Destination: South America
How I Moved to Argentina and Became a Not-So-Famous Model
by Jim Benning | 03.09.05 | 8:57 PM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzTraveling ‘The Che Trail’
by Jim Benning | 10.08.04 | 7:02 PM ET
Today’s Los Angeles Times features a fascinating front page story about efforts in Bolivia and beyond to transform Che Guevara historical sites into major tourist attractions. The article also touches on Che-related commercial absurdity beyond Latin America, noting: “The Republica Trading Co. collection—available at retail outlets such as Bloomingdale’s and Fred Segal—includes a $98 Che cashmere sweater. When Johnny Depp posed for the cover of GQ magazine last year, he wore a Che medallion.” Ugh.
“A Death in Brazil”
by Jim Benning | 05.19.04 | 12:42 AM ET
In today’s New York Times, critic Richard Eder reviews Peter Robb’s new quasi-travel memoir, “A Death in Brazil.” Eder liked the book. “‘A Death in Brazil’ is not strictly about travel,” Eder writes. “It deals with Brazil’s history, landscapes, society, culture, food and the baroque flamboyance of its political life. Think of travel as the verb-mode in which the book is written, bypassing subjunctive, conditional, indicative and imperative to get to ultra-active.” I’m not sure exactly what that last sentence means, but it sounds impressive, doesn’t it? Newsday reviewer John Freeman also recently found much to admire in “A Death in Brazil,” calling it “an intoxicating cocktail of a book.”
Alejandro Toledo: President of Peru, Statesman, Tour Guide
by Jim Benning | 04.08.04 | 8:41 PM ET
That’s right. Peru’s president is spending his Easter vacation traveling around the country as a tour guide of sorts, taping a travel show for Discovery Travel Channel. The one-hour show is scheduled to air this fall. A Reuters report on Yahoo! has the wacky details.
Lonely Planet at 30
by Jim Benning | 12.29.03 | 9:46 PM ET
Jim Benning celebrates three decades of groundbreaking independent travel guides
A Million Years of Memory
by Bill Belleville | 12.10.03 | 9:47 PM ET
In the Galapagos, Bill Belleville immerses himself in an environment that's part dream, part cradle of evolution
I Can’t Wait to Get Kidnapped in Colombia, Then Write a Gripping Yet Humorous Account of It
by Jim Benning | 06.16.03 | 11:35 PM ET
Do the worst trips make for the best travel writing? Many successful travel writers insist they do, but South Florida Sun-Sentinel Travel Editor Thomas Swick isn’t buying it. In a provocative Sunday column, he suggests that travel writers cling to this belief in part simply to distinguish themselves from other tourists. “So disaster and suffering become our salvation; the more we experience each, the slimmer our chances of appearing on ‘Wild On!’” he writes. It’s a good point. I’ve never met a travel writer who wanted to appear on the E! Channel’s fluffy show, lounging poolside and sipping a margarita while reading the latest Danielle Steele novel. It just doesn’t look muy macho. To buttress his case, Swick points to several classic books focused on mainly positive experiences, including Paul Theroux’s “The Great Railway Bazaar.”
Zen and the Art of Yoga (While Being Held Hostage by Colombian Rebels)
by Jim Benning | 02.12.03 | 4:36 PM ET
Quick: You’ve just been kidnapped by Colombian rebels. What do you do? If you’re Ruth Morris, one of the Los Angeles Times freelancers kidnapped recently, you do a little, uh, yoga. “As the days passed, I tried to adopt a routine,” she writes in an account of the ordeal in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. “We would rise with the sun, listen for news of our abduction on the rebels’ small, crackly radio, sit on a rock and sip overly sweet coffee. Then I’d walk downriver to bathe, wash a few clothes, practice yoga and write in my notebook.” That’s the spirit! Don’t let a little jungle kidnapping get in the way of your daily sun salutation and lion’s pose. I’ve worked as a freelance reporter for the Times in Los Angeles, and I never had a day as relaxing as that.
What Happens When a Village Trades Mining for Eco-Tourism?
by Jim Benning | 11.16.02 | 12:16 AM ET
The Truck Ride
by Amberly Polidor | 09.17.02 | 10:57 PM ET
Photo by Wiley Davis. A muddy Bolivian road snagged the old Chevy, leaving Amberly Polidor stuck in the middle of the Amazon. Out there, amid the mosquitoes and the molten glass air, rescue took on new meaning.
Update: ‘The Simpsons’ Extends Olive Branch to Brazil
by Jim Benning | 04.11.02 | 11:04 PM ET
We haven’t been sleeping well ever since we learned that tourism officials in Rio de Janeiro were upset about the way their city was portrayed on a recent episode of “The Simpsons.” Well, we’re happy to learn that the television show’s producers are trying to mend hurt feelings and put this international incident behind them.
Rio de Janeiro vs. ‘The Simpsons’
by Jim Benning | 04.10.02 | 5:06 PM ET
An episode of “The Simpsons” in which the cartoon family visits Rio de Janeiro only to see Homer get robbed and kidnapped apparently didn’t amuse tourism officials in Brazil. As they see it, the show, “Blame it on Lisa,” only served to undermine a costly campaign to attract tourists.
According to a Reuters report on Yahoo, tourism officials are considering legal action against the show. Among their complaints, the episode depicts monkeys inhabiting Rio. “It’s a completely unreal image of the city,” a spokesman told Reuters.
For the record, we at World Hum suggest travelers study a range of television shows before making any serious travel decisions. Before going anywhere, for example, we watch “The Osbournes,” “The Daily Show” and “Protagonistas de Novela,” a Spanish-language soap opera. Only then do we feel we have enough sound travel information.
Colombian Kids Find Salvation in Hip Hop
by Michael Yessis | 02.21.02 | 11:57 PM ET
Online Journalism Award Winners
by Michael Yessis | 11.09.01 | 9:34 PM ET
The Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism recently announced the Online Journalism Awards for 2000-01. Travel-related winners include:
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