Pablo Cerda argued in The Santiago Times that “one of South America’s biggest music festivals, the Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar is a marketer’s dream and music lover’s nightmare.” 

Alexandra Jolly wrote in Colombia Reports of Medellín that the 54th annual Cartagena Film Festival began with promise with “many famous faces” in attendance to see films ranging in origin from Latin America to Iran.  

Página/12 of Buenos Aires reported that archaeologists have found the remains of a Spanish ship that sank with 193 people, but is well known to history because the crew managed to build another vessel from the wreckage and return home. 

Ivan Vargas wrote in The Santiago Times that paleontologists have determined that fossils discovered in Bío Bío Region belong to a previously unidentified type of plesiosaur — or giant marine reptile — that went extinct over 60 million years ago, ending a hunt for answers sparked by fossil fragments in the 19th century. 

PáginaSIETE of La Paz reported that January and February of 2014 marked historic levels of rainfall which caused flooding in La Paz.  According to Elmer López of the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI), the volume of rain is beyond anything seen in 30 years of regional monitoring. 

El Heraldo of Tegucigalpa reported that meteorological analysis predicts that the southern region of Honduras will see a decrease in rainfall this year, which may have a negative impact on basic grains production. 

Legalization will not solve the world’s narcotics problem, the UN anti-drugs chief insisted, indicating his disapproval of the decision by Uruguay to allow the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana, according to the MercoPress of Montevideo. 

Sebastián Premici wrote in Página/12 of Buenos Aires that the Argentine government is one step closer to a compensation deal with Spaniards. 

In La Jornada of Mexico City Eric Nepomuceno observed that while Brazil will host the 2014 Soccer World Cup in a few short months, there are still “concerns.” 

Zach Dyer wrote in The Tico Times of San José, Costa Rica that Central America is growing as a popular tourist destination for U.S. travelers abroad, according to figures published by the U.S. Commerce Department in late February.