LATA elects its new committee and officers for 2013/2014

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The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) has held the first meeting of its new executive committee for 2013/14. At the meeting Chris Pickard was re-elected chairman. The other officers are Sue Faithfull – Vice Chairman / Byron Shirto – Honorary Secretary / Lesley Roberts – Treasurer / Ed Paine – LATA Counsellor.

The full LATA committee for 2013/14 is:

Amanda Sweeney (Rainbow Tours)
Byron Shirto (Talking Stick Marketing)
Chris Pickard (Critical Divide)
Claudia Morales (Branding Latin America)
Colin Stewart (Air Europa)
Edward Paine (Last Frontiers)
Lesley Roberts (United Airlines)
Liza Masias (Inkaterra)
Lupita Ayala (Mexico Tourism Board)
Lyn Hughes (Wanderlust)
Priti Mehta (Silversea Cruises)
Ray Blok (British Airways / Iberia)
Sara Nozal (Aviacircle)
Simon Heyes (Senderos)
Sue Faithfull (Brazilian Chamber of Commerce)
Wendy McNeill (Americas)

Pope Francis’ Brazil schedule

Pope Dilma

Pope Francis will have a full schedule of activities during his first major international trip in July 2013. The schedule of his trip to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Rio2013, includes Protocol Events, such as the meeting with the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff (photo), along with visits to a favela, a hospital, and a visit with young inmates.

The Pope will arrive in Brazil on Monday 22 July. The official reception will be at Rio de Janeiro’s International Airport, at 4pm. Soon after, there will be a Papal Welcoming Ceremony in the garden of Palácio Guanabara, where the Pope will give his first speech. At the event, there will be a ceremonial reception of the three branches of government. The welcome committee will include  President Dilma Rousseff, as well as the Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes.

The Holy Father will stay at the Residência do Sumaré (Sumaré Residence) during his trip to Brazil. The residence was where Pope John Paul II stayed during his two visits to Brazil in 1980 and 1997. Besides Pope Francis, the residence will also host the whole papal entourage, which will number about 40 people.

The Pope will visit Brazil’s National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida on Wednesday 24 July. It is the largest Marian shrine in the world. A visit to the National Shrine of Aparecida was a personal request of Pope Francis. There, the Pope will venerate an image of Mary in the basilica and, afterwards, will celebrate Mass with Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno (president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, as well as the Archbishop of Aparecida).

On Wednesday, Pope Francis will also attend the opening of the “Pólo de Atenção Integrada da Saúde Mental (PAI),” which will provide services for those recovering from drug addiction.

On Thursday 25 July, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes will hand over the keys of the city to the Holy Father, in a symbolic and traditional ceremony. This reflects the respect for the Pope and the authority he represents. In addition, there will be a short meeting with representatives of the sporting world, with the Blessing of the Olympic and Paralympic flags.

Pope Francis will also visit a favela in Rio de Janeiro, 33 years after John Paul II visited a favela in another area of the city. Instead of Vidigal in Rio’s South Zone, which John Paul II visited in 1980, Pope Francis visit will visit a favela in the North Zone. The community chosen is  Varginha, within the Manguinhos Complex, recently pacified by the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Pope will speak to residents and give his blessing.

At 6pm the Pope will participate in the Welcoming Ceremony on Copacabana Beach, which is one of the Main Events of World Youth Day Rio 2013 (WYD). There the Pope will greet WYD pilgrims for the first time.

One of the most visited tourist attractions of the city, a former home of Emperor Dom Pedro, Quinta da Boa Vista, will host the Pope during the morning of Friday 26 July.

Afterwards, some young inmates will meet with Pope Francis at the Archbishop’s Palace . At noon, the Pope will pray the Angelus from the central balcony of the palace. Before the traditional “lunch with young people from all continents,” which happens at all WYDs, the Pope will greet the WYD Rio 2013 Local Organizing Committee and the WYD sponsors.

The Via Crucis with the youth, which is the third WYD Main Event, will take place at 6pm on Copacabana Beach, and the Pope will give a speech.

On Saturday, 27 July the official activities will begin with a Mass at the Catedral São Sebastião in the presence of bishops, priests, and seminarians. Later Pope Francis will meet members of the public at the Teatro Municipal. In the afternoon, the Pope will attend a lunch in the “Centro de Estudos do Sumaré.”with Brazilian cardinals, the president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, the bishops from the State of Rio de Janeiro, as well as the papal entourage.

At 7:30pm, the Pope will be at Campus Fidei in Guaratiba for the Prayer Vigil with young people. This is the fourth WYD Main Event. There, he will deliver a speech to pilgrims.

At 10am on Sunday, 28 July, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at Campus Fidei with the youth who will have spent the previous night there. He will announce the next city to host World Youth Day. At noon, he will pray the Angelus with pilgrims.

To personally thank the 60,000 volunteers involved in WYD, Pope Francis will meet with them at 5:30pm at Rio Centro, and give a speech.

There will be also a farewell ceremony at Rio’s International Airport, where the Pope will make his final  speech. His departure to Rome is scheduled for 7pm.

Rio Film Festival sets dates for 2013

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Festival do Rio, Rio de Janeiro’s international film festival, will take place between Thursday 26 September and Thursday, 10 October in 2013. It will be the festival’s 15th anniversary.

The festival will screen around 400 films from more than 60 countries at 30 venues spread across Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian films and Première Brasil, which has as its festival home the historic Odeon Petrobras in downtown Rio de Janeiro, are the beating heart of Festival do Rio, and the festival is rightfully acknowledged as the best annual global showcase of contemporary Brazilian film.

Première Brasil is the only competitive section of Festival do Rio with jury awards – the Rednetor (photo) – to be presented on Thursday 10 October. Three highly prized audience awards will also be bestowed on the best Brazilian feature film, best documentary and best short film.

You can follow news about the festival on Twitter @RioFilmFest

Festival do Rio Web Site

Festival do Rio on Facebook

Rock in Rio 2013: The main attractions

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The list of headline acts for Rock in Rio, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 September 2013, is complete and the festival is a sell-out.

For the main World Stage we have confirmed:

  • Friday, 13 September: Beyoncé, David Guetta, Ivete Sangalo, Cazuza Tribute
  • Saturday, 14 September: Muse, Florence and the Machine, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Capital Inicial.
  • Sunday, 15 September: Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jota Quest.
  • Thursday, 19 September: Metallica, Alice in Chains, Ghost BC, Sepultura.
  • Friday, 20 September: Bon Jovi, Nickelback, Matchbox Twenty, Frejat.
  • Saturday, 21 September: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, John Mayer, Phillip Phillips, Skank.
  • Sunday, 22 September: Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Kiara Rocks.

Living Colour (13th), The Offspring (14th), George Benson (15th) and Ben  Harper (20th) are among the international acts confirmed for the Sunset Stage.

For the Electronic stage, the line up is:

  • Friday, 13 September: Sweet Beats, Ask 2 Quit Live, Life is a Loop and Otto Knows
  • Saturday, 14 September: Paula Chalup, Mau Mau and Anderson Noise.
  • Sunday, 15 September: Triple Crown, Renato Ratier, dOp and DJ Harvey.
  • Thursday, 19 September: DJ Ride, Gaslamp Killer, Brodinski and Gesaffelstein.
  • Friday, 20 September: Ferris, Rodrigo Vieira, Dexterz and Paul Oakenfold.
  • Saturday, 21 September: Flow & Zeo, Guti DJ Vibe  and Loco Dice
  • Sunday, 22 September: Botecoeletro, Maximum Headrum, DJ Marky and Felguk.

Rock in Rio

Casa Daros: Rio’s new centre for contemporary Latin American art

Casa Daros 01

Casa Daros, which opened its doors to the public on 23 March 2013, is a new space for art, education and communication, housed in a stately 19th century building in neoclassical style, that is preserved as an official historical heritage site. Designed by architect Francisco Joaquim Bethencourt da Silva (1831–1912), the mansion stands in grounds of more than 12 thousand square meters in Botafogo.

The space will present exhibitions from the Daros Latinamerica Collection and will be firmly focused on art and education – with a wide range of activities for the public. Casa Daros also offers a schedule of seminars and meetings with artists in its auditorium, as well as a library specialised in Latin American contemporary art, a documentation space, a reading room, a restaurant / café, and a shop.

Casa Daros is part of Daros Latinamerica, one of the most comprehensive collections in the world dedicated to Latin American contemporary art, that is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The Daros Latinamerica Collection has over 1,200 artworks, including paintings, photographs, videos, sculptures and installations, by more than 117 artists, and is constantly expanding.

Casa Daros 02

Casa Daros has opened with the exhibition Cantos Cuentos Colombianos, a panoramic view of contemporary Colombian art. The curator Hans-Michael Herzog has assembled a grouping of works by the artists Doris Salcedo, Fernando Arias, José Alejandro Restrepo, Juan Manuel Echavarría, María Fernanda Cardoso, Miguel Ángel Rojas, Nadín Ospina, Oscar Muñoz, Oswaldo Macià and Rosemberg Sandoval.

The exhibition, first presented in Zurich, Switzerland, in two parts, was the largest show of contemporary Colombian art yet shown in Europe.

Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix 2013 – Tickets on sale

Tickets are on sale for the Brazilian Grand Prix that takes place at Interlagos in São Paulo on Sunday, 24 November. It will be the last race of the 2013 season.

Weekend ticket prices for 2013 are:

Grandstand
Setor A – R$ 695
Setor B (covered and with food) – R$ 2.630
Setor M (covered) – R$ 1.450
Setor D – R$ 2.260
Setor E (covered and with food) – R$ 2.720
Setor F (covered) – R$ 1.350
Setor G – R$ 525
Setor V (covered and with food) – R$ 1.990

VIP Area
Premium Paddock Club – Star Lounge – R$ 11.200
Terrace Club – R$ 7.750
Interlagos Club – R$ 4.900
Orange Tree Club – R$ 3.780

Mapa_ARQUIBANCADAS_2013

TAM Airlines to join oneworld alliance in 2014

Bruce Ashby, CEO oneworld; Tom Horton, President oneworld; Ignacio Cueto, CEO LAN Airlines and Damián Scokin, CEO LATAM International.

Bruce Ashby, CEO oneworld; Tom Horton, President oneworld; Ignacio Cueto, CEO LAN Airlines and Damián Scokin, CEO LATAM International.

LATAM Airlines Group has chosen oneworld to be its global alliance for all its airlines. With this decision – announced on 7 March at a oneworld meeting in Hong Kong – TAM Airlines will now become a member of oneworld, joining LAN Airlines and 11 other member airlines, including British Airways.

TAM will withdraw from the Star Alliance during the second quarter of 2014, on a date to be announced later in 2013. The airline plans to officially join oneworld as soon as it leaves Star Alliance. From that date, TAM passengers will be able to accumulate kilometres/points by flying on any oneworld member airline. Until then, they will continue to receive the benefits offered by the Star Alliance.

“We have evaluated all the existing possibilities and chose the alliance that offers the best benefits to our passengers, in addition to the best connectivity and products, as well as the greatest synergies for the LATAM Airlines Group. We are very happy with our decision,” says Enrique Cueto, CEO, LATAM Airlines Group. “With the incorporation of the LATAM Airlines Group in to oneworld, passengers flying with us will be able to book trips through the oneworld network of destinations and connect from any of the 950 destinations.”

TAM Airlines and TAM S.A. CEO Marco Antonio Bologna adds that the decision to join oneworld “is important news for TAM passengers and we are focused on ensuring a smooth transition to the company, for our partners, and, most importantly, our clients”. According to Bologna, TAM “is joining a growing alliance, that is able to offer the best connection options to our passengers.”

oneworld’s CEO, Bruce Ashby, said: “We are delighted that, after its comprehensive review of alliance options, LATAM not only decided to have LAN remain on board oneworld, but also to include TAM and all the other passenger airline subsidiaries in the LATAM group as well. This solidifies oneworld’s long-standing position as the alliance leader in Latin America and provides an even more attractive proposition for frequent international travellers the world over. We look forward to working with LATAM to ensure a smooth transition to oneworld.”

Currently, oneworld members include airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, as well as 30 affiliates. SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways are in the process of joining the alliance.

During the event in Hong Kong on 7 March, the executives also announced the entry of LAN Colombia in to oneworld as an affiliate member. This will also occur during the fourth quarter of 2013, when it will join other LAN affiliate airlines LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru, reaffirming LAN’s 13-year membership in oneworld.