One fine day, Bono, lead singer of U2 and political activist, takes Graydon Carter’s seat and edits a special issue of Vanity Fair on Africa. Another day, a photo opportunity with Condoleezza Rice. One morning he meets with Nelson Mandela, George W. Bush and Tony Blair, to ask the G8 to reduce third world countries foreign debt. In the afternoon, he launches a clothing line, (Product) Red, the profi ts from which will go to Africa’s poor and hungry. Icon David Beckham, Motorola and GAP, among others, lend a hand and support the campaign of the man who has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2005 and 2006.
A round of applause for Bono, he’s indestructible. It is difficult to find a figure in Latin America who measures up to the Irish musician, but do not despair. We make things of that caliber here too. Look to Panama, and specifi cally, the City of Knowledge. In an old US military base next to the Canal, there are now universities, international organizations and high-tech companies. And among all of these is the headquarters of the Latin America in Solidarity Action Foundation, or Alas.
Alas is the work and dream of the Colombian singer Shakira, who is also a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, which supports the project. Famous, beautiful and recognized, the singer has enjoyed rapid and renowned support for carrying out her project. Her fiancé Antonio de la Rúa has also lent a hand. In fact, the first director of Alas was Lautaro García Batallán, a personal friend of Antonio’s and a former minister of the Interior for his father Fernando, when the latter was president of Argentina.
Launched on December 12 2006, in Panama, Alas defines itself as a nonprofit organization made up of artists and members of civil society dedicated to improving child health and education, investing in social programs and promoting awareness.
Alas work is not a minor theme. According to the organization’s own figures, some 350,000 children under five years old die every year from preventable causes linked to poverty in the region, where 40 million children under 18 are street beggars.
The goal and discourse of Alas is an argument common to many NGOs, but Alas has something that others don’t, and that is the power and recognition of each soldier in its ranks. Artists, entrepreneurs and intellectuals who support Alas are as diverse as they are well-known. The best Latin American musicians are there. Sound the trumpets for Juanes, Ricardo Arjona, Carlos Vives, Diego Torres, Thalía, Alejandro Fernández, Gustavo Cerati, Daniela Mercury, Ricardo Montaner, Chayanne, Catupecu Machu, Beto Cuevas, Kumbia All Starz, Benny Ibarra. The commitment is such that even Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee and post-punk afro-Argentine Fidel Nadal have joined its ranks.
On the corporate side, Alas has reached the highest flyers. Multibillionaire Carlos Slim was one of the central speakers at its launch. The ranks of the well intentioned also include Emilio Azcárraga Jean (Televisa), Alejandro Santo Domingo (SabMiller, Grupo SantoDomingo), Alejandro Soberón (CIE), Joseph Safra (Safra Group), Roberto Kriete (Taca), Marinela Servitje (Bimbo), Stanley Motta (Copa) and José Antonio Fernandez Carvajal (Coca Cola Femsa). International personalities such as Gabriel García Márquez, ex-presidents Felipe González and Óscar Arias, Argentinean actor Sergio Renan, and the Peruvian journalist and writer Jaime Bayly, are also giving their support.
The project appears to have legs, but it has not yet finished growing. In 2007, the organization held five concerts in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and New York to raise funds. The resources gave form to “Ala vida,” a program to provide medical and nutritional assistance to pregnant women and children under 2 years, and “Ala escuela,” a project to put working children back in the classroom. Their most recent activity was the launch of an international campaign in Latin America, the United States and Europe to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake in southern Peru.
