Americas Quarterly

2010 WINTER OLYMPICS
Latin American Hopefuls
Latin America has yet to bring home a Winter Olympic
Games medal. Could the February 12–28, 2010, games in
Vancouver, Canada, be a historic turning point?

Although teams have yet to be officially announced, a good indicator of the region’s chances is the number of athletes who competed in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Some 30 athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Venezuela qualified for the Turin games. Brazil and Argentina are fielding the most hopefuls in 2010, with 16 Brazilians and 17 Argentines vying for a slot in Vancouver. AQ looks at four of the region’s athletes who have already qualified—or are close to qualifying.

KEVIN ALVES

FIGURE SKATING

ALPINE SKIING

Cristian Simari Birkner

(Argentina)

The 29-year-old from San

Carlos de Bariloche is one of only three Argentine athletes to have secured an

Olympic berth as of press time. Competing in his third

Olympics, Birkner placed

23rd in the Men’s Combined event in Turin. His sisters are in the running as well.

María Belén, 27, and Mac-arena, 26, have yet to qualify, but hope to ski in Vancouver.

SNOWBOARDING Isabel Clark (Brazil)

Rio de Janeiro native Clark first came in contact with both snow and snowboard-

Cynthia Jennifer Denzler
(Colombia)
One of Colombia’s best
prospects to qualify for the
games, Giant Slalom skier
Denzler, 25, secured first place
at the Wales Championship
last February, edging out
her Swiss competitor, Laura
Zurbriggen.

ing in 1994, when she was 17.

She placed ninth in snowboarding at the 2006 Turin games—the best finish for a Brazilian athlete in Winter Olympics history.

Now 33, she is ranked 12th in the world as she prepares to head to Vancouver. Clark finished the 2008–2009 season 13th in the Snowboard Cross World Cup ranking.

FIGURE SKATING Kevin Alves (Brazil) Born in Toronto, Canada,

to a Brazilian mother and
Portuguese father, 17-year-
old Alves began competing
for Brazil in 2007. At the
2008 Four Continents
Championships, he became
the first male skater to
represent Brazil. Alves
went on to place 37th at
the 2009 World Figure
Skating Championships—
earning him the distinction
of becoming the first
male figure skater to
compete for Brazil at the
senior world level.

THEATER

Summertime in Santiago, Chile, means all the world’s a stage—or at least all the city. For three weeks every January, Chile’s capital hosts

Santiago a Mil, a mix of mainstream, experimental and street theater performed in various locations.

The city-sponsored festival was launched in 1994 with five plays performed by local companies.

It now includes some 50-odd
theatrical performances and
concerts, including 20 international
groups. Many artists offer theater
classes and workshops
in the community.
Festival prices have
also grown over the past

15 years. In the early days, tickets to performances cost 1,000 (mil) Chilean pesos ($1.60). Today, the high-profile shows go for around $14 a pop. But discounts are available for students and seniors,