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Hi, my name is Alejandra Fern·ndez Bonilla.
I graduated in 1982
with a degree in mass media communication
from the University of Costa Rica.
I've worked mainly in radio and television.
I initially started at the "Semanario Universidad"
of the University of Costa Rica, a weekly alternative newspaper
that was founded more than 35 years ago.
I started there by covering sports.
I've always liked sports.
I actually played first-division volleyball with the university's volleyball team
but, unfortunately, I've hung up my jersey
and now deal with topics such as science, technology
and politics, and social problems and environmental issues.
Since 1995, I have worked for channel 15 of the University of Costa Rica
for various television programs.
I've been fortunate enough to have won two science journalism awards:
the CONICIT award in 1996, and the Costa Rican Journalist Association award in 2003.
I'm currently the Costa Rican correspondent for Radio Netherlands
in this small Central American country.
San Jose, the capital, is not the prettiest place in Costa Rica.
Traffic is horrendous.
Today is an exception because it's a national holiday.
Most people that visit our country fall in love with the
different shades of green that they see throughout the country.
We have a huge biodiversity
and many protected areas.
This conservation effort started more than 50 years ago.
This was an excellent step forward,
but it currently has an uncertain future due to pressures coming from
great economic interests.
Many people are quite surprised that Costa Rica does not have an army,
which was abolished back in 1949. A very good idea.
I believe in democracy and social justice
and, because of that, I also believe that the mass media
is a critical stakeholder in any democracy.
That is why I am very excited to be a part of this project:
Video Journalism Movement.
My husband is a radio and television producer,
and he'll be responsible for recording and editing
the stories we'll be telling you about.
When he was very young, he reported on
the civil wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
A few days before the Nicaraguan
Dictator Anastasio Somoza fled the country,
he taped one of the very
last interviews granted to international media.
It was July 14, 1979, which was my birthday,
and the Sandinistas had overtaken
the Nicaraguan capital.
Since my camera was malfunctioning,
I asked General Somoza for an autographed photograph
on the assumption that I was a huge fan.
By that time, Costa Rica had broken
diplomatic relations with the Nicaraguan government
and, with this photograph,
I was able to convince the national guard to give me one
of the very last seats on a plane bound for El Salvador.
I basically lied and said that the general actually wanted
this recorded interview to be broadcast in Costa Rica
and that the autographed photograph was proof of this.
Two days later, Somoza fled the country,
putting an end to one of the most archaic dictatorships
in Latin America.
I worked for Radio Netherlands for almost 15 years representing
Latin America.
In 1987, I participated in a training course
in Hilversum, Holland.
Iíve enjoyed my profession throughout the years,
but now I'm concerned that the agendas of mass media are moving
farther and farther away
from reality, society, and people,
here and in any other part of the world.
From San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica,
we say goodbye with a popular saying:
Pura Vida! [Pure Life]