Repost: Interview with Nestor Amarilla: nominated for Nobel Prize for Literature

Anthony Carranza recently had an opportunity to interview Nobel prize nominee, Nestor Amarilla.

The following is a little bio that I found on createspace.com.

About the author:
Nestor Amarilla was born on the 24th of July 1980 to a farming family in the country town of Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay. Since he was a little boy he has been very interested in the arts.

Nestor was exchanging languages with a Peace Corps volunteer at 13, when he began to write a newsletter, Kokue Poty (The Farm’s Flower), directed at the farmers of the area. At 17 he won the AFS exchange program full scholarship, to attend Fridley High School in Minnesota. At 20 he received the Wallin Foundation grant to attend Metropolitan State University. Five years later he graduated from the same institution as Outstanding Student of the College of Arts and Sciences with degrees in Dramatic Arts and Communications.

Nestor writes in English, Spanish and Guarani. Some of his plays are: Americana Rose, Ripped Dress, La Pruebera Makes a Good Day, (Produced in 2004 and 2005 by Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, MN), Vestido Roto (Produced in 2005 at Teatro de las Americas in Asuncion), Born in Iraq, (Produced in 2006 at Mixed Blood Theater, Minneapolis, MN), Saved by a Poem (First produced in 2006 at Minneapolis Intermedia Art by Teatro del Pueblo, and its Spanish version Fecha Feliz produced in 2009 at Teatro Latino in Asuncion.)

The Interview:

1. When the story of your nomination was published in February 19th, 2010 what was your immediate reaction? Can you narrate what was happening at the time the story was leaked?

I was in shock; I don’t know what I felt. My mind drew a blank for a while. It is hard to grasp the idea for such a nomination. It was happiness mixed with surprise and I suppose wrapped also in fear. I thought it was such a heavy burden to carry, and I am too young for it. But today I feel differently.

2. It was said by the paper “El Mirador Paraguayo” that Fulvia Sánchez de Coronel and Joel Filártiga catapulted your nomination. How do you know both individuals? Where did you meet? What connects the book “Fecha Feliz” to Joel? Any specific examples?

Mrs. Sanchez was my literature professor in High School, in my sophomore year. She knows me from my beginnings, as a person and as a writer. In Paraguay, she is probably the person the most familiar with my works. I am such of an admirer of Dr Filartiga. He is a very well known activist here in Asuncion. He was one of the thousands victim of the Stroessner regime, and his only son was brutally murdered by the government police. He is a real fighter, with his daughter Dolly, they have changed the Human Rights law even in America. I met him at the opening of Fecha Feliz in Asuncion. Instantly we became friends. 

3. Did you ever anticipate that your literature work would be ever be nominated for such an important award?

Not at all… I don’t think that one writes thinking of a nomination. I was too busy concentrated in the story that there were no rooms for such a thought.

4. What are some of the authors that have inspired you in your lifetime? Any specific books or modern novelist?

August Wilson’s works have always inspired me. I love most of his plays and how cleverly he documented the African American experience in the US. I also admire a lot the Paraguayan writer Mario Halley Mora. He was such a talented playwright whose works are so true to our people.

5. Were there any obstacles, hurdles or challenges when you were drafting the novel? Any turn of events?

It was pretty simple, I suppose because I was writing about a story I knew so well. And also because I already had the entire plot figured it out in my head, so putting on papers was not too difficult anymore.

6. What have been some transformational experiences since the announcement, and have you changed in light of this once in a lifetime event?

More people are interested in my work now. I have offers to publish or to produce my plays in different places. And definitely it has encouraged me a lot to keep writing. I am more than ever committed and compromised to give a voice to my people.

7. What are some influential figures if any inspired you to write and direct plays? Can you mention any specific plays, novels that ignited this passion?

The need of telling amazing untold stories of so many people makes me want to write with so much passion. I feel like there are so many wonderful stories on this side of the globe that the rest of the world needs to hear about it.

8. Why was the play written first in English and not Spanish?

Most of my plays, so far, have been originally written in English, just because they were written for American audience at the beginning. I went to school in the states and that is where I started writing plays. That is the truth.

9. Coming from a humble upbringing how has Minnesota played a role in your life and in your professional development? Can you explain or provide insight as to why the U.S was the place to come and study and were there other choices at that point in time?

I think that America played a very important role in my personal and professional development. I moved to Minnesota when I was only 17 and lived there for almost 10 years. I am sure I have grasped many things from the American culture. The opportunities that I was given in the states were crucial. Being able to get a college education, for example, through scholarships was wonderful. 
When I was just a boy, growing up on the farm, I used to hear incredible stories about America; on how everyone has a car and people walk on the street and pick up their dog’s feces. Those stories, I guess, have awakened my curiosity about America and its people.

10. What do you think is the most important information you want to share with your readers and followers of your novel? What do you think is important about the novel and the Paraguayan experience?

I would like them to read and know that this is a true story and that many people were brutally murdered in Paraguay and in many other countries for just thinking differently. The other aspect for people to understand is that a dictatorship is not just part of history. Many countries in the world, today, still deny basic rights to its people. Freedom is not necessarily free for everyone in around the world. 

11. Augusto Roa Bastos as a noted Paraguayan novelist and short story writer, and one of the most important Latin American writers of the 20th century. Do you consider the comparison to be fair? What is your reaction to the claims made in the media that he was never nominated for the Nobel Prize and you are? Is he an influential figure for you in what you do or someone you hold esteem in your country’s culture and history?

Augusto Roa Bastos is the most important writer in Paraguay. His literary works are remarkable, for which it would be totally unfair for him to be compared to me. The other big difference is that he is mainly a novelist, not a playwright. He has documented so many important moments of our history and has uprooted our culture at the same time given us great pride for representing us in Paraguay. I feel so proud to have his daughter illustrating this book. Roa Bastos will live forever.

12. What is the image and take away you want everyone to learn from this experience?

Everyone has incalculable potential. That everything is possible and that it is worth to dream. Education is the key for a better tomorrow.

Pew Results Reveal Differences on Social Media Conversations About Race

Rose Colored Photo via Flickr Black Lives Matter Protest

Once upon a time exchanging and connecting on social media networks was a practice to embrace. Fast-forward to the present, as more people have joined major social networks tendencies have become publicly visible when discussing delicate topics like racism.

The Pew Research Center (PRC) has published numerous studies on the narrative and sentiment that takes place on social media. The latest analysis by the PRC revealed significant differences how black and white adults interact around news-breaking events and race-related topics via social media.

The social media channel analyzed in this particular study was Twitter. From the collection of tweets collected the PRC found that the most used hashtags for the history of the microblogging company, Twitter, were #Ferguson and #BlackLivesMatter.

What makes social media indispensable is how it can become a catalyst and a vital communications medium to spread the word in real-time. These cutting-edge platforms offer a different narrative than traditional media outlets can time and time again.

When it comes to usage and exchanging information black social media users, 68 percent, are twice as likely as whites, 35 percent, to assert posts on social media are relevant to race.

Additionally, the PRC carried out three content analysis case studies using publicly available Tweets. Specifically, they used the Crimson Hexagon, which is a computer coding software. In the first examination that spanned over 15-month period (Jan. 1, 2015 to Mar. 31, 2016) there were 995 million Tweets posted about race. On average 2.1 million tweets shared daily about the subject at hand.

To review more details about the other content analysis you can visit the original study and learn more insight into the data compiled.

Of these Tweets mentioning race 60 percent were directly tied to news events (church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and Grammy performance of Kendrick Lamar.

This shift in the narrative on Twitter is unique and highlights the growing power of social media. Prior to this revelation of differences among the social media adult users there was a tendency to keep quiet about heated topics or social issues off of these social networking sites. Almost two years ago, the PRC had published a separate survey titled“Social Media and the ´Spiral of Silence´”.

The previously mentioned study highlighted hesitation on the part of users on social media and to a certain degree self-censored themselves about policy issues. This was also in light of the revelations made by former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden about the National Security Agency (NSA).

Twitter in spite of suffering user growth and engagement is still a reliable source for public debate. Furthermore, it is an instrumental tool for citizen journalism. It brings to the national dialogue topics that are often ignored and reshapes the sentiment around the topic.

This is still far from fixing the problem, but it is raising the awareness of the harsh realities of racism towards specific groups. And collectively as a multiracial nation will have to have these contentious conversations, so we can finally push meaningful change to social injustice.

These findings from the survey are from the general public and were conducted by landline or cellular phone. The study was from Feb. 29, 2016 to May 8, 2016. The size of the sample was 3,796 U.S adults.

Latest Telecommuting trends and Developments

As technology becomes more pervasive in the workplace changes are happening rapidly with how management and staff carries out daily tasks at the office. The use of remote tools, software, online platforms and others has allowed various institutions (companies, organizations, institutions, enterprises, corporations, etc.) develop gradually more flexible work schedules.

The terms telecommuting or telework refer to a working arrangement where employees or a team of people perform their work outside of the traditional on-site working environment, according to Mobile Office. Both of these terms were coined in 1973 by Jack Niles, the co-founder and President of JALA, and their usage differs because of the situations associated with each word. Telework is any form of substitution of information technologies for work-related travel and on the other hand telecommuting applies to a daily commute to and from work.

For some time, the adoption of telecommuting is gaining quite the attraction as a practice. It is proving to be more than just a motivator or a source of motivation for employees, but continually growing as a practice across industries. In a detailed report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) it confirmed that a workplace flexibility environment, specifically teleworking, should be used as a strategy to attract, retain and engage staff.

So how should this telecommuting scheme be executed? Well for starters you want to have it used as a benefit, and not as an accommodation or a perk. In addition, a news release on a Trends in Workplace Flexibility study confirmed that more than two-thirds of the managers or 67 percent of them offer flexibility to all or most of their employees.

Another bright side to this flexible arrangement is when you combine telework and workplace flexibility it results in lower turnover and absenteeism. In other words, it helps maintain your employee pool for longer periods of time and have elevated engagement levels.

Telework Findings, Stats and Insights

Could telework become pervasive in the future? According to Flexjobs.com there are one out every five workers around the globe who have a telecommuting job. Working from home or working remotely is estimated to be 57 percent in India while in Indonesia it is 34 percent, and 30 percent in Mexico.

In the United States (U.S) telecommuting was at 23 percent in 2009. That number is expected to reach 43 percent in 2016. Elsewhere A Mullen and Mullen analysis confirmed 3.6 million U.S workers are telecommuters, which represents 2.5 percent of the nation´s total workforce.

The following visual graphic illustrates where this work trend is heading:

This telework infographic also confirms that one in ten work from home on a daily basis. To put it in another way the rewards of developing a responsible and autonomous culture of teleworking can have a positive impact on multiple fronts. They are as follows:

• The USA would save over 650 billion annually
• Would reduce oil consumption by 280 million barrels of oil per year
• Reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of taking 9 million cars per year.
• There are 2 in 3 workers that claim increased productivity working at home
• If the opportunity was made available by their employer 34 percent of workers said they would be very likely to telecommute

Evidently the practice of telecommuting is gaining acceptance. The technology is also providing and allowing for traditional office work environments to be evolved, so it offers employees a work-life balance.

Work from Home: Advantages for the Employer

We have discussed the effects and results telework can have on employees. Now, there is an upside to having this new form of work within a company. For starters working yields a 10 to 20 percent increase in employee productivity as a plus when wanting greater performance from staff.

Surprisingly 78 percent of managers think flexible work hours help retain and motivate important staff members, conforming to Splashtop. Below is another infographic that tells another side to this discussion of telework:

Even though the company owners or seniors are in charge of safeguarding the bottom line, yet the telework framework ends up being a return on investment (ROI). Moreover, exactly 36 percent of employees would rather choose telecommuting over a pay raise.

At a time where climate change is proving to be a damaging and costly force increasingly there is now a greater sense of urgency by companies to integrate telework to reduce the carbon footprint. Whichever the scenario is all of the parties come away with a win-win situation in the long haul.

Takeaways and Conclusions

Telework and telecommuting presents opportunities to improve beyond traditional work models. For the first time the technology provides various gateway into distributing work hours at home and at the office unlike any other time.

With growing concerns of global climate change it comes as no surprise that this should be paramount to roll out as a model to work.

With the right balance telework can be deployed to really transform any entity into a more productive and functioning unit. Finally, as technology continues to invade our daily lives it is especially important to harness these tools to make telework that much more effective and environmentally-friendly.

 

Latest Pew Survey Findings Reveals Discontent towards the 2016 Election

Welcome to the 2016 Iowa Caucus by DonkeyHotey via Flickr 

Welcome to the 2016 Iowa Caucus

In this specific election cycle it can be characterized as interesting and polarizing. Unlike the previous two elections the narrative has been deemed controversial and vocal on a number of issues. In this survey conducted by the Pew Research Center (PRC) found high levels of dissatisfaction with regards to changes to the country, the federal government, the economy, and press coverage.

The PRC research examined a wide range of topics like the divisive nature of the campaign trail, how life has changed in the United States (U.S), and the perceptions on the different candidates and the actual state of affairs. Whatever side of the fence you are on it is clear this election matters to people. The field has been competitive on the Democratic and Republican primary in the race for the party´s nomination.

One of the many findings from registered voters that participated in the survey is 46 percent of registered voters said life in the U.S worse today compared to 50 years ago, according to the PRC. In addition, a separate 34 percent said life is better while 14 percent think it has stayed more or less the same.

When it comes down to discussing the U.S economic system sharp and stark differences exist between both parties naturally. On the one hand Democrats lean towards categorizing the system favoring power interests and for Republicans, particularly those supporting Donald Trump, believe the economic system. Nevertheless, Bernie Sanders (91 percent) supporters are more likely to describe by the likes of Hillary Clinton (73 percent) followers as an unfair economic system.

How is the approval rating for Barack Obama? Surprisingly performing better than expected. Currently, 51 percent of the public approves of the way Obama is handling his job while 44 percent disapprove. It is the first time in almost three years into his second term his approval rating is now more favorable.

Elsewhere 54 percent of the majority of Americans consider the Republican Party as “too extreme” and for Democrats only 37 percent continue to associate it with too extreme. The feeling of registered voters in the view of the government is angry and frustrated. Out of the participants 22 percent were angry at the federal government, yet 59 percent were frustrated. Just 17 percent were content.

The election cycle has revealed a distinct and perhaps different dynamic this time around. There are deep political divisions and there is not a popular mainstream belief that is prevalent. It is safe to say that the presidency is much more scrutinized and contested this election season.

Voter Perception on the Press Coverage and Media Consumption on the Candidates

Since the inaugural and controversial speech by Trump to run for president the consensus is there has been excessive media coverage. Confirming to the results by PRC, three quarters or 75 percent of registered voters said news outlets dedicated too much press coverage.

Furthermore, Clinton facing a contentious battle with Sanders was also heavily covered by the media. Precisely 41 percent or four out of ten believed she had too much media exposure whereas 48 percent had given her the right amount of news coverage.

The challenger Ted Cruz was reported to have 57 percent of about the right amount of coverage by the press. John Kasich had a large 60 percent of too little coverage by sampled voters in this study. Sanders scored 53 percent of an amount of “about right” while 29 percent said he had “too little” media buzz.

Social media has remained an instrumental force and platform for the majority of the candidates since its widespread adoption. The following graphic by Demographics Pro offers insight on the candidates’ followers profile and interests:

Donald Trump´s Fighting Followers by DemographicsPro

From the visual above Trump supporters have an affinity towards violent sports and are 2.8x times more likely than the Twitter average to be interested in mixed martial arts (MMA) or professional wrestling. The rest of the field does not come close to producing the numbers that Trump actually does.

Another separate analysis provides a glimpse into the Media consumption habits of the candidate´s followers compare to the Twitter average:

Infographic and chart on extreme polarization in media consumption. Visual by DemographicsPro 

Major findings or highlights:

• “Trump followers are nearly 12x morelikely than average to read Men’s Humor.”
• “While John Kasich is often mentioned as a “moderate” relative to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, followers match or exceed even Ted Cruz’s followers in their strict adherence to conservative media – having 126x higheraffinity for the conservative National Review than Twitter average.”
• “Hillary Clinton’s followers are tuned into the political soap opera, being5x more likely than average to read Politico. They also show an interest in pure celebrity soap opera media, reading Gawker and Jezebel (a Gawker Media site) at 18.5x and 19.0x higher than the Twitter average, respectively.”
• “Bernie Sanders reaches prototypical millennials, consuming highly digestible and technology focused media. His followers read the statistics-driven FiveThirtyEight and the science blog Nerdist at 21.0x and 23.0x the Twitter average, respectively.”

Takeaways and Conclusions

The 2016 U.S election has featured a wide-range of stories, debates and controversies. The American public has growing weariness around the candidate´s ability to deliver or offer meaningful change. The fact remains registered voters along with the rest of the American population are passionate about what is happening in the country.

Unlike the previous two elections the discourse has radically shifted for both parties. The Sanders campaign has forced the Clinton camp to adopt a more socialist approach while Trump and company push the scales to the far right.

The next round of primaries are going to offer a bigger clue as to who will finally be the nominees competing for the White House in November.