It was a typical July day in the Colombian coastal tropics: sweltering heat, glaring sun, and severe humidity. Even in the shade of the big mango tree where I was sitting, my back was moist and sweat trickled down my forehead. Around me the voices of one hundred indignant peasants argued back and forth. They were usuarios, members or literally ‘users’ of the irrigation district, and they were congregated for the third General …
Read MoreWhen I first started working on this ReVista issue on Colombia, I thought of dedicating it to the memory of someone who had died. Murdered newspaper editor Guillermo Cano had been my entrée into Colombia when I won an Inter American Press Association fellowship in 1977. Others—journalist Penny Lernoux and photographer Richard Cross—had also committed much of their lives to Colombia, although their untimely deaths were …
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Colombia’s coffee zone with its rolling green mountains has long been associated with steaming hot cups of coffee and ruana-clad peasant farmers in the classic style of Juan Valdez. …
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In Andean tales, the fox is always the central figure, a hero who is never wins, but who is also never defeated either. His comings and goings stretch from mythical times to colonial history …
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While many Colombians are desperate to escape the bombings and kidnappings that have ripped into daily life here, others want to stay, roll up their sleeves and make a difference….
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