Peruvia

UPDATED

Disco Inferno in Juliaca: The Associated Press (and included as the last item in this Miami Herald piece) reports that in Juliaca, "a mob looted and burned five nightclubs in a southern mountain town after the death of a man who fought with a club guard," according to police. NOTE: "About 200 officers, including reinforcements from the nearby city of Puno, attempted to restore order by firing tear gas at the rioters, but their efforts to break up the crowd were unsuccessful." ALSO: "Less than a month ago, nearly 1,000 villagers in a nearby town killed an accused thief by dousing him with gasoline and setting him ablaze. Alejandro Noalca Mamani, 54, was caught stealing a propane gas tank used for home cooking in Azangaro, about 37 miles north of Juliaca." See Also: Reuters and La Republica on Noalca's death.

Mulanovich Profiled: The Miami Herald's Tyler Bridges reports from Punta Hermosa with a profile of Sofia Mulanovich, the "20-year-old Peruvian is on course to become the first female world champion surfer from Latin America." CITED: Rabbit Bartholomew (president of the Association of Surf Professionals); Felipe Pomar (1965 World Champion); Carlos Meza (coach of the Peruvian national team); Juan Jose Schiaffino (Quiksilver/Roxy's sales representative in Peru); Fernando Aguerre (co-owner of Reef footwear and surfing apparel and a Mulanovich sponsor); and the place where Mulanovich learned how to surf called Cerro Azul, "which was immortalized in a Beach Boys song, Surfin' Safari." The article also offers the obligatory historical note about Carlos Dogny, the 1930's playboy jet-setter who brought surfing to Peru and was a founder of Club Waikiki where Mulanovich's father and grandfather were members. "This year, Mulanovich won three consecutive tour tournaments, in France, Tahiti and Fiji, before losing in the quarterfinals in the last tournament, at Malibu Beach. She remains the points leader on the tour. ... With two tournaments remaining, Mulanovich has a healthy lead in the points race. Mulanovich said, ''I'm stoked. I've been preparing myself my whole life for this moment'.'' See Also: 'SMulanovich Advances to QFinals' in October 3's Peruvia.

Ex-Nun Denied Green Card: The Seattle Times profiles Rubi Dobrenz, a Peruvian national, whose husband committed suicide four years ago which “has left her in a kind of immigration black hole — and in a small fraternity of foreign nationals whose claim to permanent residency in the U.S. died when their U.S.-born spouses did.” NOTE: “Had the Dobrenzes been married at least two years at the time he died, she would have been eligible to self-petition for a green card.” ALSO: “It's been said that in this country when it comes to immigration, if you follow the rules you will be given a chance,” said Brent Renison, an immigration attorney in Portland. CITED: Rubi Dobrenz's Seattle attorney, Bart Stroupe. “What makes Dobrenz's case even more compelling is that she's a former nun who spent 20 years — nearly half her life — in a cloistered convent run by the Carmelite Order. … She came to the U.S. in 1997 on a visa the government grants religious workers.”

ALSO TODAY: The Miami Herald editorializes on the danger of losing the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.