Santos

On a recent Friday night, a very pregnant Sheila Dos Santos and her husband were two-thirds of the way through an hour and a half cloth diapering workshop, trying to wrap their heads around the myriad diapering options available to the modern parent. Laid out on the large coffee table in front of them were dozens of types of diapers and covers and inserts, as well as a plastic baby doll to try them on. "I'm so overwhelmed," said Dos Santos, looking down at the 11-page booklet she held in her hands.

CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Obama sought Saturday to emphasize the robust economic relationship between the United States and Latin America, and he flatly ruled out legalizing drugs as a way to combat the illegal trafficking that has ravaged the region. Facing calls at a regional summit to consider decriminalization, Obama said he is open to a debate about drug policy, but he believes that legalization could lead to greater problems in countries hardest hit by drug-fueled violence.

It's no surprise that voters in Colombia chose a tough former defense minister to succeed outgoing President Alvaro Uribe, who is leaving office after two terms. A resounding 69% of those who cast ballots opted for continuity, replacing Uribe, who made serious headway against the leftist guerrillas seeking to overthrow the government, with the man who helped him do it, Juan Manuel Santos. Santos' military's successes against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia included a daring operation in which rebels were duped into freeing high-profile hostages, and a cross-border raid into Ecuador in which the FARC's No. 2 was killed.

New Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and his May 26 challenger Alistair Overeem appeared in the Southland together Wednesday to discuss their upcoming pay-per-view bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Overeem, who sent former champion Brock Lesnar to retirement by knocking him out in January, said he anticipates gaining "the crown of my career" by defeating Dos Santos. "I'm bigger, stronger, I hit harder and have more experience," Overeem said.

THE BEST WAY TO TODOS SANTOS From LAX, nonstop service to Cabo San Lucas is offered on Alaska, American, Mexicana and United, and connecting service (change of plane) is offered on US Airways, American, Continental and Mexicana. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $170. The drive to Todos Santos, which is about 50 miles north of the airport, will take about an hour and 45 minutes. From LAX, connecting service to La Paz is offered on Aeromexico and Mexicana. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $398.

Regarding "It Screams Quiet," by Christopher Reynolds, March 7: We have been in Mexico long enough to see Los Cabos ruined and are watching, from afar, the destruction of Todos Santos. I know it cannot be helped, but those who came to live there in past years are going to find their quiet town taken from them. You keep writing those stories about idyllic places, and in time they will disappear. Ellis Glazier La Paz, Mexico For best deal, use agent The person who did her own reservations on Hotwire made the mistake, not Hotwire ["Car Tracker," by Catharine Hamm, March 7]

Once upon a time, say about 1972, Cabo San Lucas was a sleepy little fishing town at the southern tip of Baja California. Then came the paved highway, the international airport, the marina, the golf courses, the raucous bars and well-heeled retreats. At the newest and perhaps fanciest, Capella Pedregal, suites this spring start at a cool $675 per night. In Cabo, you just might score the spring break you'll never forget — or the one you won't remember. And then there's Todos Santos, still small, still drowsy at most hours, wedged between the mountains and sea about 45 miles north of Cabo.

Greg Santos, a senior in his first season on the Simi Valley High baseball team, was declared academically ineligible when quarter grades were released last week, Coach Mike Scyphers said. Santos was batting .323, with four home runs, seven doubles and 18 runs batted in. He spent much of the season batting cleanup for the Pioneers, who are 20-3 and have clinched at least a share of the Marmonte League title. Santos spent his junior year at Apollo High, a continuation school in Simi Valley, because of academic and personal problems.

A couple of weeks ago you printed a letter taking Lafitt Pincay and his lawyer to task for threatening to sue people they deemed "responsible" for Lafitt's accident. Being against specious lawsuits, I agreed completely in that case -- but if I were Jose Santos and his lawyer I would sue the Miami Herald and everyone involved with the ridiculous "battery" story for every penny they can beg, borrow or steal -- and that includes the Churchill Downs steward who fanned the flames by labeling the picture "very suspicious."

This is a story about an athlete and drugs. Yes, another one of those stories. Just when you thought it was safe to turn to a sports page without finding the two shamefully linked, you're reading all about it--again. The athlete is 17-year-old Greg Santos, designated-hitter for Simi Valley High. The drug is marijuana. But the ending, somewhat surprisingly, is a happy one--so far. Drug rehabilitation, as Santos readily admits, is an ongoing process, an uphill battle.

New Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos will make his first title defense May 26 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas against former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta told The Times on Thursday. Dos Santos, 27, became champion on the UFC's heavily promoted debut fight card on Fox inside the Honda Center in November. Dos Santos (14-1) needed just 64 seconds to defeat then-unbeaten champion Cain Velasquez by first-round knockout (punches)

When food lovers head to Paris these days, the savvier bypass the Michelin-starred restaurants entirely and seek out the small, sometimes funky bistros where passionate young cooks are turning out wonderful food at affordable prices. Spaces - and kitchens - are often tiny, menus small and changeable. And the wine list may simply be a collection of bottles lined up on shelves. Many come from small or obscure producers who believe in natural (biodynamic, organic) winemaking. A copy of Alice Feiring's "Naked Wine" translated into French might be propped against a bottle of Chinon or Burgundy.

  The death toll in five terrorist attacks in Colombia this week points to the increasing threat posed by unholy alliances between leftist rebels and criminal bands engaged in drug trafficking, killings and extortion, Colombian officials say. The alliances extend over several regions of Colombia and present powerful threats to President Juan Manuel Santos' efforts to end a decades-long conflict with insurgent groups and push through ambitious...

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is asking lawmakers in his country to approve sweeping changes in the judicial system. The most controversial of these would expand the military's jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute alleged human rights crimes committed by security forces. Currently such cases are handled by civilian courts and judges. That's not the kind of reform Colombia needs. This is a country, after all, where a decades-long armed conflict has led to repeated massacres and human rights violations by government forces.

With All-City running back Robert Lewis a marked player, South East turned to junior quarterback Jonathan Santos, and he responded with five touchdown passes in the Jaguars' 51-34 victory over Marshall in the City Section Division II championship game Friday night at East Los Angeles College. Santos completed touchdown passes of four and 24 yards to Lewis, eight yards to Christian Quinones, 49 yards to Alex Alvarez, and 71 yards to Ramone Smith. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 317 yards.

Ron Santo always kept rooting for the causes dearest to him -- for his Chicago Cubs to win the World Series, for doctors to find a cure for diabetes and for his election to the Hall of Fame. On Monday, Cooperstown finally came calling. The barrel-chested third baseman who clicked his heels in victory was elected to the Hall, overwhelmingly chosen by the Veterans Committee nearly a year to the day after he died hoping for this very honor. Santo was a nine-time All-Star, hit 342 home runs and won five Gold Gloves.

The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire A Tejano Elegy John Phillip Santos Viking: 280 pp., $25.95 John Phillip Santos went in search of his Mexican father's indigenous roots in his 1999 National Book Award finalist, "Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation." That book's solid narrative thread and magnificent storytelling rescued the forgotten history of a Tejano family. But it was only half of the story. In "The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy," Santos sets out to explore his maternal ancestors' origins in Old World Spain and their long-forgotten voyage to the New World: "I would be born at the intersection between the bloodlines of the Mundo Viejo and the Mundo Nuevo, already well within the drift streams of the great Mexican mestizaje, the mixing of the peoples of the world that began in Nueva España."

Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister and scion of a publishing family, swept to victory Sunday in Colombia's presidential election with a pledge to continue his predecessor's get-tough policies against crime and insurgency. Santos, 58, easily bested his challenger, former Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus. With 99% of votes counted, Santos had garnered 69% of the votes in the runoff election to his challenger's 27%. He will be inaugurated on Aug. 7. Santos, who also outpolled Mockus in last month's first-round election, had been heavily favored to win after he had gained the backing of several major political factions, including third-place finisher German Vargas Lleras.

The nation caught its first network prime-time glimpse of Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday. But just a glimpse. Your average channel surfer could have landed on Fox for UFC's heavyweight title bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos and witnessed everything in the time it takes to cook Minute Rice. PHOTOS: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos In short — and the fight UFC President Dana White billed as the biggest in his organization's history was — Velasquez, the defending heavyweight champion, was gone in 64 seconds.

Cain Velasquez wears the mien of a man you wouldn't want to upset. Of the last guy you'd want to bump into at the end of a dark alley. Of the most frightening figure you'd wake up from a nightmare to find standing at the end of your bed. But when Velasquez, the son of an immigrant farmer who picked lettuce to support his family, hears fans chant "Si, se puede!" ("Yes, we can!") and declare him a role model for Mexicans, he smiles. And the first Mexican fighter to win a heavyweight title in boxing or mixed martial arts — who will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title Saturday against Brazilian fighter Junior Dos Santos at Honda Center in Anaheim — doesn't appear so mean at all. "I'm happy Mexicans are known as hard-working people and people with a lot of heart," said the 6-foot-1, 240-pound Velasquez.