Old School Bogota: An Ode to the Venerable Traditional Cafe

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Almost as far as the eye can see – grey skies permitting – Salmona-inspired brick apartment blocks are shooting up all over Bogota leaving precious little breathing space in barrios such as Cedritos, Chapinero and beyond. Hit the city at ground level, take a day out to give in to your urges as a closet hipster and sit on the cracked pavement, preferably near an independent bookstore, don those thick -rimmed glasses (whether you need a prescription or not), ridiculous plaid trousers and pose ironically alongside the gritty urban-ism  of

Romantic Vallenato Music: Colombia’s Worst Creation?

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Subjected in my rural office, to two nearby riverside kiosks intent upon drowning out one another and inflicting the rest of us to raucous, skull splitting and above all tedious strains of romantic vallenato music at all hours of the day, you could say that I’ve had some time to establish a profound dislike for this Colombian popular music genre.

And what better time to compose a rant than with the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata taking place in Valledupar this week. No, this is not an attack upon the festival; in fact,

Alvaro Uribe: the Complex Role of a Former President

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Alvaro Uribe needs to settle down comfortably into his velvety sitting room slippers, dedicate his time to critiquing leather-bound copies of political discourse, walking his dogs on the finca(s) and lending his valid opinion to the center pages of illustrious publications belonging to international right wing think tanks.

Alvaro Uribe Velez

Alvaro Uribe Velez

This image, almost a pastoral one, of Colombia’s former president is about as realistic as cold fusion. The ex-president himself has displayed his reluctance to fade away into a John Major-esque existence of

Reminded of London

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I spotted this act of vandalism the other day and it took me right back to circa 1996 and reminded me of life in London. Sometimes there is graffiti and humour so crass and unimaginative that it positively cries out to be shared. So, when I spotted this on a signpost yesterday in Chapinero, I knew it had to go online. This is not to be confused with a “Colombianada“.

3 Cu"p"os

3 Cu”p”os

I only wish I had a camera on me