Back in Cartagena

Nothing special to report this time, except that I'm much better suited to the humid coast than I am to the cloudy, dismal Andes. Bogota was very busy, but lots of fun. I stayed with my friends Andres and Maria Paula, saw my friend Sebastian (who's blog I'll talk about in a future post), and saw some (but not all) of my family. Also went to the Feria del Libro (book fair), where the big themes were Don Quixote's 400th birthday and China.

Here are a couple links about a documentary called La Sierra about paramilitaries near Medellin, this one from the NY Times, and this from eye, which features the following quote:

There may be more depressing ways to spend an hour-and-a-half than watching La Sierra but it's hard to imagine what they'd be, unless they involved black garbage bags, a lake and a large quantity of kittens. Scott Dalton and Margarita Martinez's astounding documentary follows the lives of several youths in the barrio of Medellín, Colombia -- gun-wielding teenage proxies for the country's many paramilitary and guerilla groups. It's murderous, heartbreaking stuff seeing 15-year-olds so fatalistic even Travis Bickle would duck for cover -- but this is essential viewing, if lacking in contextual detail.

Great, all Colombia needs is more publicity about its violence. I give Juan Forero of the Times credit--he does his best to write some intriguing features on the complexity of life here. But for the most part, the only time Colombia appears on the news in the States is when there's a drug bust, or a kidnapping, or something in that vein. It's kinda like that way we only hear news about Germany when there's a neo-Nazi rally or something. This June you'll be able to see for yourself at the Walter Reade Theater--or you could come to Cartagena and see a much more beautiful side of Colombia.

More on this theme to come. As for now, I have to see about sorting out an apartment and getting in touch with some musicians in the city. Tomorrow's a full day, with meetings here at the Santa Clara and at the Teatro Heredia. I need to schedule a swim in the ocean sometime this week....