Beyond the uber-famous, internationally-known Shakira and Juanes, Colombian music is a thick stew of flavors and spices ladled in from the three founding cultures of the country: Euro, indigenous, and, most potently, Afro. And, as in most post-colonial societies, it is the music of Colombian artists that speaks most loudly against injustice and in homage […]
Global Juke Joint: Soundz of Colombia Read More
Recently screened at the Havana Film Festival New York, the 12-minute short film, Hispaniola, tackles Haitian-Dominican relations on the Caribbean’s second-largest island. Director Freddy Vargas shows us how childhood friendships can be marred by issues of race, class, and nationality as we watch a rich, light-skinned Dominican kid befriend the son of Haitian migrant workers
From the AV Room: Hispaniola Read More
Carnaval de Barranquilla, February 2009 One of the traditions of Carnival here in Colombia is the throwing of corn starch and water on unsuspecting revelers. This is the first time in three years that someone has succeeded in tagging me. Leave it to three intrepid Colombianas down from New Jersey…they had been plotting from the
Colombia Mía: Maizena y Agua Read More
Photo by Colombian soul The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday in all Catholic-leaning societies is called Holy Week, Semana Santa in Spanish. The end of the sacrificial season of Lent, the start of which is commemorated lustily with Carnival, offers the faithful their chance to celebrate with pageantry, color, and prayer, Christ’s resurrection
Holy Week in Colombia Read More
Originally published in the Orlando Sentinel, May 2007. The Middle of the World is a dusty place. And actually, there are three Middles of the World in Ecuador. The sun beats down ferociously on the equatorial line less than an hour north of this country’s capital, Quito. A bus from the city dropped me off
The Middle of the World Read More
The title “Third Largest City* in the World” never moved beyond the abstract until I found myself circling over the Valley of Mexico on the descent into the Mexican capital back in 2004, when I actually had hair and the associated hairline (and before I caught a whiff of that very special mega-city further south).
Lately, I’ve been reading through traveler extraordinaire Chris Guillebeau’s The Art of Nonconformity, an inspiring multipurpose blog encouraging people to live, work, and travel outside the box. With posts like “Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World” and the downloadable “A Brief Guide to World Domination,” Guillebeau seems to have found
Fly Brother’s Fly-By-Night Dime-Store Travel Philosophy Read More
This month, the brief but insightful CNN program “My City My Life” follows brotherman and ballet phenom, Carlos Acosta, around his beloved Havana. Having been forced into ballet by his father as a way to keep him out of trouble, Acosta wound up being the first black principal dancer in the London Royal Ballet, followed
This lil fella belonged to a locksmith in the Soledad neighborhood of Bogotá. While I was waiting for some keys to be cut, he sat down in the doorway to take in the breeze and watch the traffic go by. I’m not that into pets, much less pets with clothes, but I couldn’t resist this
Colombia Mía: Doggy with Blow Hair, Bogotá Read More
“Adore” by I:Cube. The sonic embodiment of travel. The video’s not bad; I love his jog through the terminal. Flight 245 to Caracas: I’m on it! First heard: Atlanta to Madrid First Class Cabin (buddy pass) Delta Air Lines August 2004 Last heard: Five minutes ago Appears on: Adore Hotel Costes Vol. 2 – La
Global Juke Joint: The Fly Brother Theme Song Read More
