The Pumpkin Festival in El Salvador

From NBC News

During the traditional "La Calbiuza" parade, or "Pumpkin Festival," on the eve of All Souls Day, participants dress in haunting costumes based on characters from indigenous Salvadoran mythology. The parade takes place in Tonacatepeque on the outskirts of the Salvadoran capital. 

Go check out the rest of the photos.

Canadian reality show set in Guatemala

Anna-Claire Bevan has the story on a new reality show set in Guatemala called The Project: Guatemala.

Most reality TV shows rely on scripted confessionals and spoiled, fame-hungry contestants keen to accomplish their esteemed celebrity status by doing very little. “The Project: Guatemala” is different.

It may initially look the same, with its cast of privileged 20-somethings who believe they’re embarking on a six-week trip to paradise, but the show soon changes when the pampered participants discover they are heading to rural Guatemala to build a community center for orphaned and abandoned children.

“They were shocked to say the least,” said the show’s host, Canadian adventurer Ray Zahab. “Let’s face it, this group of young people did not see this coming – it was out of their landscape of thought.”

Nine Canadians traveled with Zahab to Tecpán, 50 kilometers northwest of Guatemala City, to Project Somos, a Canadian nongovernmental organization that works with Guatemalan children in need.

“They could leave whenever they wanted to – this wasn't about voting anyone out. But they had to want to stay and work hard,” Zahab said. “It was very real and very difficult for many of them.”

 Let me just say that the show doesn't appeal to me but to each his own.

US Congressmen seek interference in El Salvador's elections - what else is new?

I submitted a draft of my Freedom House report for El Salvador a few weeks ago. Here is part of my opening salvo:

The independence of the Salvadoran government to make decisions concerning its people was challenged in 2013 following public and private pressure applied by US officials, including US Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte, US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the chairs of the House and Senate Western Hemisphere Subcommittees,  the operations of a variety of Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) programs, litigation by multinational corporations, and infiltration by transnational criminal organizations.

The US’ support for initiatives such as the passage of the Public-Private Partnership (P3) law in May, debate on a second Millennium Corporation Compact for El Salvador in September, and investment in a number of programs related to the Partnership for Growth have caused friction with the President of El Salvador, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), and the business sector and civil society. 

Apparently I am going to have to update the report and strengthen my criticism of US and foreign interference. Take a look at the Matt Salmon and Albio Sires' latest interference in El Salvador's upcoming election. (h/t @LuisMontes). In case you don't know, Salmon is the Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee and Sires is the Ranking Member.