Posted by Elena del Valle on November 15, 2021
Javier Folgar, founder, Toa Waters
Photo: Toa Waters
A podcast interview with Javier Folgar, founder, Toa Waters, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses how a small start-up company is disrupting stereotypes while giving back with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Javier works in conservation during the day and runs a small start-up company after hours. Prior to his current job Javier was director of Marketing and Communications for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. He was also an active member of the Partnership for the National Trail System.
He launched Toa Waters, a premium “bold scented” bubble bath product company, in the fall of 2020. The company supports the Florida Trail Association, Maryland Food Bank, and American Cancer Society.
To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. You can listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Javier Folgar” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the November 2021 section of the podcast archive.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 27, 2021
Wara poster
Photos: Mhz Choice
Wara, a 2020 eight part miniseries set in a future Senegal, recently became available on MhzChoice.com, an online streaming service. Starring Issaka Sawadogo as Moutari Wara, France Nancy Goulian as Aicha Diallo, Maimouna N’Diaye as Yasmin Diallo, Souleymane Seye Ndiaye as Ganka Barry the program, based on a story by Magagi Issoufou Sani, is in French with English subtitles.
Set in the “City of Tanasanga” the story explores university student and community activism to combat the pervasive corruption of elected officials. It shines a light on the lengths the politicians and their supporters go to in furtherance of their goals. Much revolves around Wara, a law professor, Miriam Shugger, another professor, their students and others in their circle, some forces for community good and others for personal gain. Despite a seemingly incomplete ending Wara is suspenseful and engaging. Goulian and Maimouna N’Diaye’s performances stood out.
From Wara
The series was produced by M.J.P., Astharte & Compagnie, Raes Production, and TV5Monde (a French, Belgian and Swiss collaboration) with support from Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Agence Francaise de Developpment, and Centre National de la Cinematographie et de l’Image Animee among others listed in the series credits. A number of organizations in Senegal were listed in the end credits, including City of Saint Louis, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Culture, Village Mbaye and University Gaston Berger.
Sawadogo, according to Imdb.com, is a Burkina Faso-born actor, dancer and musician fluent in French, English and Norwegian. Maimouna N’Diaye’s other film credits, according to Imdb.com include Eye of the Storm and Les Trois Lascars; and per the same source Goulian’s other film credit includes Cacao. Charli Beléteau is listed as the series creator on Imdb.com.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 13, 2021
The Aristocracy of Talent
Cover: Skyhorse/Simon & Schuster
New talent was one of the secrets of success for ancient Venice, Italy and great universities. That is one of the conclusions drawn by Adrian Wooldridge after dedicating 482 pages to the exploration of the history of meritocracy in his most recent non fiction book titled The Aristocracy of Talent How Meritocracy Made the Modern World (Skyhorse/Simon & Schuster, $24.99). The hardcover book was published in July 2021.
Venice thrived as long as it was open to new arrivals, the author says in the book. Once it became a closed society, denying opportunities to new voices and talent it decayed and never recovered, he says. A similar situation is to be found at higher centers of learning, he points out, where elites rule and exclude most newcomers; as a result economies are stagnating and political unrest is growing internationally. He concludes that in order to avoid the decline suffered by Venice and Chinese domination Western society must embrace merit as a key to education, economic and social advancement.
Wooldridge, who according to his biography, earned a doctorate in history from Oxford University is the political editor and a columnist at The Economist. He is the author of 10 previous books.
Comments:
Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on September 29, 2021
Delicious
Photos: Princeton University Press
Do humans and other animals prefer to eat foods that taste good when they have a choice? Rob Dunn, a professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University, and Monica Sanchez, a medical anthropologist, think so. In Delicious The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human (Princeton University Press, $27.95) they explore the history of man, our ancestors and fellow primates and its relationship to flavor.
The authors, speaking in a single voice in the book, believe taste receptors have driven animals and humans toward their needs and kept them away from dangers such as poisonous plants and rotten foods. Flavor preferences may have driven the development of tools and the choice of foods that prompted evolutionary changes, they propose. Aromas sensed in the mouth by primates and humans may have been especially important in the evolution of our kind, they believe.
Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez, authors, Delicious
Some of those flavor preferences may have driven humans and neanderthals to hunt mega fauna to extinction. They also discuss the consumption of fruit, spices, meats and grains by our ancestors and their possible reliance on their noses and mouths in their choices and creation of spiced dishes and fermented foods. They delve into issues such as aroma, taste and mouthfeel and how they might have led to the development of popular foods such as curry, stinky tofus and cheeses.
In their book Dunn and Sanchez often refer to and quote the work of French lawyer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, famous for his love of food, dating back to 1825. The 279-page hardcover book published this year is divided into nine chapters: Tongue-Tied, The Flavor Seekers, A Nose For Flavor, Culinary Extinction, Forbidden Fruits, On the Origin of the Spices, Cheese Horse and Sour Beer, The Art of Cheese, and Dinner Makes Us Human.
According to their book biographies Dunn is in the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics at the University of Copenhagen. Sanchez studies “the cultural aspects of health and well-being.” They live in North Carolina.
Comments:
Filed Under: Books
