This morning I awoke at 6am to the sound of car horns and loudspeakers blasting kitchy campaign jingles. As I peered outside, I saw a convoy of cars with Conservative Party regalia (of course they're first ones up on a Saturday) touting the merits of their candidates for congressional elections in March. I've had at three more convoys drive by my apartment and I shall be expecting one more to round out the list of Colombia's five major political parties. I'm beginning to develop a migraine as its been like this all day: shouting, car horns and blaring music nonstop. The scene couldn't have been any different yesterday when the Colombian Supreme Court decided that current president Alvaro Uribe could not stand for a 3rd term.
The whole city was in slow motion on Friday, with most Paisas glued to their radios listening to commentary of what could be the most important decision for the future of Colombia. Passing through downtown, I saw a large group of anti-Uribe protestors next to a group of pro-Uribistas, both ready to take to the streets, save for the heavy police deployment keeping them apart. Despite the level of anxiety that hung in the air prior to the ruling, there were no major disturbances afterwards. They closed most of the main streets in Medellín after the ruling and for the first time, I saw army patrols walking through the neighborhood to keep any potential troublemakers off the streets. In the downtown bars, the scene varied from table to table: some elated Paisas pouring shots and celebrating Uribe's departure, others somberly downing bottles of aguardiente and worrying about the future of their country.
Every Colombian will acknowledge the success Uribe has achieved in his security policy which has made the country safer than it has ever been since the Marxist insurgencies. However, when it comes to social and economic development, his merits become a little more jaded. Most people I've talked from more well-to-do economic backgrounds were Uribe supporters and consequently, disappointed that he can't run again. Their fear is that a president that doesn't have the cojones to stand up to the FARC and Hugo Chavez will allow the country to revert to a less secure place than before Uribe was elected. However, the alleged corruption and human rights violations that occurred during his 2nd term have caused many who support his security policy to jump ship. Those from less wealthy backgrounds that I've talked to have been Uribe's harshest critics, namely for his (mis)handling of social programs, as well as inability to adequately address the issue of displaced coca farmers who have remained jobless since their relocation.
The interesting thing about the supreme court ruling is that today, both congressional and presidential election campaigns have "officially" started. I was told that even the Colombian Stock Market was literally at a standstill Friday, as traders anxiously awaited the ruling. Many political campaigns were holding back on spending until after the ruling, even many for next month's congressional elections which will serve as a barometer for the presidential election in May. In any case, campaign chaos has finally arrived and the fact that the campaign periods are so short will definitely provide for some tasty commentary. More to come.
I stumbled across this blog the other day and was really impressed by its features, as well as in-depth historical perspective about sights and daily life here in Medellín. It's another Yankee who's spent a bit more time here than myself. It's also been recently nominated for a 2010 10th Annual Weblog Awards (aka the Bloggies). Anyways, if you want another perspective about the city, be sure and check it out.
"With a name like that, how can you lose?" proclaimed my buddy Dryan, in refrence to the alias of Deporte Independiente Medellín's soccer team (DIM): "The Mighty Mountain." Being that the owner of Casa del Sol is a DIM fan, when he takes us to games, we sit in the fan section, called the "hincha." The hincha is more than just the a place for the fanaticos, it's an organism.
When the opposing team comes downfield, the hincha is filled with jeers and whistles. When the opposing team has to kick from one of the corners, the hincha hurls water bottles and toilet paper over the fence at the player, only to be blocked by policemen holding their riot shields. Drums bang, trumpets sound, the center of the hincha is in constant song throughout the entire game. And speaking of songs, there are at least 15 different canciones that pump up the fanaticos de la norte. My favorites involve jeers towards the opposing team which were particularly barbed during the Antioquian Clasico against city rivals Nacional: "Todos antioqueños hijos de la tierra, los p*tos de verde son de Bogota" (all Antioqueños are children of the earth, the $#$% in green are from Bogota). Destiny would only pit two city rivals of Red and Green and North and South against each other. Nacional used to be good and has more overall champioships, however, DIM won the championship in Colombia only a couple months ago.
For me, the Clasico was much more about the crowd and the spectacle, rather than the game. DIM scored 3 minutes into the game, which is pretty rare for soccer. Nacional came back to even the score just before halftime, but DIM scored with 15 minutes left to win the 261st Clasico between the two. Observing the crowd was just as interesting for me, some fans climbed up on top of the backstop, a few were taken away for rowdy behavior and of all the people waving flags from other countries, a colombiano who happened to be waving the old stars and stripes was right in front of me
Though no riots or gas came after the game, as is frequently common with Clasicos in Argentina, the police did a pretty good job of separating the North and South sides with barricades to prevent any potential conflict. The game I saw last night, I paid much more attention to the gameplay. Cali was the opponent, and IMO, a much tougher opponent that Nacional. The first half was frustrating for many in the hincha as there were several shots on goal, but none made in the first 45. Much of this has to do with Aldo Bobadilla, DIM 's best player and consequently, the goalie. "El Paraguayo," is a pretty entertaining player to watch and you can check out some of his highlights here. As good as he is, he gave up a tough shot with 60 minutes into the game, at which point, you could see the fatigue and frustration on the side of DIM.
This is where the Poderoso de la Montaña finally found their rhythm, after several miscommunications on their offensive end. With 15 minutes left in the game, the hincha began to chant:"Vamos vamos poderoso, que esta noche, tenemos que ganar!" (let's go Red, because this night, we have to win). Most amazing to me was that the band and hincha sang on, despite bad calls and a near-score by Cali. This chant persisted to lift up the struggling DIM to tie the score with 6 minutes left in the game. The hincha erupted, celebrating, but still preoccupied with making it to extra time. However, during extra time, Cali committed a penalty inside the scoring area meaning that DIM was entitled to a penalty shot. With two players running misdirection, DIM cleverly shot the ball straight down the middle while Cali was off guard, making one of the smartest shots I've seen in soccer. This time the hincha exploded and strangers in red hugged other strangers in red as DIM squeaked out an impressive victory with little time left. The clapping and singing persisted throughout the stadium, led by their Vallenato victory song: (check this out if not for the song, just to see how awesome their coach's hair is)
As much as I may complain about how El Poblado is the most gringo touristy area in Medellín, I still usually find my way there at some point for the weekend. I still prefer staying in the Calasanz neighborhood. Poblado's fiesta's is only a 15 minute Metro away and you can actually get away from it out here if you favor seeing the sights. A friend took me to "Galeria de la Fama," a kitchy little bar that plays Colombian classics from the 60's 70's and 80s. The scene is more like karaoke sing along as these canciones del amor are played on big screens. It's called "musica para planchar," or "music to iron your clothes to" and brings hordes of girls downing aguardiente belting out heartbreaking lyrics to songs such as this:
Most of the songs have a Grease-meets-Bollywood vibe and while fun initially, after an hour of soppy love songs, I was ready to leave. I had the fortune of meeting a friendly Paisa who invited me to accompany her and her friends to Santa Fe de Antioquia. Leaning towards spontaneity (which I always do), they picked me up the next afternoon and we headed out. Santa Fe is an old Colonial town that gets a fair amount of day tourists coming from Medellín. We stayed at the very friendly Sweet Home Hostel there, whose Colombian owners were the perfect guides for exploring the area. After a delicious asado of steak, yucca and arepas, we ended up at a good ol' fashioned Paisa cockfight. Much more established than the last cockfight I saw in Indonesia, the roosters here fight in a wooden arena with about 100 or so spectators drinking, gambling, and squabbling. The fights themselves are pretty vicious, after one rooster is wounded enough, the victor climbs atop the vanquished and pecks out their eyes!
More than anything, I was surprised (but not really) to have the smell of BBQ sauce wafting through the bleachers, no doubt to baptize the vanquished on their way to rooster heaven. The cockfighting place also had a dance floor, which we took over with a lively troupe. It's difficult to explain the awesomeness that transpired sans photos but I can tell you that it was glorious: I learned to dance the Merengue, we did the limbo, staged a mock bullfight, and our waiter could breakdance (and took the opportunity to show us his mad skillz). I attribute all of this to the owners of the hostel and the wonderful Paisas that were staying there with us. Special shout out to my 3 new Paisa amigas who were kind enough to invite me and even lend me money after having difficulties with the ATMs there. Their type of hospitality is unparalleled, and serves to keep me here for some time longer.
I've officially logged a week at the Casa del Sol, which has gone quite well as the people staying here are very easygoing as are the owner and staff. I've done a fair amount of exploring in groups or with other people but yesterday was the first time I went out on my own. Flor, the hostel's cleaning lady I talk to on a pretty regular basis. She was complaining about another resident (from the U.S.) who was always snapping at her for tidying up the room, particularly when he's still sleeping in it. He teaches English in a university and she can't believe that he goes to teach his lessons without having bathed, brushed his teeth or put on a clean shirt.
This is actually a valid point on personal appearances in Latin America. As a whole, I'd say everyone dresses nicer than they do in the U.S. The Colombian or Panamanian businessman in the suit and jacket, sweating buckets as he goes about his day is evidence of this. I've found the best way to avoid unwanted gringo attention is to also avoid the shorts n' t-shirt style of the obvious tourist. But, more importantly, your image and your behavior while you are traveling/working/living abroad will inevitably come to reflect positively or negatively on your fellow countrymen. So while it's important to be comfortable while on vacation, if you're staying a while, think about it. I'm sick of having Aussies in flip flops with no Spanish skills complain about how they can't get a woman at the club to dance with them.Taking Flor's advice (and blessing) I headed out wearing a nice shirt, cleanly shaven and was eventually blessed two more times by different people that day. I had about extended chats with locals throughout lunch and on the street. "Thank you for coming here and welcome to Medellín," each one of them would say at the end.
Being in the market was overwhelming. As I was talking to the butcher, every other employee in the store slowly crept into the conversation. It's hard not to get sick of the same types of questions (where I'm from, what I enjoy about Colombia), but this market obviously didn't get many visitors from the U.S. who could communicate well. The señora weighing produce even tried to hook me up with her daughter, who blushed behind her "Vaquito" apron. I'd received some of these niceties while in Argentina, but not this frequently, not to this degree. True, my Spanish is better now, but in reality, Colombians are just an incredibly warm and outgoing people. With five store employees all listening to my gringo stories, I felt the pressure to conclude with something funny or witty but all I could come up with was: "well, I gotta get home and cook this meat!" As they all waved goodbye it dawned on me how goofy yet amiable I sound in Spanish which is maybe not such a bad thing.
Casa del Sol is the antithesis of the majority party hostels that make up Medellín's Zona Rosa. Spanish is the preferred language and the house provides many opportunities to practice. Needless to say, the vibe is more laid back and the travelers staying here are semi-permanent residents rather than passing through to the next fiesta. The other day two Argentines came by, meaning that we had to drink some Maté and shoot the breeze. On our way to buy tickets for Medellín's fútbol "Classico" (traditional rivalry), we decided to take a detour towards the barrio of Santo Domingo. I've already showered Medellín's MetroRail with tons of compliments, but here's a few more: in addition to the many convenient stops throughout the city, For the price of 1500 pesos (75 cents), you are also entitled to a Gondola Ride.
The super modern MetroCable system was introduced as part of Medellín's MetroRail in 2006. There are several more MetroCables to various areas around the city and more under construction. The logic behind building these was geared towards developing the lower-income neighborhoods that line the highest reaches of outer Medellín. From the example of Santo Domingo, it looks like things are really rolling. Once inaccessible to tourists, the twisting cobbled streets remind of a small town Italy or Spain. We got a fantastic a lunch for only 5,000 pesos then headed down to the black obelisk that is the barrio's library/community/daycare center. These architectural peculiarities have been popping up all over the city, giving Medellín a very furturistic and developed feel. (No surprise the current mayor is an architect).
Ah but walking with Argentines was fun, because every time anyone shouted "gringos," I could shake my head and yell back "argentinos!" Ah but alas, we were the true boludos, as none of us remembered to bring a camera. And with that I'll leave you with some amazing images that show how many cool buildings like this exist in Medellín.
Since Brent went back to the States I've been slacking a bit on the blog, don't let this lull you into thinking I've just been partying and napping all the time (though those are the key agendas of most living the hostel life in Bogotá), Switching from the swanky Zona Rosa to the more humbled and weathered colonial barrio of La Candelaria was refreshing, mainly because it sits up a little higher than where the downtown smog can creep. From what I've heard, La Candelaria used to be quite dodgy, some of which still shows. Though not present around the pristine museums and starbucks-style cafés during the day, there is still a smattering of the homeless that are often overly persistent in their pestering for money. La Candelaria more or less tows the Lonely Planet line of "wonderful during the day, still a little sketchy at night."
Though the Universities that frame the area and the development that has accompanied them has created a certain shine and sparkle. The area also sits in the shadow of El Monserrate Cathedral, perched high atop Bogota's largest hill:
A quick gondola ride to the top reveals how massive Bogotá truly is. 8+million people never looked like so much until crowded into a valley and jammed up onto the hills. The valley itself isn't that wide, causing urban sprawl to stretch on for miles. Much like L.A., lots of distance to cover equals horrendous traffic and the sad part is the public transportation. When traveling I make a concerted effort to take public transportation options as much ase possibl, but when they stink as bad as Bogota's it's difficult. The TransMilenio was established a few years back and while it has helped to facilitate the movement of people, it's not enough. I'm not fully conviced of the Bus Rapid Transit systems, though they've had some success in places like Curitiba, Brazil. Even with 2 special bus lanes, the seemingly-always crowded TransMilenio buses still take between 30 mins. to an hour to get from La Candelaria to the Zona Rosa.
It's particularly difficult to be objective in judging the TransMilenio in contrast to Medellín's futuristic Metro trains: fast, quiet and air-conditioned. Chalk that up as one reason I don't think I'd choose Bogotá as a place of residence anytime soon. There are still a lot of really poor areas. Walking to an open air market about twenty five blocks from Candelaria (during the day), down one street I saw a market that so resembled a middle-eastern bazaar, I was too apprehensive to stop and take a photo. In spite of it's poorer areas, Bogotá does have a lot of nice safe areas worth exploring. I was fortunate enough to learn about the "Buseta" (small bus) system to make it out to some of the nicer barrios. Though clearly developing (esp. within the past 10 years), it's just a little harder to seek out the beauty in Bogotá when you contrast it with some of the smaller Colombian cities who aren't as burdened with the classic problems faced by all capital cities.
I was walking down the street today and noticed a sign promoting Eduardo Noriega for the 2010 Senatorial elections that resembled someone familiar....
Not all of his poses look like this, but I think they chose this pic for a reason. Eduardo Noriega, who has fifty-one (though he doesn't look it) years of being a lawyer under his belt has "dedicated his whole life to public service and looks to shake things up by having more diversity in the media and mass communication." This instantly reminded me of the six Brazilian candidates in 2008 who adopted the name "Barack Obama" to try and cash in on the world's Obamamania. This demonstrates that despite being the big, bad Yankee promoting U.S. military use of 7 Colombian military bases, the mantra Obama still has some serious shine here in Colombia.
Whenever I've talked about the military base issue, most Colombians have been quicker to fault President Uribe, rather than Obama. While almost all give him credit for helping bring the security situation under control, many are quick to point out his neglect for constitutionality, human rights, or a number of other issues. Though it seems like every Colombian I've asked is against it, opinion polls favor Uribe in the upcoming May 30 referendum to see if he can be elected for a 3rd term.
