BlindedByTheLite
Flashlight Enthusiast
i'm actually engraged! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif
take your pick of articles here.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040903/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_wal_mart_ruins_1
Mexicans Battle Over Wal-Mart-Owned Store
Fri Sep 3, 2:58 PM ET
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY - A Wal-Mart-owned discount store rising a half-mile from the ancient temples of Teotihuacan has touched off a fight by a small coalition that doesn't want to see the big, boxy outlet from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
But with most people in the area supporting Wal-Mart, the group is waging a lonely battle for what it calls its defense of Mexico's landscape and culture.
The dispute in Teotihuacan — a town built next to the ruins of the 2,000-year-old metropolis — illustrates how the allure of low prices and U.S. lifestyles often wins out in Mexico, leaving traditionalists struggling to draw a line in rapidly shifting cultural sands.
"We'd rather not have Mickey Mouse on top of the Pyramid of the Moon," says Emmanuel D'Herrera, a business owner in Teotihuacan, 30 miles north of Mexico City.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6149557&src=rss/worldNews§ion=news
Locals Fight Wal-Mart Store Near Ancient Mexico Ruin
Fri Sep 3, 2004 05:23 PM ET
By Lorraine Orlandi
TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - In the shadow of colossal pyramids left by a great Mexican civilization, a Wal-Mart rises, and some locals have gone to court to overturn its approval.
The sprawling warehouse-style Bodega Aurrera, a unit of Wal-Mart in Mexico, is due to open in December in Teotihuacan, the site of major archeological ruins outside Mexico City.
Workers are putting on the roof this week.
"It's not just that commerce in Teotihuacan will be affected. It affects first of all our soul, our identity," said local teacher Emanuel D'Herrera, who joined legal action to stop the store.
As a young father, he planted his newborn son's umbilical cord at the ancient temples for protection.
"We are Mexicans and very proud of our history," he said. "One of the landmarks of our history and culture is Teotihuacan."
Amid rising controversy, Mexico's government said a small pre-Hispanic altar was found buried under what will be the store's parking lot, located in a commercial area within the archeological zone.
The construction lies less than a mile from the gated tourist park housing the main ruins and is visible from atop the Pyramid of the Sun that has defined the skyline for 2,000 years.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/040903/w0903124.html
Mexicans battle Wal-Mart being built near ancient pyramids
03:24 AM EDT Sep 04
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A Wal-Mart-owned discount store rising less tha a kilometre from the ancient temples of Teotihuacan has touched off a fight by a small coalition that doesn't want to see the big, boxy outlet from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
But with most people in the area supporting Wal-Mart, the group is waging a lonely battle for what it calls its defence of Mexico's landscape and culture.
The dispute in Teotihuacan - a town built next to the ruins of the 2,000-year-old metropolis - illustrates how the allure of low prices and U.S. lifestyles often wins out in Mexico, leaving traditionalists struggling to draw a line in rapidly shifting cultural sands.
"We'd rather not have Mickey Mouse on top of the Pyramid of the Moon," said Emmanuel D'Herrera, a business owner in Teotihuacan, 50 kilometres north of Mexico City.
He said a tall sign will loom near the huge twin pyramids that draw hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, although a government-appointed archeologist disputes that.
And while the store is visible from atop the pyramid, so are many other modern businesses and houses.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1296985,00.html
Wal-Mart upsets cosmic balance of ruins
Protesters decry building of store near mysterious Mexican city of Teotihuacan as attack on heritage which could spoil rural valley
Jo Tuckman in Teotihuacan
Saturday September 4, 2004
The Guardian
From the top of the Pyramid of the Sun in the ancient ruined city of Teotihuacan, Emma Ortega blows a haunting ode on her conch shell and points out a half-built Wal-Mart supermarket in the valley below.
Her blood boils at the sight. "It is an attack on our heritage," fumes Ms Ortega, a colourful figure in a small but vocal protest movement against the construction of a Bodega Aurrera superstore, a Wal-Mart Mexico subsidiary, half a mile from the monuments. "It is an attack on our cosmic equilibrium."
The movement gives full rein to spiritualists, such as Ms Ortega, who believe Teotihuacan's pyramids and temples possess a special energy that Wal-Mart's presence threatens to throw off balance.
The protest is brought down to earth by traditional conservationists who fear that the development will encourage urban spillover from the capital 30 miles away and spoil the largely rural valley for ever. Then there are the local shopkeepers and stall owners from the small town of San Juan who cannot compete with the biggest retailer in the world.
take your pick of articles here.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040903/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_wal_mart_ruins_1
Mexicans Battle Over Wal-Mart-Owned Store
Fri Sep 3, 2:58 PM ET
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY - A Wal-Mart-owned discount store rising a half-mile from the ancient temples of Teotihuacan has touched off a fight by a small coalition that doesn't want to see the big, boxy outlet from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
But with most people in the area supporting Wal-Mart, the group is waging a lonely battle for what it calls its defense of Mexico's landscape and culture.
The dispute in Teotihuacan — a town built next to the ruins of the 2,000-year-old metropolis — illustrates how the allure of low prices and U.S. lifestyles often wins out in Mexico, leaving traditionalists struggling to draw a line in rapidly shifting cultural sands.
"We'd rather not have Mickey Mouse on top of the Pyramid of the Moon," says Emmanuel D'Herrera, a business owner in Teotihuacan, 30 miles north of Mexico City.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6149557&src=rss/worldNews§ion=news
Locals Fight Wal-Mart Store Near Ancient Mexico Ruin
Fri Sep 3, 2004 05:23 PM ET
By Lorraine Orlandi
TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - In the shadow of colossal pyramids left by a great Mexican civilization, a Wal-Mart rises, and some locals have gone to court to overturn its approval.
The sprawling warehouse-style Bodega Aurrera, a unit of Wal-Mart in Mexico, is due to open in December in Teotihuacan, the site of major archeological ruins outside Mexico City.
Workers are putting on the roof this week.
"It's not just that commerce in Teotihuacan will be affected. It affects first of all our soul, our identity," said local teacher Emanuel D'Herrera, who joined legal action to stop the store.
As a young father, he planted his newborn son's umbilical cord at the ancient temples for protection.
"We are Mexicans and very proud of our history," he said. "One of the landmarks of our history and culture is Teotihuacan."
Amid rising controversy, Mexico's government said a small pre-Hispanic altar was found buried under what will be the store's parking lot, located in a commercial area within the archeological zone.
The construction lies less than a mile from the gated tourist park housing the main ruins and is visible from atop the Pyramid of the Sun that has defined the skyline for 2,000 years.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/040903/w0903124.html
Mexicans battle Wal-Mart being built near ancient pyramids
03:24 AM EDT Sep 04
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A Wal-Mart-owned discount store rising less tha a kilometre from the ancient temples of Teotihuacan has touched off a fight by a small coalition that doesn't want to see the big, boxy outlet from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
But with most people in the area supporting Wal-Mart, the group is waging a lonely battle for what it calls its defence of Mexico's landscape and culture.
The dispute in Teotihuacan - a town built next to the ruins of the 2,000-year-old metropolis - illustrates how the allure of low prices and U.S. lifestyles often wins out in Mexico, leaving traditionalists struggling to draw a line in rapidly shifting cultural sands.
"We'd rather not have Mickey Mouse on top of the Pyramid of the Moon," said Emmanuel D'Herrera, a business owner in Teotihuacan, 50 kilometres north of Mexico City.
He said a tall sign will loom near the huge twin pyramids that draw hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, although a government-appointed archeologist disputes that.
And while the store is visible from atop the pyramid, so are many other modern businesses and houses.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1296985,00.html
Wal-Mart upsets cosmic balance of ruins
Protesters decry building of store near mysterious Mexican city of Teotihuacan as attack on heritage which could spoil rural valley
Jo Tuckman in Teotihuacan
Saturday September 4, 2004
The Guardian
From the top of the Pyramid of the Sun in the ancient ruined city of Teotihuacan, Emma Ortega blows a haunting ode on her conch shell and points out a half-built Wal-Mart supermarket in the valley below.
Her blood boils at the sight. "It is an attack on our heritage," fumes Ms Ortega, a colourful figure in a small but vocal protest movement against the construction of a Bodega Aurrera superstore, a Wal-Mart Mexico subsidiary, half a mile from the monuments. "It is an attack on our cosmic equilibrium."
The movement gives full rein to spiritualists, such as Ms Ortega, who believe Teotihuacan's pyramids and temples possess a special energy that Wal-Mart's presence threatens to throw off balance.
The protest is brought down to earth by traditional conservationists who fear that the development will encourage urban spillover from the capital 30 miles away and spoil the largely rural valley for ever. Then there are the local shopkeepers and stall owners from the small town of San Juan who cannot compete with the biggest retailer in the world.