The Economist: "Uruguay is our country of the year."

Praising its progressive policies and good governance, the Economist Magazine today named Uruguay its "country of the year."

This is the first time the magazine has chosen a nation state instead of an individual for the annual honor. Amazing.

The Economist cites "path-breaking reforms that do not merely improve a single nation but, if emulated, might benefit the world."

We've certainly benefited a lot in Minnesota from more than four decades of collaboration on projects with our counterparts in Uruguay, and we look forward to working together in 2014 with much enthusiasm.

"Modest yet bold, liberal and fun-loving, Uruguay is our country of the year," the editors wrote.

Congratulations Uruguay!

Thank you for attending the annual meeting!

Dozens of members and friends of Minnesota-Uruguay Partners braved the cold weather to attend Monday night's annual meeting.

It was wonderful to see past presidents like David Pace and Erik Brand there, with long-time members like Ted Bowman, Sue von Bank and Patrick and Matt Moore, all mixing with new-member recruits like Natalia Dorf-Biderman, Ross Knutsen, Deb Meagher and Juan Ghiringhelli (with his beautiful family!) among others.

The food, catered by Cafe 421, the wines from Uruguay, and not least the three presentations by Mark Knierim, Lyndel King and Pankaj Gupta about their trips to Uruguay this year, truly set a high mark for future events and presentations.

The evening also provided an opportunity to remember those we have lost this year. We believe it was the first annual meeting in 8 years that Bruce McManus, who passed away in August, wasn't attending. His big smile, firm handshake and polite prodding to "get this thing moving" were sorely missed.

Bruce's work through the social justice committee continues under Connie's attentive eye. The prison reform program was represented at the event by Ron and Reena Solheid.

Dr. Gupta laid out concrete next steps with the health collaboration that offers both high ambition and realistic resultsfor both Uruguay and Minnesota.

Lyndel King described 20 years of art and museum exchanges that are building to a new high point in 2014.

The annual meeting provided an opportunity to look back with pride and see ahead with enthusiasm to the important work that Minnesota-Uruguay Partners is undertaking.

The Tango is Uruguayan Patrimony

Editor's note: Gary Kuhn, chapter historian, writes the article below that will be appearing in his "Historian's Corner" column in the chapter's next newsletter...

The Tango is Uruguayan Patrimony

On a September Saturday in 1995, an event called the “Patrimonio,” aimed at conservation of historic buildings, was held in Montevideo.

Successful and in future years expanded to a two-day weekend, the Patrimonio has become a major civic event.

Many of those historic buildings now contain small museums devoted to historical, artistic and other heritage topics. Shuttle buses carry people to and from a great variety of “open house” displays. The Patrimonio has spread to some degree to other cities, beyond the rich variety of national institutions within the capital. Without restricting free access, a particular theme is featured each year.

The nineteenth Patrimonio has honored the tango. This was a centennial: the first recognized tango, La Cumparsita, was performed in Montevideo in 1913. Carlos Gardel was the most celebrated vocal performer of the subsequent era, until his death in 1935. Argentina shares the tango legacy (and also claims Gardel as a son). A Mundial/World Championship competition was recently held in Buenos Aires. The dance is universal. Finland is one country full of enthusiastic adepts!

History is conserved by the Patrimonio. Could we in Minnesota do something similar? Perhaps fundraising could be helped by a free tour weekend. Or is our culture more confined within large institutions; the Patrimonio is varied and decentralized, and Montevideo is rather compact.

Now sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Culture each Spring (late September or early October), the Patrimonio provides a broad focus on popular history.

You're invited! December 9 annual meeting

You are invited to attend

The Minnesota - Uruguay Partners Annual Meeting

Monday, December 9, 2013

University of Minnesota Regis Center for Art East Building

405 21st Ave S, 

Minneapolis, MN 55454

Featuring:

Silent Auction

Music by David Falbo

6:30- 7:30 p.m.  Dinner (catering by Kafe 421)

7:30 - 8:30 p.m.  

Program:

Remembering Bruce McManus

Presentations by

Mark Knierim, & Anne Sugnet,

Lyndel King

Pankaj Gupta

Master of Ceremonies Rob Scarlet, MUP President

Suggested donation $20 (students $10)

RSVP at the Evite site http://www.evite.com/event/02332W3JTTEHRMYV2EPDKADPMMFQJI

Or by emailing Sarah Trembley

sarahjtrembley@yahoo.com

A truly inspiring video about Nicolas Carter's work in Uruguay over the past year

We were delighted to receive this link to Nicolas Carter's excellent video documenting his work in Uruguay over the past year to bring the "Neighborhood Bridges" program to youth and audiences there. It's a truly inspiring story! Partners of the Americas supported the project with a travel grant, and things expanded exponentially from there. Congratulations Nicolas!

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Set for Nov. 4

The University of Minnesota, Minnesota-Uruguay Partners 

and The Whittier Alliance

invite you to a ribbon cutting ceremony

 of a new work of public art by Uruguayan artists

Daniel Tomasini and Beatriz Tobler 

Monday, November 4, at 2:00 p.m. 

Artist Quarter Lofts parking ramp (outside)

On 26th Street, one block East of Nicollet

Please join us for a first view of this new work, and to thank the artists and organizers for this new piece of public art in Whittier entitled:

"Homage to the International Neighborhood"

We hope you can join us!

Visiting Uruguayans, in Minnesota for Twin Cities Marathon, Discuss Health Collaboration with Partners

Drs. Pankaj and Kalpna Gupta, two volunteers with Minnesota-Uruguay Partners, hosted a dinner in their home earlier this month for two visitors from Uruguay who were here for the Twin Cities Marathon, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the country. 

Front Row: Kalpna Gupta, Dr. Tim Tripp, Dr. Oscar Quiñones, Sara Costa, Marcos Villanueva, Amanda Ottman
Standing:  Natalia's Husband, Dr. Natalia Dorf Biderman, Dr. Pankaj Gupta

Dr. Oscar Quiñones a cardiovascular surgeon at the Instituto Cardiología Infantil (Pediatric Cardiology Institute) in Montevideo, Uruguay, was in Minnesota for several days along with his wife, Sara Costa, a diabetic who had been invited to participate as an international runner in the Medtronic-sponsored Marathon on October 6.

The group gathered for dinner in the home of the Guptas the night before the marathon, and then met up after the big event at Woodfire Grill.

Sara and Oscar

Uruguay Musuem Leader Carlos Ortiz Visits Minnesota

Carlos Ortiz, the curator of the renowned Museo Blanes in Montevideo, Uruguay, was in Minnesota in August on a Partners of the Americas grant to participate in the Artful Writing program, an innovative initiative of the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota.

The unique program addresses an important gap in traditional artist training and helps prepare participants for successful careers. Carlos met with area museum professionals to learn about best practices.

Co- teachers Jamee Yung, museum educator for the Weisman Art Museum, and Stephanie Rollag, PhD student from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and a Teacher Consultant for the Minnesota Writing Project, worked with Carlos throughout his visit, among many other volunteers.

Lyndel King, the director and curator of the Weisman who had traveled to Montevideo earlier this year to carry out a highly successful museum branding workshop, hosted a wonderful reception in her home for Carlos on the eve of his return to Uruguay. Click here to read about Lyndel's visit to Uruguay.

Job posting for someone with Spanish skills, interest in trade and business

One of our Minnesota-Uruguay Partners members passed along the job opening below and asked us to post it. More details and an application are available here.

MOM Brands, based in Lakeville, Minnesota, is the third-largest producer of breakfast cereals in the United States, employing more than 1,400 people.

MOM BrandS,  CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS REP, INTERNATIONAL
ID:	4333
City:	Lakeville
State/Territory:	MN
# of openings:	1
DESCRIPTION
JOB FUNCTION The purpose of the position is to build customer loyalty and confidence by initiating direct customer communication, processing orders, resolving issues and advising customers of stock availability and delivery schedules.   In addition, this position will be required to process trade contracts.  This position will be responsible for working directly with our Latin American and US customers to assure the highest standards of customer service.  The position provides a single point of contact to the customer for order management by acting as a liaison between the customer and various internal MOM departments. JOB ACTIVITIES/DUTIES Accurately process customer orders according to MOM order guidelines and work with customers to affirm order size, pricing, freight allowance, item information, product availability, lead time, and other service requirements. Responsible for the integrity and accuracy of assigned accounts in JD Edwards as it relates to order management (i.e. updating shipping platforms). Timely entry of approved promotional contracts into the trade planning system. Understand and help implement departmental and supply chain business strategies related to improving customer satisfaction and reducing supply chain costs. Identify and actively participate to resolve issues that affect quality or service. Utilize Spanish to provide excellent customer service to our Latin American and Mexican accounts.  Potential travel to industry events or customer meetings in Latin American or Mexican countries to represent the supply chain area. JOB REQUIREMENTS Education: Four-year degree in a relevant field of study or relevant experience Experience: The ideal candidate will have a bachelors’ degree.  In addition, the candidate will have a desire to grow and develop in conjunction with the growth of our international business.  A candidate will at least have applicable business experience in a dynamic customer service environment. Skills: Must be fluent in reading, writing, and speaking Spanish.  Effective time management; ability to function as part of a team.  Strong written and oral communication skills.  Ability to tactfully handle a wide range of customer relations, warehousing, distribution, and broker concerns. Strong attention to detail and analytical.  Other:  3rd Party POS and Inventory systems such as Retail Link a plus.  NAFTA and other international shipping regulation background would be a plus.  Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

The passing of Bruce McManus

The StarTribune published the following obituary today about our dear friend and colleague Bruce McManus, who led the social justice projects at Minnesota-Uruguay Partners for the past eight years and passed away suddenly last Friday. His work and achievements have changed the lives of many people and will continue to do so for years to come. We miss him.

McManus, Bruce W. On Aug. 30, 2013, age 79, of Mendota Heights. Survived by his wife, Connie Roehrich; children William, Stephen, Robert, Marianne Koepfer and Esperanza; grandchildren Patrick, Katherine, Enrique, Carlos and Danu. Bruce was a 1956 graduate of Carleton College, US Coast Guard veteran, Warden of MN Correctional Facility, Stillwater, Deputy Commissioner, MN Department of Corrections. Memorial Service Saturday, Sept. 7th 11:00 a.m. at AUGUSTANA LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1400 So. Robert St., West St. Paul. Family will greet friends 1 hour before service. Memorials preferred to Carleton College (www.carleton.edu), Animal Humane Society (www.animalhumane society.org) or Partners of the Americas (www.minnesotauruguaypartners.org). Arrangements by Kandt & Tetrick Funeral Home, 651-455-5352. "Semper Paratus"