Sin Nombre: Relevant, Intense, Heart-Wrenching
SUMMARY: I review Sin Nombre, the best film I’ve seen in a long time about a Mexican gang member trying to escape his past and help an innocent Honduran girl safely enter the United States. Themes discussed include MS-13, immigration and human rights, love, and more.
I wasn’t going to include this post on this blog (only my other blog), but WordPress.com apparently doesn’t allow embedding YouTube videos so I’m posting it here as well because I spent a lot of time finding those fucking videos!
Sin Nombre is the best film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s also the first Spanish-language movie I watched without subtitles. They weren’t available at the pirated DVD market where I bought the disc. Fortunately I had no trouble understanding. … Read more
South London Gangster in Colombia
SUMMARY: This story of John Rowley, a British conman / gangster and old friend of The Mick, includes famous heists, jaw-dropping excess and drug abuse, prison, and an early death.
Alternate Title: Old Prison Pal of The Mick Lives Fast, Dies Young
The Mick first heard of John Rowley in his days as a heroin-addicted thief on the streets of London. Both worked among the criminal underworld of petty crime and bank robberies. The Mick had heard of an established gunman named John Rowley but didn’t meet him until their paths crossed in Colombia.
In The Mick’s words, John Rowley was a conman and playboy who’d charm anybody he met while relieving them of value, then would turn around and spend everything he stole with anybody around him on amazing excess. This story of John Rowley is entirely based on what he told The Mick and what The Mick saw with his own eyes. … Read more
Contributed Story: Instability in Tijuana
SUMMARY: Luis from Borrowed Flesh describes a day in Tijuana, one of the more violent cities in Mexico, which US officials have stated runs the risk of becoming a “failed state.”
An old man draped in filthy rags blinked in the unrelenting Mexican sun. His creased face was the color of a brown paper bag and he sported a dingy yellow cowboy hat. Out of tired rheumy eyes, he watched three white Ford trucks – Tijuana paddy wagons – hurtling down a broad street kicking up dust. Several police clung to the sides as they raced by – dark eyes filled with fear and hatred, faces covered in black masks. One stared back at the old man, fingering his shiny black AK-47. The old man stood glaring in apathy.
Seconds later and blocks away, gunfire and a rumbling explosion erupted. Five more trucks careened past, followed by monstrous paramilitary vehicles while the street teemed with pedestrians casually going about their affairs. … Read more
My Juanes Post
SUMMARY: I live in Colombia, and I blog, so I must blog about Juanes. Just this once.
Juanes is a Colombian musician who’s sold over ten million albums and won a record 17 Latin Grammy awards. He’s widely considered the most successful Latin musician of his generation. For his personal philanthropy, Juanes campaigns against anti-personnel mines, which are a serious issue in Colombia. Juanes was selected by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2005. … Read more
The Mick’s Prison Murder
SUMMARY: The Mick participated in murdering a fellow inmate during the first year of his 4-year sentence in Colombian prison. This is the story.
WARNING: There’s graphic violence in this story. Women, children, parents, nuns, clergy – you’ve been warned. If you don’t want to read grisly prison violence, then do NOT click:
The Mick and The Addicts
SUMMARY: This post is a preview of upcoming content. A new feature to the blog will be stories from three new friends: Dennis The Mick and my two addict buddies, Winston and Alejandro. Dennis from ‘Dublin Docks’ moved to Colombia in the 80s intending to move cocaine. He did four years in prison, where he learned Spanish, and stayed in Colombia ever since. My two addict buddies were bazuceros in the 90s. They went sober about 8 years ago, so their fascinating tales from the trenches of Bogota’s drug scene survived.
The Mick
I was walking through Plaza Lourdes one day when some old man spoke to me in English. He asked about my St. Patrick’s Day t-shirt. Assuming he was a panhandler, I played tough and tried to brush him off, but he managed to slow me down and introduce himself. Dennis from Dublin, Ireland, has lived in Bogota for over 20 years and hadn’t met a gringo in a while. He invited me to coffee. I agreed.
We sat down in a cafe and Dennis ordered two teas. I got his story.
He came to Colombia in the 80s; his original intent was to bring large quantities of cocaine back to Ireland. … Read more
