Saturday Links

I'm off to an Asian American Studies conference taking place this weekend, so in lieu of a post, here're two links to articles that caught my attention in today's New York Times (both articles require registration):

Carlos Villalon for The New York Times Brian Zuñiga, 12, has completed more than three years at Colegio del Cuerpo, a contemporary-dance academy in Cartagena.

"Kicking up Hope," by Juan Forero. This article looks at Colégio de Cuerpo, a modern/avant-garde dance school for poor, predominantly Afro-colombian children founded by dancer Álvaro Restrepo in Cartagena, a city on Colombia's Caribbean coast. Forero's article notes that the school is held in low regard by the Colombian élites, both because of its dance focus and because of the mostly poor, black student body drawn from a shantytown, containing many civil war refugees, called Nelson Mandela, but he goes on to show how it has made a tremendous impact--economic, social, artistic, psychological--in the lives of its participants and their families. Always the battle for our people, siempre la lucha!

"Door to Door Search for a Killer Virus in Angola" by Sharon Lafraniere and Denise Grady. This heartbreaking piece explores the terrible outbreak of Marburg virus in Uíge, Angola, and the struggles of the non-governmental health officials and workers to address the problem in the face of the Angolan government's ongoing inaction and indifference, and the local population's belief systems and deep distrust of outsiders. It's a tragedy that right now appears to have no end unless the leadership in Luanda, which has yet to recover from the decades-long UNITA insurgency, decides to make confronting the outbreak a priority.

Evelyn Hockstein/Polaris, for The New York Times Health workers decontaminated the body of Louiza Nevish Bati, 23, who died of the Marburg virus, and wrapped it in a protective shroud.