Vallenato in Colombia
Alternate Title: My 1st Party in Colombia & I’m Going Back to AA
SUMMARY: I describe a party where I see my first vallenato band. And after the party I decide to go back to AA. Vallenato video at the end.
I sometimes frequent a cafe in my neighborhood because it’s a local student hangout for the university across the street and they sell beers for 1500 pesos ($0.70).
Now, I had been thinking that I’ve been drinking too much lately and I cooled out for a while. However, one of the managers of this fine establishment started hounding me to come to their big party on Friday. What was the occasion? Friday was the last day of the students’ semester.
So I went without a drink from Sunday until Friday and I was feeling great. I realized I had to make an appearance at the cafe since the manager’s brother Guillermo is probably going to be a client of mine. I planned to make an appearance, have a beer or two, and disappear while no one was looking… Read more
My First Paisa in Colombia
SUMMARY: I get drunk and go to Plaza Lourdes to get high. I meet my first paisa, a pseudo-ethnic subculture in Colombia.
Alternate Title: My First Run-In with Cocaine in Colombia
I met my first paisa last week. I’d heard about the paisas before. The guy who worked the graveyard shift at my Candelaria hotel was from Medellin, as are the paisas. He told me they’re the crazy culture in Colombia. The street-smart, hot-headed people. Somewhat involved in crime. Quick to pull guns. In other words, they’re the niggaz of Colombia. The black Colombians don’t have that reputation here; the paisas do.
The most famous paisas include Pablo Escobar (of Medellin Cartel fame) and, ironically, the current president Alvaro Uribe, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush last year. Others include Juanes and painter Fernando Botero. The paisas aren’t necessarily of a different ethnic lineage. The Medellin region is their distinction. They’re associated with the coffee industry, and cocaine too. In fact, the textbook stereotype of a paisa is Juan Valdez, the face figure of the Juan Valdez coffee brand. Juan Valdez is the Starbucks of Colombia, a chain of coffee shops modeled after Starbucks.
So I was drinking rum in Plaza Lourdes on a Thursday night. … Read more
Colombian Food: 1st Impressions
SUMMARY: Descriptions of three of my favorite Colombian plates: bandeja paisa, changua, and fruit salads. With pictures.
Colombian food is not as good as Peruvian. Peru has spoiled me. I met a Peruvian here in Bogota who says that Colombian food is good if you are willing to spend. That’s my problem (I’m broke). In Peru, you don’t have to spend a lot to eat well.
Most of the Colombian lunches include a piece of meat, rice and fries. Colombian arroz con pollo is yellow, and its nice of them to cut the chicken off the bone, but it’s not as flavorful as Peruvian arroz con pollo. I miss Peruvian food.
It’s worth mentioning the obvious: Colombian coffee kicks ass. Even in a company office where I teach a class, they serve (office) coffee in tiny three-ounce cups because it’s so strong.
These are three awesome Colombian plates: Bandeja Paisa, Changua, and Fruit Salad. … Read more
Crime and the Bogota Mentality
DISCLAIMER: This post shouldn’t dissuade tourists from visiting Bogota. It’s a great town, but crime is a problem. I got mugged my first week. Sections include The Suit in La Candelaria, The Bogota Atmosphere, and The Bogota Mentality.
Introductory Anecdote: The Suit in La Candelaria
One night before moving out of La Candelaria, I was watching the corner from my 3rd floor hotel room around 8:30 pm. At this particular corner, there’s always a vagrant or two going through bags of trash, asking passersby for money, or something like that.
Down a hill to the west, I saw a young Colombian gentleman in a suit carrying a briefcase walking toward this corner. Heading down the same hill away from the corner was a dirtball. Dirtball may not have been a panhandler or a stick-up kid, but he obviously didn’t work for a living. Dirtball didn’t ask The Suit for change. As soon as they passed each other, The Suit jerked his head around to keep an eye on Dirtball. … Read more
Barranco Murals
This post features photos of the murals in the Barranco neighborhood in Lima, Peru (also the last post on the Peru chapter).
Save Barranco!
SUMMARY: Profile / description of the coolest neighborhood in Lima. Sections include SALVEMOS BARRANCO!, Kaminu Hostal, Galería Lucía de la Puente, Pedro de Osma Museum, and Help Retro Bar. This post is mostly pictures.
Being the hipster wannabe that I am, I skipped the Miraflores scene when picking a Lima neighborhood to stay in. I settled on Barranco, which is just south of Miraflores along the coast. I fell in love with this part of town. Beautiful, clean, safe, and with an artsy personality not found in Miraflores.
Between our hostel and Barranco’s pasaje of bars, we were offered weed an average of five times per day; the average fluctuated with how much time we spent in the neighborhood. Barranco also features the best murals in the city … Read more
