Adam Bemma

Well, just one more day here in Central America. In my last 24 hours, before I board a flight from Panama City to San Jose, Costa Rica, then transfer to my flight home to Canada, I think I may relax and go to the pool (there aren’t any beaches nearby). When I left Granada, Nicaragua,…

One important thing I forgot to mention in my last post was that outside of Antigua, Guatemala, I climbed Picaya, an active volcano that spewed lava only seven months ago. I went with a group of people, including a Dutch guy and American girl, who I traveled with to Antigua from Flores. When we reached…

My time in Belize was short-lived. 24-hours after arriving in the country, I made my way into Guatemala. Caye Caulker was peaceful, and a good place to unwind. However, I needed some excitement, so I caught a school bus, which they use for public transportation, and went from Belize City to Benque (located at the…

During my stay in Oaxaca, Mexico, I got to see a teacher and student protest, which I’ve heard and read is a regular occurrence in that part of the country. Although it didn’t get violent like I’ve heard it usually does. The teachers did barracade the streets, so no one could leave Oaxaca. But of…

I just arrived in Oaxaca, Mexico after a long, late-night bus ride from Acapulco. The temperature dropped significantly and it’s a freezing cold morning here in the city. Kind of like it was in Mexico City, where I spent seven days with a friend’s family in Ecatapec, a north-end barrio in the world’s third largest…

Tommorrow is the official start of the holiday shopping season, otherwise known as Black Friday. It’s a day where millions of American and Canadian shoppers head to retail stores to make purchases at rock-bottom prices. Here in Canada, the idea caught on last year to follow the American tradition and have big box chain stores…

At Montreal City Hall a culture of secrecy prevails. Montrealers, like myself, demand Mayor Gerald Tremblay’s administration to be more open and transparent. Unfortunately, since being re-elected for a third term last November saying he’d clean up government, Tremblay has continued to keep himself out of the spotlight and not address these issues. A citizen-run…

Contrary to popular belief, Toronto Mayor-elect Rob Ford is not a populist. Ford’s “stop the gravy train” mantra used throughout his mayoralty campaign to put an end to wasteful spending at Toronto City Hall was one concocted by political strategists, not himself, working for the former Etobicoke councillor. This whole idea that somehow Ford represents…

This year’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema payed homage to the late Quebecois filmmaker Pierre Falardeau with a retrospective of his sovereignist-inspired films, including a documentary about his life and screening of his 1990 feature Le Party. Falardeau is mostly known for his staunch support of Quebec sovereignty, and calls for independence of his beloved quasi-nation-state.…