After the Earthquake: Juan’s Life
Juan was a construction helper. He lived in Armenia, but his parents were from the Antioquia region, who had fled because of the violence there. The mother of his children was called…
Read More
Country: Colombia
Hurricanes, Society, and the Culture of Citizenship
Today’s discussion is on “Hurricanes, Society and the Culture of Citizenship.” In addition to physical destruction and the loss of human lives, hurricanes leave their imprint on nature, society, its way…
Read More
Remembering Armero
Dreadful images bind Colombians together. It doesn´t matter if you are rich or poor; from the coast or from the Andean highlands; if you side with the left or with the right, the one thing…
Read More
Salsa Dancers from Cali, Colombia Hop Onto the World Stage
Once, people of the ocean, from the coast, moved to the valley, hoping to put the Andes between them and Colombia’s decades of killing. Now, 28 of their grandchildren stood on the cusp of history. No, they danced on it. Their $2-a-week-salsa dance classes and rehearsals at Luis Carlos Caicedo’s Nueva Dimension academy on the gritty outskirts of Cali had paid off. The group of grade-schoolers and teens had scored an invitation …
Read More
Colombia’s Broken Body: El Colegio del Cuerpo: The College of the Body
We Colombians are constantly asking ourselves what we can do for this torn and martyred country from the vantage point of our work activities. Anguished, intimidated and powerless, we see how the language of weapons and death has become entrenched in our society. Every day, more and more Colombians become resigned to the idea that only total warfare, dragging us down to the abyss, will allow us to find a solution. …
Read More