There is a well-oiled pop machine in South Korea. It seeks out obscure Asian teenagers from across the globe, signs them into draconian 8 year contracts, and cultivates them in rigorous training camps. After years of intense dance and vocal lessons, language education, and exacting physical exercise, these “trainees”, the future Rains and BoAs, are unleashed upon Asian markets as superbly packaged solo or group pop products.
In northern El Salvador a dam is being built on the Torola River. The Torola River is one of the largest in the country, located in an area in the department of San Miguel known as El Chaparral. The El Chaparral Dam began construction earlier this year and is slated to take 50 months (just over four years) to complete. When finished, it will function as a 65.4MW hydroelectric plant that will provide electricity to 200,000 families in the region.