The five contenders for Venezuela’s opposition candidacy in next year’s presidential election will debate one another at 8:00 p.m. tonight, in a live televised debate. The candidates are: Henrique Capriles Radonski (Primero Justicia), Leopoldo López (Voluntad Popular), Pablo Pérez (Un Nuevo Tiempo), Diego Arria (independent), and María Corina Machado (independent). The winner of the primary election, to be held in February 2012, will go on to represent the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (Coalition for Democratic Unity- MUD) party in the general presidential election against incumbent Hugo Chávez next October.

Tonight’s debate was organized by the Student Movement at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB), where it will take place. Jesús María Casal, former dean of the Faculty of Law at UCAB, will moderate the debate, asking candidates to describe their positions on education, security and employment. Candidates will have one minute each to answer questions on the above topics, as well as 30 seconds to introduce themselves and state why they want to become president of Venezuela.

AQ readers can watch the debate streaming live on news media site La Patilla.

PINTA, a modern and contemporary Latin American art fair, will open its fifth New York edition tonight with a VIP reception in the Lower East Side (by invitation only). The show, to be held at 7 West 34th Street, will open tomorrow and continue through Sunday, November 13.

PINTA will feature some of the best Latin American art for sale today, at a time when there is increasing interest among museums, dealers and collectors in the region's artistic output. The show includes works by Antonio Manuel, Fernando Botero, Gabriela Machado, and Roberto Matta, to name a few. Abstract and conceptual art figure prominently.

Organizers invited 50 well-known galleries from the U.S., Latin America and Europe to participate in the PINTA art fair. The event coincides with Christie’s and Sotheby’s Latin American art auctions, as well as other events at museums and cultural institutions in New York City, including a collectors’ forum on Latin American art at the Morgan Library on Saturday, November, 12, and an exhibition of Diego Rivera’s murals that opens at the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday, November 13.

Is the development trend du jour, impact investment, the Next Big Thing? According to its proponents, private investment for both profit and social good holds the promise of unlocking billions to address the problems of poverty and inequality. To others it’s just another fad. Read and decide for yourself in the new issue of Americas Quarterly.

The Fall AQ also features stories—on Chinese mining investment to education reform and security—and marks the signing of the U.S.–Colombia free-trade agreement with an interview with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

DocNYC, a New York-based festival dedicated exclusively to documentary films, gets underway today. Over the course of nine days, it will screen more than 90 short and feature-length films with perspectives from around the globe. Included in is a special series of Latin-American interest films: Ingrid Betancourt: Six Years in the Jungle, a feature about the former hostage held by FARC guerrillas in Colombia; Perdida, an investigation of the Calderón media moguls in Mexico; and Shorts: Latin American Visions, three short films with ecological themes. Visit DocNYC for more details and a full schedule of events.

With the support of Colombia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Nestor Osorio, and the Fondation Aide Aux Enfants, the American Friends of the Bambi Homes Colombia will hold Be Part, an auction of Colombian art in NY on October 26 at the Gabarron Foundation. Bambi Homes is a non-profit organization providing shelter and care to children in need since 1985. Through eight foster homes in Colombia, Bambi has cared for more than 10,000 children. American Friends of the Bambi Homes Colombia is the U.S. affiliate of the Swiss non-profit Bambi based in Geneva.

Artists like Maripaz Jaramillo, Yosman Botero, Mateo López, Cristina Ochoa Franco, and Leo Matiz—among a group of other 33 well known and emerging painters—donated their pieces for the auction which aims at raising funds for the acquisition of the necessary supplies for a new foster home in a marginal area of Bogotá. The facilities will have the capacity of welcoming 250 kids, mainly those affected by the recent floods in the country.

The first auction was held in 2009 and attracted select personalities from the Latin American and Geneva communities in New York. Last year 150 participated in the event.

Thursday, October 20, 2011
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Registration: 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Presentation: 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. Reception: 7:15 – 8:00 p.m.

AS/COA
680 Park Avenue
New York, NY
Map of location

On Thursday, Americas Society will host a public program on the citywide economic effects (including on job creation and business growth) of restrictive versus non-restrictive immigration laws. In addition to a panel discussion, the program will launch Americas Society’s just-published white paper, The Economic Impact of Immigrant-Related Local Ordinances, which compares how each type of policy impacts the average business environment in cities across the country.

Policy makers, academics, businesspeople, and representatives of community organizations from all over the U.S., including Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Portland, Atlanta, and Omaha, will participate in Thursday’s discussion. Roderick Royal, president of the Birmingham City Council, Alabama; Ronnie Steine, member-at-large of the Metropolitan City Council of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; and Melissa Mark-Viverito, council member and co-Vice Chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus in the New York City Council, will speak during the program.

*This event has now passed. View the event summary or watch a video of the program for additional information.

On Wednesday, October 12, Instituto Cervantes will host the opening night of the sixth-annual Hispanic New York Film & Video Fest. This year’s festival, curated by filmmaker Frances Negrón-Muntaner and writer Claudio Iván Remeseira, both of Columbia University, will include five film screenings and Q&A sessions on October 12, 13 and 19. Events will take place at Instituto Cervantes and Columbia University.

The opening-night film, Subterráneos (“Subways”), tells the story of five musical groups from South and Central Mexico who eke out their living by playing music on New York City subways. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the directors and a live musical performance by the group Fuerza Norteña. Other events to look forward to include a screening of Los Que Se Quedan (“Those Who Remain”), about the relatives left behind by those who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, and Recordando el Mamoncillo (“Remembering the Mamoncillo”), about lovers of Cuban music who have assembled at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Queens, New York every July for 30 years to celebrate a uniquely Cuban tradition.

The Hispanic New York Film & Video Fest is organized by Instituto Cervantes, Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER), and the Hispanic New York Project. For a full program listing and additional information, visit the blog of the Hispanic New York Project.

President Obama announced yesterday that he plans to nominate Roberta S. Jacobson to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA). Ms. Jacobson, who has served as acting assistant secretary since this summer, succeeds Arturo Valenzuela, who was confirmed to the post in November 2009 and announced his plans to resign last May.

Ms. Jacobson previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Canada, Mexico and NAFTA issues (2007-2010); Director of the Office of Mexican Affairs (2003-2007); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lima (2000-2002); and Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in WHA (1996-2000). She holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

President Obama also announced his intent to nominate Earl W. Gast as Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID, Michael T. Scuse as Under Secretary for Farm and Agricultural Services, and Glen F. Post III as a member of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Raíces de Cuba (Roots of Hope) and 100cameras present “Aperture Cuba,” an evening of photography, cocktails, food, live music, and a silent auction. Proceeds from the event will go toward supporting Raíces de Cuba—a U.S.-based student and young-professional network that empowers Cuban youth through access to communications technology, meaningful people-to-people exchanges and leadership training—and 100cameras, a nonprofit organization that gives children living in underserved communities cameras to document their experiences through photography.

Tonight’s event will take place from 7 to 10 p.m.  at the Chelsea Art Museum. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Venezuelan indie rockers and dance punk stars La Vida Bohème received two Latin Grammy nominations last week. The Caracas-based quartet will be among the contenders for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song at the twelfth-annual awards ceremony, to be held in Las Vegas on November 10.