Una pulga is a flea. “Un mercado de pulgas” is, of course, a flea market. We go on a spirited tour of Bogotá’s flea market where our guide shows us antique items we never knew we needed.

There’s a long way from the coffee tree to a delicious cup of coffee. Here’s where we start our Yabla-exclusive journey to unveil the secrets of world-famous Colombian coffee. Our first episode takes us inside a central warehouse where coffee from several Colombian regions undergoes a strict process of quality control.

Alejandro Fernandez is not just a Mexican singer any longer: he has become a star of Latin-American proportions. Not only has he succeeded everywhere but he also has adopted different sounds from different countries. Viento a Favor was recorded both in Buenos Aires and in Los Angeles, a perfect axis through the whole continent.

The 51-year-old Alejandro Fernández has released twenty-three albums over the years. The son of another popular Mexican singer (Vicente Fernández), Alejandro has come into his own as a passionate man, unafraid to show his feelings. This documentary brings us inside the recording of Viento a Favor, an album that quickly went platinum.

While stirring a pot, Doña Coco sings us a couple of Christian songs, which she learned at her evangelical church.

Working as a cook/domestic worker on a construction site, Doña Coco is the first to get up in the morning and the last to go to bed at night. Her monthly salary of C$2,000 Córdobas really just covers “el arroz y los frijoles” (“rice and beans”) for her family. So, how does she provide clothing and all the rest for her five kids? Leonido, the interviewer, asks the tough questions.

The effort to de-mine Central America is truly an international one, with assistance coming from the U.S., Germany, Spain, France, England, Japan, Canada and Sweden (who’s ambassador is featured here, speaking eloquent Spanish). Also we hear from soldiers on the pleasure of serving a mission of peace, as opposed to one of war.

Not only does our filmmaker continue with his diatribe against the state of society as he finds it in Nicaragua, but the story takes an investigative turn. We find that not only doesn’t sponsored-child Christina del Carmen match the photo that had been supplied by Ayuda en Acción, she is also not yet enrolled in a school.

In this installment of the dispute documentary we hear Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata quoted over a protester’s loudspeaker. As Zapata said: “¡Victoria o muerte!” (“Victory or death!”). To protest the taking of their farmland, the people of Atenco are using stronger and stronger language. Listen in.

You know what a calavera is, no? If you see one, especially on a sign in a former war zone, be very, very careful. Soldiers from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S. came together to reduce the need for these signs in Central America… reclaiming fields filled with anti-personnel mines so that farmers can return to using them for crops.

Imagine the horror of stepping on a landmine while gardening. This is what happened to farmers José Moncada and Reinaldo Herrera. Through great courage they survive to testify of the enduring evils that are minas antipersonales.

Spain has never been a country afraid of divisive politics, and filmmaker Joan Planas has no fear of getting controversial when presenting his views of society, church and state. Note that the older gentleman is not speaking straight Spanish but Catalan, and the Spanish captions reflect not his exact words but are the same as the Spanish subtitles seen in white on the screen.

Something that induces lagrimas (tears) is said to be lacrimógeno. So if you were organizing a Festival de cine lacrimógeno, only tear-jerkers would fit the bill. If, on the other hand, you were organizing a protest of the forced seizure of your family’s farm, you might find yourself crying because of the gas lacrimógeno wafting through the air.

If you find it unusual that a farmer is comparing compensation for his land with the cost of presidential bath linens, you are clearly not aware of the toallagate scandal that rocked Vicente Fox’s administration and led to resignations at Los Pinos. We’re not sure what kind of towel US $400 buys, but it best be pretty darned afelpado is all we can say!

Can the forced displacement of families ever be justified? This is a question that knows no borders as governments seek out locations for new highways, hospitals, universities, and, especially, airports. The people of Atenco, Mexico, argue against plans to put one on their farmlands.