After the Diriangen vs. Olimpia game both fan clubs decided to fight it out in the streets. Diriamba fans started the fight but could not end it. Two buses full of Honduran soccer fans ran out of the stadium with police custudy but shots rang out in the streets, police unholstered thier handguns and shot warning shots into the air. Miguel Lorio our other photojournalist who was covering the game with me, and I ran for cover along with two other Honduran photojournalists. Miguel and I had a hard time ducking behind a palm tree. Imagine two fully grown men trying to hide behind a skinny palm tree. A Nicaraguan fan was shot in the head with a small caliber bullet. According to him (yes he survived) he was shot from the bus as he drove next to them in a motorcycle. Another child was wounded in a leg. So here I was running in the middle of the night with gunshots sounding off into the night as the two busloads of Honduran hooligans ran out of town. It was quite a day to say the least.

here are the pics.


Honduran soccer fans come out to fight. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Nicaraguan police Commissioner Horacio Rocha unholsters his weapon as shots ring out outside the soccer stadium. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Police officers, weapons drawn try to control the Honduran fans. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Police officers react to the sound of gunfire as two busloads of Honduran soccer fans move out of the city of Diriamba. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Eventually they got out. The buses where detained several hours later by a police tactical unit outside the city of Managua. By then I was too tired and worn out to care. Bismarck Picado our late shift shooter went after hem as the police picked them up at the checkpoint. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter

Thursday night was another nail biter. MY favorite team in Nicaragua Caciques del Diriangen played a bonecrushing game agianst Olimpia of Honduras. Diriamba scored early but then ran out of steam at the end of the second half. The game ended with a two to one score in favor of Olimpia. Still it was a very good game.

here are the pics.


Action during the Diriangen vs. Olpimpia game. Olimpia beat Diriangen 2 goals to 1. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Action during the Diriangen vs. Olpimpia game. Olimpia beat Diriangen 2 goals to 1. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Action during the Diriangen vs. Olpimpia game. Olimpia beat Diriangen 2 goals to 1. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Action during the Diriangen vs. Olpimpia game. Olimpia beat Diriangen 2 goals to 1. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Action during the Diriangen vs. Olpimpia game. Olimpia beat Diriangen 2 goals to 1. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter

The Real Esteli played its best match ever. Facing Central American champion Deportivo Saprissa the were able to score first and keep their one goal lead well into the second half of the game. Saprissa was able to equalize with a free kick and the game game ended in a tie. Nicaragua is the laughingstock of Central American soccer. Three years ago we made headlines when one our national teams was scored 20 goals in two games making it a world record of most goals scored against in so many games.

Taday Nicaraguan soccer is finding its feet and yesterday's games is proof of it.

here are the pics.



Victor Hugo Sanchez scores early in the game to give Esteli the lead. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Sanchez celebrates accordingly. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Real Esteli players celebrate with Sanchez. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


A worried Deportivo Saprissa enters the field in the second half. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


Esteli goalie Chamorro is bested by a free kick from Saprissa, equalizing the game. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


The last 15 minutes of the game became intense as both teams tried to break the tie. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter


More accion during the game. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargadter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter

The WSPA was in Managua to give free vet care for horses in poor neighborhoods in Managua. In collaboration with vet students of the UCC (Universidad de Ciencias Comerciales) university here in Managua they where able to give care to about 60 horses during a morning session. Horses in Managua are important for transportation especially for the underprivileged. In the Villa Libertad neighborhood that we visited, horses are used to cart water to households, so they are vital for the wellbeing of the community.

here are the pics



Nightmare! A horse eyes his master. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


A student tries to examine a horse. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


Checking a horse's age and teeth. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


Treatment for upset stomach. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


A vet student goes from doctor to patient after her eyes where splashed accidentaly with an antiseptic solution. Here eyes are rinsed with saline solution by a fellow student. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


Treating wounds caused by pulling a cart. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


A student cleans an infected hoof. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


A student recoils from a gelding that refuses treatment. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


This horse defenitely did not want to be treated. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


Eventually the horse had to be subdued in order to be treated. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter


A girl waits in line to have her horse examined. Photo Tomas Stargardter - Copyright WSPA/Tomas Stargardter

Rain drops keep falling on my car...

For the last three days the energy crisis has really hit us hard in Nicaragua. We have 12 hour rolling blackouts and since the water pumps for potable water are run on electricity too, we are also out of water for longer periods. So no lights and no water. I have to get up a 3 A.M. to fill up water tanks when both power and water arrive. I get up in the morning and start hauling water buckets to the bathrooms in the house. My wife and I take turns getting our daughters ready for school in the morning, wich now takes longer for obvious reasons. It's just another hassle that comes with living in the third world.

I live in a nice part or town and I am able to cope but Managua's poor, along with everybody else, are fed up and since yesterday have been protesting in the streets.

Today they broke into the National Energy Regulators Office INE and demanded that the the Spanish multinational Union Fenosa, that runs power distribution in Nicaragua, be stripped of its franchise.

Here are the pics



Protester in a Gigantona suit waits to be escorted out of the National Regulators Office in Managua after participating in a peaceful take over of the builbing to protest rolling 12 hour blackouts and water shortages affecting Nicaragua for the last couple of weeks. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter



Protesters and police clash outside the National Regulators Office in Managua after about 200 people took over the building to protest against 12 hour rolling blackouts and water shortages that have been affecting the country for the last couple of weeks and that have intensified since this past Monday, August 14. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter



A young man cools himself while protesting on the roof of the National Regulators office in Managua, against rolling 12 blackouts and water shortages. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter




Police forcible remove protestors form the roof of the National Regualros Office in Managua, Nicaragua after a couple of hundred demonstrators took over the building to protest against rolling 12 hour blackouts and water shorages. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter




A public employee of the National Regulators Office in Managua, Nicaragua, observes the damage done ot one of the doors of the building after it was taken over by protesters this Wednesday August 16 2006. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter

Just another fine relaxed weekend at home. My daughter Hannah jumping on the trampoline during a Sunday Afternoon shower. Foto Tomas Stargardter / Copyright Tomas Stargardter

I just wanted to add my grain of commentary on the Reuters altered photo flop.

Sadly this profession has had its share of fakers and hucksters and so on. There is always somebody who lacks the ability to make great photographs from only the real events in front of him or lacks the ethical fortitude to not intefere in their news reporting. It has alays been easy to fake news photos. Now days its even easier to do it after the fact, with digital technology.

My real problem with this latest scandal is why did Reuters, a top notch international news gathering service allowed it to happen. Just by looking at the image that finally got this latest photographer caught, it was obvious that the image is doctored, in the most crude way.

The question is, what was the Reuters desk editor thinking when he allowed that photo to go through the wire!!?? The excuse that he was editing hundreds of images that day is not valid since that is what he does anyway as a photo editor, on a daily basis, and isn't he supposed to be a highly qualified professional in order to be allowed to sit on the photo desk. The same can be asked for the whole worldwide Reuters photo desk editorial staff. Why did it take a blogger to spot such an obvious fake? What about us photo editors at our newspapers? Wasn't anybody looking? I have the lame excuse that we do not carry Reuters photo service at our newspaper.

It is my experience that there will always be individuals who will try to push posed or altered photos into your lap and its up to you as photo editor to spot them and stop them. I do not know about others but fakes always ring alarm bells in my head when they show up at our newspaper to try and sell their photo's. We politely but in no uncertain terms let them know that we believe that the image is a fake and that they are not welcomed anymore. It is the least we can do for our readers and for the credibility of our publication.

that's all for now.

CENSORSHIP

The Sandinista City Government of Managua has had a running battle with LA PRENSA. The latest bout has been the construction of a highway underpass intersecting the Masaya Highway, one with the highest automobile traffic density in the city, if not the nation. The construction project has been plagued by mismanagement and cost overruns. The promised date for its opening to the public has been missed several times, and investigations by LA PRENSA have shown that the underpass is seriously flawed and poses a threat to motorist who dare use it.

Every time we go and get pictures of the construction site we always get hassled by the guards of the city government. This is not uncommon at any public place here, but this city government has really turned up the pressure. Today it was my turn.

Usually since I am a big fellow I let them try to intervene. My flash point though, is when they touch the front element of my lense. That is when politely but firmly I tell them that they are not allowed to touch my equipment. A scuffling match followed and my repeated complaints that this is a public space and that it is built by public funds, and that I have a constitutional right to take these pictures come to no avail, while at the same time I kept firing away with my camera. The man on the left was quite mad, and he continually tried to grab my gear. The man on the right was more relaxed and he lamely tried to explain that he was only doing his job, just following orders. (sounds familiar?)

In the end I got my shots and there was nothing they could really do to stop me from doing my job. Got a nice couple pics of them too, trying to obstruct me. Which is the only other thing you can do in a situation like this.

here are the pics.



The city government security guards rush in to stop me from trying to take pictures of the latest damage to the Masaya Highway Underpass. It was supposed to be partially open today but they managed to rupture a water main that passes next to the underpass. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright/LA PRENSA-Tomas Stargardter



The security guard on the left reaches for my camera and grabs the front element of my lense. That really pissed me off. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright/LA PRENSA-Tomas Stargardter



I take his hand and remove it from my camera and a shoving and shouting match ensues. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright/LA PRENSA-Tomas Stargardter



In the end I get my picture. Foto LA PRENSA/Tomas Stargardter - Copyright/LA PRENSA-Tomas Stargardter