Mrida, Yucatn, August 22, 2023. As reported a few days ago, Cultur and the company RAMCO, a digital animation producer, agreed to launch a saga of Mayan legends, and the first one that was produced was "The Legend of the Jaguar".
The first version was in Spanish with subtitles in the same language, the second was in Spanish with English subtitles -considering that the material will be taken to paradores where there are foreign visitors, such as Chichn and Uxmal, to name a few-, and the third, the most recent, was in Mayan and subtitles in Spanish.
It should be noted that in all previous versions, they also have interpretation in Mexican Sign Language (LSM), so that people with hearing disabilities can understand and enjoy them. It is understood that there are people with disabilities who do not know LSM, and therefore the subtitles were put in Spanish and English.
To achieve the version with English subtitles, Trevor Lehman Fernndez, of Canadian descent, participated and the Mayan translation was in charge of Viviana Cetina Kituk, originally from Akil, both collaborators of Cultur; the first in the Directorate of Evaluation and Project Management and the second in the Marketing area. The interpretation in LSM, is in charge of Patricia Espinoza.
But it is not only about producing these works of art, also about promoting them and, therefore, since last Tuesday, August 1, the screening of the short film began on the big screens of the Cines Siglo XXI and it was to the taste of moviegoers, who have expressed it personally and on social networks.
It is expected that the next story, which will be the "Legend of the Alux", will begin to be screened in the Cines Siglo XXI in the Spanish version, with subtitles also in Spanish and with interpretation of LSM, from September 1. As it happened now, it is expected that in the middle of that month, the Mayan version, Spanish subtitles and LSM will be transmitted.
Mrida, Yucatn on July 25, 2024. Last Tuesday, our colleague, Mara Luz Alba Pech Dzul, who works as a janitor at the Chichn Itz rest area, found an iPhone that someone had left behind in the bathrooms. As she always does, she kept it safe in the administration office and later returned it to its owner Karen Hungel, who was visiting us from the U.S. Congratulations for continuing to show the world that Cultur's workers are honest!
Mrida, Yucatn, July 24, 2024. Cultur and the Perplis Association delivered "Coquito" for adoption this morning, a female dog that was rescued in the archaeological zone of Chichen Itza, as part of a plan to take care of the remains of this wonder of the contemporary world and also for public health, reported Mauricio Daz Montalvo, general director of the department.
The other dog pending for adoption was "Dalila," the mother of the aforementioned puppy, but the person in charge of the mentioned Association, Lourdes Durn Leal, decided to keep her and take on the responsibility of caring for her.
By giving all the rescued dogs in Chichen for adoption, this is how Cultur concludes the so-called "Operation Rescue Dogs of Kukulkan," considering that there is little time left for the current administration.
"Coquito," the last dog given for adoption, was rescued by Cultur since last January, along with her four siblings and her mother. As of today, she has new owners who left happily and with the commitment to take care of her and attend to her as another family member.
The dog was received by Julio Pava, who lives in San Pedro Noh Pat - a community located next to the road to Valladolid. Since their first contact, the little animal showed that she is capable of living with people and allowed herself to be held and petted.
The "Operation Rescue Dogs of Kukulkan" added up to 13 dogs in total, of which only one was returned to its habitat since it was considered feral and therefore would not have been able to coexist with people; all others were given up for adoption.
As reported at that time, this project started before the Covid-19 pandemic at INAH's request since many dogs were detected climbing up the castle of Chichen Itza, which could cause damage to this architectural gem, plus representing a public health risk as they received no attention. Due to the health emergency it was suspended but resumed in 2022.
In all cases, the rescued dogs were handed over to the veterinarian who took care of deworming them, sterilizing them, vaccinating them and providing necessary attention so they are free from diseases and can be handed over to their new owners.
Mrida, Yucatn, July 11, 2024. During the last quarter, from April to June, once again the maintenance staff of the Chichn parador and the security staff of the Siglo XXI, sites managed by Cultur, were protagonists of seven acts of honesty as they found seven lost cell phones and returned them to their owners.
The involved maintenance staff were Mara Luz Alba Pech Dzul from the Chichn Itz parador (3 returns), Blanca Natali Kimil Cem (2), Gabino Caamal Caamal, and from the Siglo XXI, security guard Freddy del Jess Cob Prez.
"The tourists truly leave enchanted not only by seeing our archaeological wonders like Chichn Itz but also by recovering their valuable belongings that mean a lot to them, especially when the action comes from humble people," he emphasized.
Mrida, Yucatn, July 3, 2024. By order of the INAH, the public is informed that due to the imminent passage of the natural phenomenon Beryl, the projection of all video mappings in archaeological zones will be suspended from Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th of this month. Cultur also informs that the Siglo XXI cinemas, for the same reasons, will also be closed to the public at least for now on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th. The reopening of these will depend on physical and weather conditions allowing it. We will keep you informed.
Mrida, Yucatn, June 19, 2024. In response to the reports circulating in various media and on social networks about a new $60 fee at archaeological sites for taking photos with cell phones or tablets, this department wishes to make the following clarification: It is not within Cultur's powers to apply any fee for the use of the aforementioned mobile devices, as the archaeological sites are under the responsibility and custody of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). In the tourist stops, which are under our administration, no fee has ever been applied or will be applied for the use of cameras or any other device. It is well known that, for some years now, the collection of fees for the use of cameras or professional devices has been the responsibility of INAH, and according to information we have received, they will now charge $60 for the use of non-professional mobile devices such as cell phones or tablets. Therefore, for more information on this issue, it will have to be addressed with INAH.
As an aficionado of "barely making sense" and "exotic beatings," there's nothing I love better than a good foreign action movie. But there's just something missing from the modern ones, and I think I've finally pinpointed what that is: They're translated too well. When I got into foreign action movies as a kid in the '90s, subtitling was a job we gave to alcoholic head trauma victims to make them feel useful to society again, or else we shunted the task off to primitive AI bots that would repurpose their spam titles as dialogue. In short, if you were watching a foreign action flick back in the day, that meant spending two hours wading hip deep through impossibly shitty subtitles in order to make a few wild, vague, wholly unsubstantiated guesses as to the nature of the plot. I'm still pretty sure the John Woo classic A Better Tomorrow was a film about a Chinese man with supernatural dominion over pigeons trying to escape the sinister Anti-Sunglasses League.
But these modern films, with their precious "translators" and "understandable human grammar," take all of that magic away and curb-stomp it to death in a filthy alley. And so I have done the horrible and desperate: I have turned to the Internet. Turns out, if you want an unreasonably shitty movie experience based on utter nonsense, where all parties involved with telling you a story hate both you, personally, and the very concept of stories in general, then amateur Internet subtitlists have got your back. I knew I was in good hands when, as I was out scouting for subtitles for The Raid: Redemption, I stumbled across this sub file, with this accompanying screenshot:
And so contented that I had found the worst possible translation of anything, I downloaded the file and settled back with a fine bottle of whiskey and a vintage bag of paint to enjoy two glorious hours of watching Asians beat the shit out of each other for reasons that I have never, nor will ever, comprehend.
The Raid starts with our hero, Rama, praying fervently. The entire opening sequence is poignant, reserved, solemn and dramatic. And it was really starting to harsh my paintbuzz. And then the first line of dialogue popped up ...
Sometimes -- very rarely, mind you -- one will come across a subtitle file so bad that the "translator" quite obviously ran the script through BabelFish and just pasted the gibberish it spat out. Somewhat counterintuitively, it's actually pretty hard to find somebody who tries that little in this modern era of enthusiastic amateurs. But after Rama and a mysterious elderly gentleman exchange severe looks fraught with meaning, and then punctuate them with a grim:
... it became obvious that this translation was the abysmal failure of both man and machine alike. This movie was a cyborg of ineptitude, a biotech monstrosity of retardation. But like Frankenstein's monster, you can't help but love the poor, misshapen bastard -- not in spite of, but because of his horrible deformities.
The Raid, as a movie, seems like it has its action priorities straight: There are a few minutes of hasty exposition at the start to set up the conflict, just so it can get all that talky bullshit out of the way and move right on to the kicking. But explaining things is not the strong suit of our precocious Subtitling Monster, so the clearest line of setup we get is this:
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