First Radio Emission in South America

1920

First Radio Transmission in Argentina- Primera transmisión radial en Argentina
"Los Locos de la Azotea" ("The crazy ones on the Roof" ) are going to do the first transmission in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The night of  the 27th of August of 1920 , the doctor  Enrique Susini had everything installed: radio equipment and an antenna  on the rothe theater named Coliseo de Buenos Aires. At  21 hours, Susini announced the beginning of the inauguration of the transmission which was organized together with Miguel Mujica, Luis Romero Carranza and César Guerrico from  Theater Coliseo, where the Society of the Argentinian Radio presented the opera  “Parsifal” of Richard Wagner. After that followed under the direction of  Félix von Wingartner,began the Overture of the historic  transmission that lasted almost three hours.  The next day, the newspaper La Razón headline was (the audition that fell from the heavens  "audición llovida del cielo".

In Argentina, the new era began in 1897 the physicist and Italian engineer Teobaldo J. Ricaldoni, began to transmit radio electric transmissions as the ones occurring in different parts of the world. But, because of the security risks during WWI stopped all radio transmissions in Argentina.But, in 1919, fifteen Argentinians radio enthusiasts reinstalled their antennas and retake their receivers.

It was those "crazy ones on the roof", as they were called by some, who-with the name of the Argentinian Radio Society- began global broadcasting on the 27th of August of 1920, with an antenna  antenna placed on the old  Coliseo theater. For the few twenty equipment existing in the city, it was possible to listen to the opera Parsifal, of Richard Wagner. In few months, the emissions were realized alternating between the theaters of Coliseo, Colón and Odeón. Also, they broadcasted music, records, news, recitals, advertising and live shows.

Venezuelan Food-Cachapas

CACHAPAS I

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• Corn kernels, fresh or frozen -- 4 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• Cornstarch -- 1/2 cup
• Melted butter or olive oil -- 2 tablespoons
• Sugar -- 1 tablespoon
• Salt -- 2 teaspoons
• Water -- as needed

Method

1. If using frozen corn, thaw it first. Add the corn, cornstarch, butter or oil, sugar and salt to a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth but still a little chunky. Add water as needed to give the batter a consistency a little thicker than heavy cream.
2. Heat a heavy skillet over medium flame. Wipe the skillet with a little oil or butter and add about 1/2 cup of the batter to the skillet and spread it out a bit. Turn when the surface bubbles and the bottoms are golden brown, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, and brown on the other side.
3. Hold in a warm oven and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot, spread with butter or folded around your favorite filling.

Variations

• Costa Rican Chorreadas: Add a little more sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla if you like. Spread with sour cream when finished and serve with eggs or gallo pinto for a great Costa Rican breakfast.
• For chunkier cachapas, reserve about 1/2 cup of the corn kernels and keep them whole. Stir them into the pureed batter.
• Substitute milk for the water if you like.

CACHAPAS II

Ingredients

• 2 ears fresh corn
• 2 tablespoons masa harina
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/4 pound Venezuelan cheese, sliced (Queso blanco, mozzarella, or feta can be substituted)

Directions

Scrape corn kernels from the cobs; run the back of your knife along the cob to extract all the corn liquid. Put corn into a food processor and pulse a few times to break up the kernels. Add masa harina and salt and pulse to incorporate. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Divide the mixture into 4 and make 4 corn cakes. Cover and let the cakes cook for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan and carefully flip the cachapas over. Press on them with a spatula to flatten them a bit. Cook, covered, for another 5 minutes. Uncover and cook for about 5 more minutes; they should be a dark golden brown. Top with the cheese and cover until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

 Ingredients

    2 ears fresh corn
    2 tablespoons masa harina
    Pinch kosher salt
    1 teaspoon canola oil
    1/4 pound Venezuelan cheese, sliced (Queso blanco, mozzarella, or feta can be substituted)

Directions

Scrape corn kernels from the cobs; run the back of your knife along the cob to extract all the corn liquid. Put corn into a food processor and pulse a few times to break up the kernels. Add masa harina and salt and pulse to incorporate. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Divide the mixture into 4 and make 4 corn cakes. Cover and let the cakes cook for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan and carefully flip the cachapas over. Press on them with a spatula to flatten them a bit. Cook, covered, for another 5 minutes. Uncover and cook for about 5 more minutes; they should be a dark golden brown. Top with the cheese and cover until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Hispanic vs Latino

IS IT HISPANIC OR LATINO?

Both terms are used interchangeably, but there is a difference between Hispanic and Latino.
 Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to ancient Hispania (Iberian Peninsula). Now it relates to the contemporary nation of Spain, its history and culture; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a Hispanic.
 Latino refers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American origin. While there is a significant overlap between the groups, Brazilians are a good examples of Latinos who are not Hispanic (they speak Portuguese). 
Many of us prefer to be refered by our country of origin instead of a blanket term grouping all of us into a group.

Comparison chart

	Hispanic	Latino
Terminology	Hispanic refers to language. Hispanic if you and/or your ancestry come from a country where they speak Spanish.	Latino refers to geography. Specifically, to Latin America, to people from the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic), South America (Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, etc.) and Central America (Honduras, Costa Rica, etc.)
In the U.S.	Was first adopted by the United States government during the administration of Richard Nixon It has been used in the U.S. Census since 1980. "Hispanic" is used more often in states such as Florida and Texas.	The government adopted these terms because they did not have an inclusive term to identify and segregate the mixed white with black and native "mestizo or mulato people of Central and South America.
Derived from	The term "Hispanic" comes from a Latin word for Spain "Hispania", which later became "España". It refers to a person of Latin American or Iberian ancestry, fluent in Spanish.	The term "Latino" is shortened from Spanish latino americano, "Latin American" thus narrowing the scope of meaning to Central and South America, and Spanish speaking Carribean Islands.
Usage	"Hispanic" is primarily used along the Eastern seaboard, and favored by those of Caribbean and South American ancestry or origin.	“Latino” is principally used west of the Mississippi, where it has displaced “Chicano” and “Mexican American.”

Carlos Drummond de Andrade and the Poem Verbo Ser

Brazil, a beautiful country in South America and a great neighbor to many other countries whose language come from Latin. Along with its beautiful people and culture,there is poetry like the one below. For those of you who do not speak Portuguese, there is a Spanish translation bellow. Following, I'll attempt to translate it into English.

Carlos Drummond de Andrade was born in  1902 in Itabira (Minas Generales, Brasil) and died in Rio de Janeiro in 1987. He was regarded as one of the main contemporary poet  of his country.

 Bellow, you will find the original version of the Poem called Verbo Ser. Then, I have the translation into Spanish of the same poem.

VERBO SER

Que vai ser quando crescer?
Vivem perguntando em redor. Que é ser?
É ter um corpo, um jeito, um nome?
Tenho os três. E sou?
Tenho de mudar quando crescer? Usar outro nome, corpo e jeito?
Ou a gente só principia a ser quando cresce?
É terrível, ser? Dói? É bom? É triste?
Ser; pronunciado tão depressa, e cabe tantas coisas?
Repito: Ser, Ser, Ser. Er. R.
Que vou ser quando crescer?
Sou obrigado a? Posso escolher?
Não dá para entender. Não vou ser.
Vou crescer assim mesmo.
Sem ser Esquecer.

Verbo ser
¿Qué serás cuando crezcas?
Viven preguntando en derredor. ¿Qué es ser?
¿Es tener un cuerpo, una vocación, un nombre?
Tengo los tres. ¿Y soy?
¿Tengo que cambiar para crecer? ¿Usar otro nombre, cuerpo y vocación?
¿O la gente sólo empieza a ser cuando crece?
¿Es terrible, ser? ¿Duele? ¿Es bueno? ¿Es triste?
¿Ser: se pronuncia tan de prisa, y entran tantas cosas?
Repito: ser, ser, ser. Er. R.
¿Qué quiero ser cuando crezca? ¿Estoy obligado a? ¿Puedo escoger?
No basta con entender. No voy a ser.
No quiero ser.
Voy a crecer así mismo.
Sin ser olvidado.

Verb To BE
What are you going to be when you grow up?
Everyone ask all around.What is to be? Is it to have a body, a vocation, a name?
I have both. And am I?
Do I have to change to grow? Do I need to use another name, body and vocation?
Or does people begin to be when they are grown?
Is it terrible, to be? Does is hurt? Is it good? Is it sad?
To be: it is pronounced so rapidly, and so many things are taken into account?
I repeat: to be, to be, to be. Er. R.
What do I want to be when I grow up? Am I obligated to? Can a choose?
It is not enough to understand. I am not going to be.
I do not want to be.
I am going to grow up the same way.
Without being forgotten.

Cooking Black Beans

Just as there are people in the world, they are cooks, recipes and those who would tell you that their recipe is the best. In Venezuela, there are as many variations of black beans as they are people who make them. What about the Cubans who also like to eat black beans?
I am not here to argue with everybody about whose black beans are the best. Instead, I am here to post about the black beans that bring me to a moment in my childhood. I still remember the kitchen and its wonderful smells when the family prepared their best dishes. For some of them sweets, for others soups and for others meat. There is nothing in the world as to be greeted by the delicious smells that come from the kitchen and the embraces of a loving family to go with it.

 CARAOTAS NEGRAS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs  Black beans
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1 big onion
• 1 medium green pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of cumin ( or less to taste)
• 1 twig of cilantro
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 3 bacon strips
• 2 pig's feet ( or 2 or 3 smoked pork chops without bones and chopped in small squares or salt pork)

PREPARATION:

The following steps are needed if your beans are like the ones sold in Venezuela. If you purchase them in American CoOps or organic foods by the name of Turtle Beans, then the beans might be cleaner and softer.

Select the beans and pick out those that do not look good and are very hard. Also, it is possible that you might find pebbles, twigs and leaves.
I  myself do not soak my beans overnight because they do not need them. In Venezuela, we all did because they were harder. If your beans are harder (use your nails to see if you can dent them or not), then soak them in water with the baking soda- the water should be at least two fingers above the beans. If some beans float, taken them out.

If left soaking overnight, rinse well and when done cover the beans with enough water. Place on the stove and add the green pepper which has been cleaned, cut in four pieces and the seeds removed. Next, add the pieces of pork chop which were cooked and cut prior. The beans are cooked until they become soft and the water is replaced as needed. NOTE: do not add salt because it prevents the beans from becoming soft.

In the meantime, on a fry pan you can place the olive oil and brown the chopped bacon, chopped onion and garlic. When they are golden and the black beans are soft, the bacon mixture can be added together. Next, if you wish you can add cumin.


The beans are left in low heat to thicken and allow the flavors to penetrate the beans. It is always good to leave the beans with a bit of its own juice for taste. Before turning off the heat, add the chopped cilantro and let cook for 10 minutes.

Variations

Eating black beans with sugar is seen more often in Caracas. To do this add less and instead of sugar find Piloncillos in the Mexican stores, shredded and added at the time the beans are to be served. 

In the Caracas of my youth, some placed in the blender 3/4 cup of black beans to give it some body.

Refried beans are best made the next day because the flavors are better.

Venezuela: Black beans are part of the national dish called Pabellón Criollo (rice, black beans, shredded beef, plantain)