/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-HONG KONG: Hardcore, Wild and Socially Conscious

King Lychee's music is not for the faint-hearted. This is hardcore punk angry screaming with earsplitting guitar screeches and super fast pounding drum beats coupled with wild stage antics - the kind of stuff rightist Christian fundamentalists would term 'devil' music.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-MEXICO: New Generation Brings New Life to "Dying" Industry

Mexico is becoming a major presence in the movie industry worldwide thanks to a new generation of successful young actors,directors and cinematographers, practising their craft both at home and abroad.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CHILE: Talented Young Writer Catapulted by Fanfic on Harry Potter

A 21-year-old journalism student Francisca Solar, from Chile, published her own version of the sixth part of the Harry Potter saga on-line in Spanish, and more than 11,000 visits to the web site and the interest of a major publishing house have shown that "fanfics" can help catapult a young and talented writer's career.

/ARTS WEEKLY/LITERATURE-ARGENTINA: Gardel’s Life, Meticulously Researched

After two decades of research and interviews based on 30,000 sources, ‘Carlos Gardel. La Biografía' (Carlos Gardel: The Biography) has finally come out in Argentina - a meticulously researched book that also promises to heat up the endless controversy over several aspects of Gardel's life.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ARGENTINA: Catholic Intolerance Vs Freedom of Expression

Ultra-conservative protestors and Catholic church authorities in Argentina have launched furious attacks on three art exhibitions in recent weeks, and have succeeded in shutting two of them down, on the grounds that they are an insult to Christianity.

/ARTS WEEKLY/JAPAN: Korean Cultural Loot Still Remains Buried

The issue of missing cultural property is an emotive thorn in the tortured relationship between Japan and the two Koreas. The Japanese looted thousands of cultural artifacts from Korea, during Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. But repatriation still remains controversial and complex.

LATIN AMERICA: Co-Productions Give Local Films a Global Audience

Co-productions and strong promotion efforts are essential for Latin American films to reach the major international distribution circuits, according to Chilean director Silvio Caiozzi.

/ARTS WEEKLY/BOOKS: History Debunks Bush Myth

U.S. President George W Bush is not known for his love either of books or of history.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARCHITECTURE-CUBA: Restoring Colonial Era Homes and Neighbourhood Charm

Isabelita del Barrio is anxiously awaiting the day that a brigade from the Office of the Historian in this Cuban city will "finally" knock on her door to begin renovating the home where her family has lived for nearly a century.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-UAE: Dubai Festival Bridges Cultures and Minds

Move over Cannes, it's Dubai's turn now to send across the message of cultural harmony and understanding.

CHILE: 31 Years After Victor Jara’s Death, Justice May Be Done

More than 31 years after the murder of singer-songwriter Víctor Jara in Chile, the possibility has opened up that justice will finally be served, after a judge ordered the prosecution of a retired army lieutenant colonel Thursday.

FILM-ARGENTINA: Recuperating the Collective Memory

"People cannot live without their memory. Memory is about culture, and culture is identity," said Argentine filmmaker Fernando 'Pino' Solanas, presenting his latest documentary 'A Social Genocide', in London.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-BRAZIL: Lula Double Feature

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a central character in two newly released Brazilian documentaries - despite the fact that he does not actually appear in one of them.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARCHITECTURE-CUBA: Camaguey, the Undiscovered City

Narrow alleyways, colonial houses with tiled roofs and tree-filled inner courtyards, along with fascinating local legends make Camagüey one of the most attractive destinations in Cuba - and one of the most sadly overlooked by the mainstream tourism industry.

/ART WEEKLY/CULTURE-INDONESIA: Wheel Street’s Public Forum

‘Lalampa' is a delicious rice cake made of glutinous rice. The steamed rice is rounded around a piece of fish meat, wrapped up with banana leaves and barbequed in charcoal heat. It is finger-sized, rather oily and tasty, but also a little bit sweet.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Jamaican Business Joins Chorus Against Anti-Gay Songs

Jamaica is preparing itself for what many people believe could be economic fallout from the decade-long battle between gay rights groups and the local entertainment industry.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARCHAEOLOGY-MEXICO: World Heritage Site in Danger of Disappearing

Along the canals of Xochimilco in the Mexican capital, throngs of tourists fill the colourfully decorated gondolas known as trajineros, admiring the scenery, listening to mariachi bands, eating tacos and buying crafts.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CHINA: Ying and Yang of Abstract and Traditional

Maoist sobriety is out, but so is flashy Western- induced modernity. China's new urban rich are trying to reach out for a new, eclectic Chinese style that combines oriental opulence with sophisticated simplicity.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CUBA: The Ever New Old Havana

For anyone, whether they are foreign nationals, people who live on the other side of Cuba, or natives and residents of the capital,taking a walk through Old Havana these days is like discovering a new city.

LATIN AMERICA: Nobel Laureate Saramago Warns of Danger After Bush Reelection

U.S. politics over the next four years will be rooted in patriotism and religion, an "explosive combination" that will require Latin Americans to "arm themselves with strength, courage and bravery," according to Portuguese writer José Samamago, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.

CULTURE-VENEZUELA: New Compendium on Yanomami Language

When a Yanomami Indian dies, his or her name is not to be pronounced for some time, so as not to soil the memory of the deceased.