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The Mills

From our vantage point in our 1956 Plymouth, the mills were black monsters, dinosaurs lounging along both sides of the river, coughing smoke and flames. My memories of them, and of this period of life with my family, are mostly black and white, with shades of gray in between. Almost never in color. The river […]

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LA MONTANA, Nicaragua, 1980s — The mountains of northern Nicaragua enjoy a mystique all their own. Nicaraguans refer to them not in the plural, “the mountains,” but in the singular, “La Montaña,” or “The Mountain,” as if the rugged backbone of the country were a single entity, one special realm apart from, but still within, Nicaragua. […]

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Comin’ Home

MONACA, Pennsylvania, 1979 — During my trip to Pennsylvania after the revolution in Nicaragua, my brother takes me down to his wine cellar. A single yellow bulb hangs from the beams that support the main floor of his home. Strung from those beams are home-made Italian sausage and great legs of prosciutto, all products of […]

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The Simón Bolívar Battalion

Excerpted from the memoir sub-titled, “A True Story of War, Love and Rock & Roll” Lt. Francisco Noel Talavera (L) is a 19-year-old from the northern mountain city of Jinotega. He has a bad complexion and the habit of spitting through the gap in his two front teeth. He also happens to be the commander of […]

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OPC Foundation Board of Directors Member

WASHINGTON, DC, 6 May 2020 — I am proud to announce that the Overseas Press Club (OPC) Foundation voted me in as a member of its Board of Directors during a meeting yesterday. The Foundation “has a broad mandate to improve the media’s understanding of international issues and to raise the quality of news-gathering efforts […]

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AU-Pulitzer Center Int’l Reporting Fellowship Winners

WASHINGTON, DC, 30 April 2020 — We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s AU-Pulitzer Center International Reporting Fellowships, selected from a highly competitive field of applicants from across American University (AU). Emily Hayes (L) is a graduate student studying international journalism and public affairs. Her research focuses on rural depopulation and economic migration […]

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