- Nelson Alcantara
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Nelson Alcantara headshot
Nelson Alcantara (born Nelson Gumayagay Alcantara on November 23, 1973) is a Filipino American travel journalist and destination critic, He is the co-founder of eTurboNews (eTN).
Contents
Biography
Nelson Alcantara was born in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Philippines to parents Francisco L. Alcantara and Macaria G. Alcantara. He comes from a large family (five sisters and three brothers), with him being the seventh child. His father worked as a bus driver for Farinaz Transit serving the Laoag to Manila route, while his mother worked various jobs (from furniture saleswoman to managing the family's chicken and pig farm). At the time Nelson Alcantara was born, the Alcantara family was living in a house on a leased land near the Batac and San Nicolas border. His parents would ultimately purchase a land and build a house for the family in Barangay 18, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, where Nelson Alcantara spent most of his childhood. He comes from humble beginnings. He didn't grow up sleeping on a bed, but rather on handwoven mats (called Banig) on the floor. His family home was a modified version of a nipa hut, with the difference being that their house had tin roof. Overall, however, the house was mostly made of bamboo and nipa. It was, at the time, the typical poor family's house. The property, however, had one very distinct characteristic that separated it from the community: it had a camachile tree. That thorny tree, which still stands strongly today, not only served as a play area for him and his siblings, but it would ultimately became the anchor for his family's history and the sole witness to their rise from poverty to a much more comfortable life. Unfortunately, his family's eventual move to the United States left the seven bedroom-house mostly empty and standing firmly alongside the old chamachile tree. He studied at Baay Elementary School, then at Batac National High School, where he graduated as Class of 1990's salutatorian.
Nelson Alcantara immigrated to the United States in April 1990 and became a naturalized US citizen that same year. As he was only 16 years old at the time, his parents decided to send him back to school as a junior at Waipahu High School, where he graduated cum laude in June 1992. During his two years at Waipahu High School, he excelled both academically and in extracurricular activities. He was one of the founding members of the school's touring Glee club called SMILE, a drug awareness show that was put together in cooperation with the DARE program. As part of the group, he got to perform for schools not only on Oahu, but on Kauai, Maui and on the Big Island as well. Most notably, however, his appearance as the lead character in the play "The Broken Bough" in 1991's Honolulu Theatre For Youth's production of TheatreFest [1] landed him in the "Entertainment Section" of the The Honolulu Advertiser. He would later return to Honolulu Theatre for Youth's stage for the 1992 production of TheatreFest [2] to play yet another lead role in "The Flower Therapy."
He was admitted to University of Hawaii in the summer of 1992, but later quit from that school following the death of Michael Samonte, his best friend at the time, who committed suicide because of academic pressures. Barely turned 22, he did what was he thought was the best way to to cope with his loss—he moved to Los Angeles, California, and swore to never go back to school again. To appease his family, he eventually resumed his studies. First at Santa Monica College then to El Camino Community College before transferring to California State University Dominguez Hills, where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in communications from in 1999. He attended post-graduate studies at the same school and in 2001, he earned his master of arts degree in behavioral science with emphasis on conflict resolution and management.
Career
Nelson Alcantara has received recognition for his extensive coverage of various human rights issues, including Maldivian President Maumoon Gayoom's oppressive tactics in 2004 [3], sexual exploitation of children in tourism [4] and [5], the murder of Pakistani activist Bezanir Bhutto [6], Myanmar's military junta [7], to name just a few.
His list of interviews include high ranking government officials such as former Tanzanian Ambassador to the US Andrew Daraja, Zambia Tourism Ministers Patrick Kalifungwa and Kabinga Pande in 2004 and 2005, respectively, Zimbabwe Tourism Minister Francis Nhema (in 2008), Malaysian Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said, Philippine Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, Maldives Tourism Minister Mustafa-Lutfi [8], Philippine Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, Jordan Tourism Minister Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Egyptian Tourism Minister Mounir Abdul Nour [9], Andorra Economy Minister Pere Lopez [10], among many others.
Also, among his notable interviews include UN World Tourism Organization secretary-general Taleb Rifai in March 2011 [11] and in May 2009 [12] , World Travel & Tourism Council president Jean Claude Baumgarten in 2008 [13] and in 2011 [14], Professor Geoffrey Lipman [15], Dr. Ian Goldin from the University of Oxford [16], VisitBritain chairman Chris Rodrigues [17], American Society of Travel Agents CEO Tony Gonchar [18], and Celebrity chef Wilo Benet [19].
His articles are often picked up by other media outlets, if not covered or end up becoming news themselves, such as the case with The Nation [20] regarding his article on the conflict between Israel and Lebanon [21]. He also wrote about Dutch DJ Tiesto's concert appearance in Lebanon in 2007 [22] because it drew the largest crowd for a concert in Lebanon's history, according to Ya Libnan [23]. In another case, Nelson Alcantara's interview with Green Globe [24] became newsworthy for CNN MarketWatch [25]. Some of the more prominent media outlets that pick up Nelson Alcantara's articles include World News Network [26], TravelVideo.TV [27], AllVoices[28], to name just a few.
On March 15, 2009, Nelson Alcantara criticized [29] Matt Lauer of NBC's The Today Show for cancelling his yearly international trip for the "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" series because of the United States' high unemployment rate at the time and to avoid sending the wrong message. John Chochran of American On Line's travel website Wallet Pop supported Nelson Alcantara's criticism of Lauer in the article, Where in the world is Matt Lauer? At home, wussing out [30], which was published on March 19, 2009 and contained quotes from Nelson Alcantara's March 15, 2009 eTN article [31].
Nelson Alcantara is actively involved in various travel and tourism conferences as a speaker or panelist. He was invited by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism to speak at the Third IIPT African Conference on Peace through Tourism [32], which was held on February 6 to 11, 2005 in Lusaka, Zambia [33]; then at the First IIPT European Conference on Peace through Tourism [34], which was held on October 23, 2008 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands [35]. He was also asked to be the replacement speaker for Juergen Thomas Steinmetz at the 43rd Congress of the United Federation of Travel Agents' Association, which was held in October 2009 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
For the 2011 Pacific Asia Travel Association's Gold Awards, Nelson Alcantara was asked to judge two categories—best destination article and best business article.[36]
Notable Events
London 2012 Olympic Controversy
Nelson Alcantara reported on November 9, 2009[37] that the European Tour Operators Association or ETOA is opposed to London hosting the 2012 Olympic. He asked VisitBritain's Mark Howell[38] to respond to ETOA's opposition during a session at the 2009 World Travel Market. He also interviewed the chairman of the World Travel Market, Fiona Jeffery, on November 8, 2009[39] to find her stance on the issue. Then on December 2, 2009, David Tarsh, ETOA communications officer, released a rebuttal[40] to Mark Howell's statement. On September 12, 2010[41], ETOA released a statement saying "the Olympics will damage tourism." In June 7, 2011[42], ETOA once again voiced its opposition to London hosting the 2012 Olympics.
Las Vegas McCarran International Airport Power Outage
Nelson Alcantara broke the news of a power outage at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport on April 5, 2011 [43]. The incident was captured on video [44]. Las Vegas ABC Channel 13 Action News picked up the story and interviewed Nelson Alcantara on April 5, 2011 for the channel's news broadcast at 11:00am then included the story in all of its news broadcasts throughout that day. The Las Vegas television station also ran the story on its website [45]. Florida's FOX Channel 4 also picked up the story [46].
San Diego Beating
Nelson Alcantara's career suffered a minor setback in 2010, when he became the victim of brutal beating[47] in San Diego, California over stepping in on a dispute between a man and a woman. Jacquie Kubin of The Washington Times reported about the incident on February 1, 2010[48]. To this day, the identity of the culprit was never revealed even after an investigation by the San Diego Police Department.
2009 Election for United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary General
Nelson Alcantara started a series of articles on the 2009 election for the United Nations World Tourism Organization's secretary general following an April 28, 2009 article[49] from AllAfrica.com proclaiming South Korea's candidate, Oh Jee-Chul, as the frontrunner for the job. He claimed[50] that the right person for the job was Jordan's Taleb Rifai based on experience. On May 3, 2009, he wrote an article[51] criticizing Oh Jee-Chul's elusive behavior to be interviewed and for picking and choosing which questions to answer. The following day, May 4, 2009, Nelson Alcantara wrote an article[52] identifying all the candidates vying for the job. On May 7, 2009[53], Nelson Alcantara wrote that the organization's executive council elected the "right person"[54].
Philanthropy
Project Ilocandia
In June 2011, Nelson Alcantara launched "Project Ilocandia," [55] which aims to build a tourist facility by following an eco-tourism model in Barangay 18, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. The idea is to give back to the community that nurtured him as a child by bringing jobs through tourism and other related fields. He is spearheading the movement towards a clearer definition of eco-tourism in the Philippines. Later this year, he has publicly said that he will be gathering six experts in eco-tourism and sustainable tourism development to Barangay 18 to get their insights on how to best execute his eco-tourism vision. On the backdrop of this trip is a detailed itinerary that will showcase Ilocano culture and heritage.
Nelson Alcantara is a proud supporter of any efforts against child abuse and has a long history of being receptive with organizations like ECPAT International (or End Child Prostitution End Child Pornography And Trafficking Children for Sexual Purposes [56].
References
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- ^ (http://www.travelvideo.tv/news/burma/09-28-2007/brutality-of-myanmarae%E2%84%A2s-military-junta-surfaces-anew)
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Categories:- 1973 births
- Filipino emigrants to the United States
- University of Hawaii alumni
- Living people
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