Another Visit to Medellin

OK – this should have been posted weeks ago…but really, there is just never, ever enough time.

This trip to Medellin was at the beginning of the month.  Between then and now, the day I get ready to post this – the very last day of May –I have made my way to Armenia, Laguna de Tota and Paipa en Boyaca and Cartagena, all of which merit separate entries.

As does the work in Bogota with the El Tiempo crime map and the Consejo de Redaccion corruption map, two of the projects I am doing as a Knight International Journalism Fellow here And let’s not forget about the development of the Bogota chapter of Hacks Hackers, something else I have been instrumental in establishing as part of my work here.

But quickly back to Medellin –

I made my way there for an event to mark World Press Freedom Day.

FundaMundo, the new foundation formed by the owners of El Mundo newspaper, a 40-year-old daily in Colombia’s second largest city, hosted the observance. Irene Gaviria, a lawyer and editor of El Mundo said a decision was made last year to change its business model and become a non-profit.

Her family has held most of the stocks in El Mundo since its founding.  She has taken over most of the management from her aging father. And she adamant about maintaining independence and objectivity in her coverage of the city where her brother was recently elected mayor.

Ok, yes, it’s complicated.

Irene is someone who doesn’t wait for things to happen – but strikes me as someone who sets out to make them happen herself. She took advantage of the World Press Freedom Day activities to officially announce the debut of FundaMundo.  I spoke briefly about ICFJ and our activities in Colombia, there. We also heard from Carlos Cortes on Internet freedom. And of course, about 200 members of Medellin’s media world learned about FundaMundo.

I got into Medellin the day before the event and went to a meeting with the Medellin and Antioquia controllers to learn about project working with student controllers.  Could they be possible participants in a citizen journalism effort?

I could go on – I won’t.  But one more thing to add to the Medellin mix that has nothing to do with journalism is the nature park that you get to by riding the metro up the mountain. Spectacular ride, spectacular park with a spectacular few hours spent there. 

Mother's Day in Colombia

Wish I had the pictures, but my camera didn't accompany me today. But we made our own day and it was delightful.   My friend Rosalba and I had a Mother's Day spree, taking ourselves out.  She is a delight -- always a smile, always good cheer, but not a Polyana, just out to enjoy life. She is a good influence. 

We started out at a local hotel -- five star -- that offers a free Sunday of cultural activities every Sunday -- generally kicking off with mass (very Catholic Colombia) an artisan fair,  a musical performane of some kind, and jugglers, clowns and more for the kids (and the adults, too).  It was an unusual day in Bogota -- no rain, which got things off to a really good start. So an outdoor mass was very appropriate. I even sat in on it -- as a good non-Catholic, nice Jewish girl, but it went with the territory and it felt right.

Then wandering around the artisan fair, got myself a pair earrings -- dangling ones which I can now wear again...A glass of wine in the hotel restaurant where we had intended to stay for lunch, but the service was terrible, thank goodness, because we left and went to Usaquen for a totally different experience.

Katmandu -- a little bit of India/Nepal/China/Marrakesh/Iran tucked away in one of Bogota's oldest colonial neighborhoods. Walk into the restaurant and you are walking into a different world. The sounds, the scents, the lighting, the ambiance, the way the tables are arranged and the dancers and musicians. A belly dancer and a drummer from Cordoba (Colombia) who accompanies her, but dressed for the part, looked more like I could have found him on the streets of anywhere but here. He played the darkuba, the drum used for bellydancing, like he was born to it. He wore the robes, the head gear, the earrings like a second skin. And they played to each other as she danced and he played.  Oh, yes, I forgot to mention, the food was great, too! 

Icing on the cake -- not just the dessert -- but they had gifts for all the mothers. Before we opened our  bags, we imagined they had given the moms chocolates. But it was even better -- two bars of scented soaps from Indonesia.  Yes, if I forgot to mention earlier, Mother's Day is a very big deal here. On every street corner, there was someone selling roses.  Wherever I went in the days leading up to My Day/Our Day, everyone wished him a happy mother's Day.  I am not going to make snide remarks here, but just take it at face value. It was nice.

P.S.  There is some hope for the pics, if Rosalba downloads them and sends them to me. And I will post them because we both look like real mamacitas. And that I do want to shre.

East of Bogota

La Minga...Choachi, and La Laguna Ubaque.  Three jewels literally within shouting distance of Bogota, about 50 miles east and a quick getaway from the "trancones", concrete and general stress of urban living in the city of more than 8 million we call home.

The dozen women who took the AWC - organized trip in April ended up with much more than we bargained for -- in the most positive of ways.  The way up was winding road. And we kept going up and up and up -- in fact so far up that we could look down on Monserrate.

Our hosts were the delightful couple who manage the property that is home to La Casa Gestante en La Minga en Choachi when founder and entrepreneur Pedro Molina is not there. Embarrassingly, I misplaced my notepad with their names.  But we got the full tour of what is an amazing piece of architecture and an equally amazing concept –where everything is ecologically sound and environmentally friendly.

All the structures are made of natural materials with construction based on three techniques -- bahareque, which uses timber, bamboo and mud; tapia pisada or stepped walls and adobe. Fruit and vegetables are grown on-site; there is a true roof garden and an ecological refrigerator. The building has a sauna, decks with amazing views surrounded by land that has a running brook, small waterfalls and lush vegetation.  

What makes the place so special is the philosophy behind it -- a belief in a real community give and take. We showed up just a few days after a “treque” where people trade what they have for what they want. Rural neighbors brought vegetables, fruits and plants they had grown, fresh cheeses and more; city visitors brought electrical goods, sporting goods, toys and used clothing. Everyone went away happy.

OK, enough.  The idea is just to give you a sense of the day. From La Minga, one of our organizers had the idea to make an already perfect day even better by driving to the nearby Laguna Ubaque and Choachi.  The lagoon is one of Cundinamarca's best-kept secrets. Those who can have weekend homes. Those who can't are happy with a half hour spent gazing out at the lagoon and in our case, sharing a bottle (or two) of wine.  The day included a quick stop in the town of Choachi, where even in the main plaza you could almost hear the silence.