Inside the Copa Club Lounge - Panama City

On a recent trip through Panama's Tocumen International Airport, I had the chance to try out a new airline VIP lounge – the Copa Club.

Tocumen Airport in Panama City is Copa Airlines' primary hub, so naturally, this is the airline's biggest lounge (they also operate Copa Clubs in Guatemala City and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic).

I've become a regular customer of this very good airline (which is now a member of the Star Alliance), but this was my first time trying out their flagship lounge. As a business class customer, I was able to try out the lounge twice on this trip, so I got a taste of what it's like both in the morning as well as the afternoon.

Mexico's Goofy Political Campaign Signs (Part II)

After already having fun ridiculing some of the silly campaign signs I've seen in Mexico City, I thought it was only appropriate to continue the fun with part II today.  There's just so much good (or bad) material to choose from.

Isabel Miranda Wallace - Candidate for Mayor of Mexico City

I think Ms. Miranda is a fine lady, but her people have come up with some unusual advertising for her campaign.

And by “unusual”, I mean “not good”.

Here, we see an ad plastering a bus.  "Aqui viaja mi futuro gabinete" -- "Here travels my future cabinet."  I know her campaign is trying to play up that she's an "ordinary citizen", as opposed to a professional politician.  But this ad looks too phony.

Besides, many people I see on the bus scare me.  I don't want them being in anyone's cabinet.

Mexico's Goofy Political Campaign Signs

For all the money Mexican politicians spend on their election campaigns, it's a wonder that the advertising you see is so amateurish.

Are there not professional public relations and marketing specialists in Mexico who can lend a hand to the propaganda efforts of these folks?

While out on a walk this morning, I snapped random pictures of some of the more interesting signs I saw.

Below are four that caught my attention. And I must say that this is just a quick sampling - there are many other worthwhile targets I could make fun of. (And I probably will in a future post.)

Mario Delgado – candidate for Senate

When I see this sign, what's my immediate reaction? If you were my neighbor, I wouldn't even trust you to feed my cat while I'm away. And if you knock on my door, I will hide.

This is possibly the worst message I've ever seen on a sign. Translated, it says, “Do you know what a senator does? I'll explain it to you!”

In other words, what he's really saying is, “I think you, the voters, are morons. You couldn't possibly understand why only I am smart enough to do the job of a Senator.”

Wow.

Reseña: Gimme the Power

Siguiendo con el tema de películas mexicanas (ya escribí sobre Colosio: El Asesinato - ver abajo), hoy quiero decir algo sobre otra película con un tema político – Gimme the Power.

Esta película documental se trata de dos temas que más me interesan – política y música, y la conexión entre los dos en México.

Durante la hora y media de este documental, aprendes un poco más sobre la evolución de las protestas políticas por medio de la música popular en el país, empezando en los años 60.

Colosio: El Asesinato

Con tan solo tres semanas hasta las elecciones mexicanas, una película muy enredador acaba de estrenar en los cines de la República.

Colosio: El Asesinato se trata de la historia detrás de la investigación sobre el asesinato de Luis Donaldo Colosio, quien era el candidato a la presidencia para el Partido Revolucionario Institucional en 1994.

Al principio de la película, aparece un mensaje en la pantalla aclarando que esta es un cuento ficticio de los sucesos. Pero claro, vas a pensar en la verosimilitud de la explicación presentada por los guionistas.

Airfares: When "Sale" actually means "You Pay More"

Air Canada jet landing at Calgary Int'l Airport (YYC). (Photo copyright: Darren Popik.)

I used to think I had a pretty decent command of the English language, but something I got in my email yesterday has caused me to rethink this.

See, I received an email from Air Canada advising me of a new North America seat sale. Great! Airfares at reduced rates, and coming just at a time when I happen to be looking for a ticket to return to Calgary, to attend the 100th Anniversary of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Calgary Stampede.

Demostrando Falta de Libertad de Expresión ... con Libertad de Expresión

Ayer, un grupo de estudiantes y jovenes (entre otros) congregaron en la Ciudad de México para manifestar en contra de los medios de comunicación (y un candidato presidencial en particular) en este país.

(Voy a dejar al lado sus quejas con este candidato, y hablar solo sobre su posición respecto a la prensa.)

Demostrando Falta de Libertad de Expresión ... con Libertad de Expresión

Según este grupo, el llamado YoSoy132, los asistentes manifestaron en favor de libertad de expresión y derecho a la información.

Muy admirable. Yo siempre estoy en favor de libertad de expresión, y de una variedad de voces en la prensa.