DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

WHY WE’RE HEREWe’re exploring how America defines itself one place at a time. In the border city of Alamo, Texas, colorful dancers have turned a local flea market into a global internet sensation. June 15, 2024The punishing heat of late spring does nothing to keep the crowds from descending on La Pulga de Alamo, one of the flea markets that are a center of both commerce and culture in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. For as long as anyone can remember, pulgas — Spanish for fleas — have been part of the fabric of El Valle, as the area is known to the large Spanish-speaking population in this part of Texas, a slice of Mexico just north of the border. This is never more true than on the weekend, when the market in Alamo transforms from a shopping mecca into a one-of-a-kind dance hall whose fame has spread across the country and beyond.

Persons: spiro, Virgin Organizations: Walmart Locations: Alamo , Texas, de, Rio Grande Valley, South Texas, Guadalupe, El Valle, Texas, Mexico, Alamo

☆ Before and after images reveal extent of tornadoes’ destruction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Eric Zerkel | Paul P. Murphy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Vexcel Imaging Vexcel Imaging Tornado damage in Elkhorn, Nebraska Vexcel ImagingThe storm then tracked north and east toward Omaha, spawning a tornado that ripped through its western suburbs. Vexcel Imaging Vexcel Imaging Tornado damage in Elkhorn, Nebraska Vexcel ImagingFreshly built homes in a new neighborhood were reduced to piles of timber. Vexcel Imaging Tornado damage to an airport hangar at Omaha's Eppley Airfield Vexcel ImagingThe storms kept going into Iowa. Tornado damage is seen in Minden, Iowa, Saturday, April 27, 2024. At least four people were killed in Oklahoma, all in places hardest-hit by tornadoes: Sulphur, Holdenville and Marietta.

Persons: upending, Adam Lucio, Eppley, Cody Scanlan, Bryan Terry, Rebekah Riess Organizations: CNN, American Heartland, Oklahoma, Travelers, USA Locations: Lincoln , Nebraska, Elkhorn , Nebraska, Omaha, Elkhorn, Omaha’s, Omaha , Nebraska, Iowa, Minden, Pottawattamie County, Texas , Nebraska , Iowa , Kansas, Missouri, Minden , Iowa, Sulphur, Oklahoma, Holdenville, Marietta, Sulphur , Oklahoma

☆ How Contemporary Artists Are Taking Papier-Mâché Out of the Classroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Alexa Brazilian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The artist Joel Hernandez, 39, first worked with papier-mâché as an 8-year-old, soon after moving from Mexico to rural Indiana. His parents had gone looking for piñatas — a staple of their family celebrations — at local stores but had come up short. Hernandez, now based in San Francisco, is just one of the contemporary craftspeople using papier-mâché in new and provocative ways. And while each has a different approach to the medium, they share an appreciation for its democratic and economic nature. Making papier-mâché, after all, requires nothing more than a few pantry items, some trash and a bit of imagination.

Persons: Joel Hernandez, ”, Hernandez, La Luz de Jesus, Han, it’s, Bernie Kaminski, Brooks, “, ” Kaminski, who’s, he’s Organizations: La Luz, Mardi Gras, New Locations: Mexico, Indiana, —, La Luz de, Los Angeles, San Francisco, China, New Orleans, New York City

☆ A mom gave birth to 3 leap day babies. It's only the second case recorded in the world.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Jane Ridley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Xavier, Remington, and Jade Estes were born on February 29, 2004, 2008, and 2012, respectively. AdvertisementWhen Xavier, Remington, and Jade Estes sliced their joint birthday cake earlier this month, the numbers on the top said 20, 16, and 12. AdvertisementThe makeup of the Estes family is known only to copy that of an older family in Norway. Heidi, Olav, and Leif-Martin Henrikson — born in 1960, 1964, and 1968, respectively — hold the Guinness world record for most siblings delivered on consecutive leap day years. "Everyone associates leap day with frogs."

Persons: Xavier, Remington, Jade Estes, —, Estes, Heidi, Olav, Leif, Martin Henrikson —, Louise Estes, Jade, Remington Estes, David, Xander, I'd, Seeley, We'd, Este, wasn't, it's, We've Organizations: Service, Guinness, Brigham Young University, Marvel, Business Locations: Norway, Payson , Utah

Postal Service on Friday rolled out its latest special edition postage stamps, paying homage to a tradition with global roots that has evolved over centuries to become a universal symbol of celebration. It was through dance, music and the arts — including the making of piñatas — that biblical stories were spread throughout the New World. "Nativity scenes, piñatas, posadas — all those things really worked well. They bring it with them and so the piñata is no different,” he said. “In the end, I feel that there must be a connection and there must be some sort of mutual understanding,” he said.

Persons: Piñatas, Christ, Cesáreo Moreno, Moreno, piñatas, posadas, ”, Francisco Rodríguez, Rodríguez, Victor Meléndez, “, He's, Meléndez Organizations: U.S . Postal, Las Posadas, National Museum of Mexican Art, posadas —, Associated Press, U.S . Postal Service, Starbucks Locations: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M, U.S, New Mexico, America, Asia, Las, Mexico, Chicago, San Antonio, Los Angeles, In Nevada , Arizona, Albuquerque, El Paso , Texas, Michigan, Mexico City, Seattle

☆ Photo Essay: A Historic Dallas Neighborhood Grapples With Gentrification
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Azul Sordo | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +19 min

Raul Gutiérrez Alvarado (left) and his nephew, William Domínguez Gutierrez, pose for a portrait outside of their Oak Cliff home. At the time, the local media narrative was one of positive change for the neighborhood, Valderas says. (Azul Sordo for USN&WR)Before the BarrioOak Cliff was once a majority-white, working class neighborhood, annexed by Dallas in 1903. South Oak Cliff, which is largely Black and Hispanic, has a long record of neglect, well documented by Texas Monthly . This is the only photo she has of herself, which adorns the living room of her South Oak Cliff home.

Persons: Cliff, Seattle –, Ferguson, Raul Gutiérrez Alvarado, William Domínguez Gutierrez, Oak Cliff, Gutierrez, Manuel Sordo, Giovanni Valderas, Valderas, “, Ezekiel Garcia, Brianna Hinguanzo, Jose Melendez, Diana Melendez, ”, . Sandoval, Sandoval, Strausz, ” Sandoval, Tereso Ortiz, they’ve, They’ve, ” Ortiz, Claudia Rangel, Damien Olguin, Rangel, Pearlina Bates, she’s, Bates, ” Bates, ‘ Let's, Todd Williams, Sam Moss, Moss, Cliff Valderas, –, ” Valderas, Chad West, Gloria McCoy, Joann, McCoy, SaCarol Ford, Shaun Montgomery, She’s, Charles Strain, Noah Penn, ” Montgomery, Robert L, Thornton, ” Kathryn Holliday, that's, Tomorrow Bates, it’s, ‘, ” Pearlina Bates Organizations: DALLAS, U.S ., U.S . As Texas, USN, Dallas Morning News, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Dallas, San, Texas Woman’s University, Oak Cliff, cleats, Bishop Arts, Institute, Ku Klux Klan, D Magazine, “, Penn State University, Bishop Arts District, Casa, Blacks, New York City, Texas Woman's University, Dallas County, City Council, Chad, Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Tenth, Historic, Tenth Street Residential Association, Greater El Bethel Church, Ninth Ward School, Ku Klux, Dallas Observer, American Institute of Architects, University of Illinois, Tenth Street, Greater El Bethel Baptist Missionary Church, Sunday, Texas Monthly, Cliff Locations: Dallas, U.S, U.S . As, Seattle, Lawndale, Chicago, Missouri, Dover , New Jersey, Michocán, Mexico, Oak, San Francisco, Denver, Boston, North Oak, Jefferson, “ Texas, Black, “ Barrio America, American City, South Dallas, Oak Cliff, ”, Casa Guanajuato, Dallas from Louisiana, –, Kiest Park, Texas, Melba, Greater El Bethel, Van Buren

☆ When Spider-Man Met Jeff Koons
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Max Lakin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“When we talked about the Balloon Dog we said, ‘What could we do with it? Koons, he recalled, “was actually the one who said, ‘You know, one thing about the Balloon Dog is it’s this thing that has a lot to do with breath. But we’ve never actually seen the inside of one. (The scene brought to mind an episode earlier this year, where a collector visiting the Art Wynwood fair in Miami accidentally shattered a 16-inch edition. Koons considered the Balloon Dog’s presence in the film as “truly participating in a larger community where people can rally around it.”

Persons: ” Thompson, Koons, “, ‘, we’ve, Vulture lops, ” Koons, ” Organizations: Art Locations: Miami, Hydra, Greece

☆ Meet ‘Harold,’ a Dreamy Third Grader With a Lot on His Mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Michael Ian Black | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

HAROLD, by Steven WrightHarold is a third grader with a rectangle in the middle of his head. Birds fly through this rectangle bearing thoughts. There are many birds and many, many thoughts for Harold to ponder. The book is set on a single school day in December of 1965, in Ms. Yuka’s third-grade classroom at Wildwood Elementary School. He also spends a great deal of time thinking about Elizabeth, his crush, who sits a few rows ahead of him and who has an I.Q.

☆ Passionate Baseball Fans and (Very) Thin Air Let Mexico City Shine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( James Wagner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY — A day before Major League Baseball played regular-season games here for the first time, Nick Martinez, a pitcher for the San Diego Padres, had an idea. On the way to the church, Martinez noticed several shops selling piñatas. He bought a few, hoping they could be smashed by the player of the game after each of the contests. “Being in San Diego, Mexican culture is very much a part of our culture,” Martinez said. His teammates cheered him on while wearing Mexican lucha libre wrestling masks.

☆ Texas spent nearly $9 million busing migrants over the holidays, according to records obtained by Insider
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Texas spent just under $9 million busing migrants across the country over the holidays. In total, Texas has now spent roughly $29 million on the program since April 2022. According to public records obtained by Insider, Abbott's migrant bus program cost the Texas Division of Emergency Management $8.97 million over the November and December holidays. Many of those on these Texas buses are people seeking asylum — a legal right — fleeing poverty and political persecution in countries such as Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela. In November, Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, argued that the millions spent busing migrants would have been better spent elsewhere, according to WFAA.

☆ Christmas vacations: 15 of the best places to go
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The Bath Christmas Market has a multitude of wooden chalets selling distinctively British handmade crafts in a quaint Georgian setting. Bogotá, ColombiaA woman dressed as Santa Claus sits next to a Christmas tree and a Christmas star at Bolivar Square in Bogota. Salzburg and Oberndorf, AustriaThe Christmas Market and associated festivities in Salzburg are really something to sing about. Dating back to 1570, Strasbourg claims to be the oldest Christmas market in France and one of the oldest in Europe. damianalmua/Adobe StockThe traditional Christmas colors of red, green and white take on an entirely new meaning in New Zealand.

Persons: CNN —, Santa Claus, Claus, ”, Allan Baxter, Jesus, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Centre –, Austen, Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar, Roy Rochlin, Bergdorf Goodman, Wangari Maathai, Fernando Vergara, “ Ruta, John’s, Miguel de Allende, Mary, Joseph, “ posada ”, Mozart, White Organizations: CNN, Bath Abbey, Jane Austen Centre, The, Royal, Catholic, Rockefeller, Getty Images Rockefeller, New York, Radio City, Columbus Circle, Fashion’s, Saks Fifth, Macy’s Herald Square, Kenyan, Park, Nuremberg, Toy Museum, Bolivar, Downtown, Malta Toy Museum, Quebec City, Adobe, Nord Expe, Mexico Piñatas, UNESCO, ”, Santa Locations: England, Philippines, Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Santa, Bethlehem , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York City, Bethlehem, Moravian, Bath, “, Fernando , Philippines, Asia, San Fernando, Catholic Philippines, Manila, of Bethlehem, Barcelona, Spain, Santa Eulalia, New York City New York, Central Park, Macy’s, Nairobi, Kenya, Nuremberg, Germany, German, Bogotá, Colombia, Bogota, Christmastime, Malta, Downtown Valletta, Quebec City, Canada, Petit Champlain, Quebec, Old Quebec, Sentier, Nord, Miguel, Mexico, posadas, ponche, Piñatas, Salzburg, Oberndorf, Austria, ” Salzburg, Bavaria, Strasbourg, France, Europe, Queenstown , New Zealand, New Zealand, Queenstown, Wakatipu

Search resuls for: "piñatas"

11 mentions found