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.

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!

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.

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.

Adriana edifies us about the different varieties of coffee, explaining their origins as well as identifying the one that is most highly-rated and another that might negatively affect our health.

Ana Carolina shares with us three simple experiments to perform at home to teach our kids how germs are transmitted and how to fight them.

Have you ever thought about how to reduce the ecological impact of having a child? Ana Carolina gives us some excellent advice about how to do so.

Partido de la Revolución Democrática is what PRD stands for, and Mexican presidential hopeful Manuel López Obrador has been with the organization since its infancy when was known as the “Democratic Current” (Corriente Democrática), a dissenting wing of the once indomitable PRI, Partido Revolucionario Institucional.

López Obrador’s campaign commercials really try to shake potential voters out of their sillas, attempting to give the potentially marginalized a strong message: “now it’s our turn, now it’s your turn!” He blatantly positions himself against the rich, those who “take the biggest piece of the cake.”

Just, as immigration is a big campaign issue in the US, emigration touches a nerve in Mexico. When Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador ran for president of Mexico in 2006, he wanted to make it clear that his goal was to create jobs, in Mexico, so that would-be migrants would feel less need to flee north.

Should government pump money into the economy and generate jobs by financing giant public works projects? In the extremely close Mexican presidential election of 2006 (which he lost), Andrés Manuel López Obrador made it clear that that his answer is a decisive ¡Sí!

Political campaigns are tough (and they can get even tougher after the voting). In this video documenting Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidential race, we learn some of the tricks of the trade in Mexico.

Enjoying almost full support by his party as their presidential candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador stepped down from his post as Mayor of Mexico City, aka D.F. (Distrito Federal) to campaign for the presidency of Mexico in the 2006 elections against Felipe Calderón.

Útilies. It relates to school supplies, including notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, paper, scissors… anything children need to get through the school year. Not a big deal for the middle class, but it can be a serious challenge to those of lesser means. López Obrador made it a campaign promise that útilies would be provided free to all children throughout Mexico, just as he did for the children of Mexico City while he was mayor.

What is artificial intelligence? In part one of this video, Carlos will answer this question as well as teaching us some of the most utilized Spanish vocabulary for talking about it.

Carlos further explores the interesting topic of artificial intelligence, teaching us several terms for different types of learning in this realm as well as explaining the differences between them.

During a visit to her friend Marco in the countryside, Priscilla discusses with him the advantages and highlights of living in the city versus the country.

Colombia's Aterciopelados ("The Velvety Ones") delivers another smooth song with a political message. This time, the band questions immigration policies and asks who has the right to dream of a better life.

Although the Colombian version of The Wonder Years is based upon the well-known American series, Carlos explains to us some similarities and differences between the two versions.

Within the second part of the first episode of the Colombian version of The Wonder Years, Carlos points out several examples of a manner of speaking that is very typical to Bogota.

Carlos offers us some commentary about the challenging series La Sucursal del Cielo, focusing in this first part on some aspects of the city in which it is set.

In the second part of this lesson that deals with the Colombian series "Sucursal del Cielo," Carlos focuses on the "voseo," or use of the second person singular pronoun "vos" that is used in lieu of "tú" in certain regions, dealing specifically with the manner in which it is employed in Cali, Colombia, where the show takes place.

In the third part of this lesson, Carlos analyzes several clips from the series La Sucursal del Cielo [Heaven's Subsidiary] to explain how the characters use the"voseo," or informal "you" in certain regions, in their conversations.

In this video, Carlos tells us about the extensive conversational use of the imperative form by the people from Cali as seen in the popular Colombian series "La sucursal del cielo."