agua and Acatenango – loom around the colonial streets of La Antigua like protective guardians. Sometimes the summits of the volcanoes are [...]
Freshwater Pools at El Pilar

As I’ve started to get into my groove here in La Antigua Guatemala, I’ve began to run again. I’m hoping to become disciplined enough to start training for a marathon again. That’s difficult in this socially non-stop Latin hot spot though. Anyway, one of the lesser known gems of La Antigua is Finca El Pilar [...]
Contributing to the Revue
Revue Magazine is Guatemala’s english-speaking cultural guide. I started contributing to the magazine beginning in the month of August. I’ve had a ton of fun crafting various articles about various treasures I’ve already found here in Guatemala and I really enjoy working with them. The articles that have been published both in the magazine and [...]
You’ve Got to Roll With It!
For today’s daily post: a little vid I slapped together of the boys out in the surf at El Paredon Beach in Guatemala. I captured the video with my dinky but nonetheless valuably waterproof, point-and-shoot camera. Enjoy!
Mi Casa en Antigua

Since I’ll be working from “home” today. I figured I’d give a brief description about what “home” has meant for me for about two months now… I live in a small house of concrete walls as is quite typical here. The roof is is a mix of flat concrete (for a rooftop terrace), tin, hard [...]


