On Episode 433, we take a look at a couple of the stories coming out of Colombia which may have escaped your notice with various events ocurring around the world, stealing the headlines in the foreign pages of your newspapers and outlets. After the Colombia news brief with journalist Emily Hart, I sit down to give you an extremely abridged and summerised overview of the report and findings of the Truth Commission and of a report produced by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Neither make for gentle reading. Thank you again for your support and please consider subscribing and signing up at www.patreon.com/colombiacalling
In another exciting episode of the Colombia Calling podcast, we prioritize all questions put to us by our Patreon supporters (www.patreon.com/colombiacalling) and answer all of your queries regarding the future government and potential policies of Colombia's president-elect Gustavo Petro. This in an unedited recording with myself and journalist Emily Hart and the voice files kindly submitted by experts in their fields, Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, the leading Colombia human rights advocate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Kyle Johnson of Fundación Conflict Responses, CORE. We discuss security issues in Colombia, international business, financial flight under a leftist president, the vice president Francia Marquez, Petro's period as mayor of Bogotá, worst case scenarios, Alvaro Uribe and much more. News from journalist Emily Hart and a huge thank you to the excellent questions sent in my all of you.
On this week's Colombia Calling, we get to talk to members of musical collectives, bullerengue groups and the Colombian disapora in London and to hear about a new folkloric music festival they have set up in Barcelona: Prende la Vela, from July 29-31 2022. "We also want to transcend the political polarization in Colombia. For us, folkloric music is not just about entertainment. This festival will not just be fun. Ancestral music unites Colombians, it is our collective root, whilst polarization has continually torn the country apart for decades if not centuries. Even if it’s for a matter of hours, or a weekend, peace in our ‘encuentro de tambores afrocolombianos por la “paz”’ means that moment of transcending bitter politics by appreciating our collective ‘oneness’ through the medium of music." Thank you to Nick, Taty, Esteban and Valeria for their time and vision. Tune in to hear more about this festival and some of the bands playing such as La Perla, Lumbalú, Akolá Tambó,...
In this week's episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Ander Agudelo, an entrepreneur from Medellín, keen on telling us about some of the realities of the city beyond the popular tourist haunts of El Poblado and Laureles. By way of Ander's online and on-site Spanish classes (Spanglish 360 Academy on facebook and Instagram), we hear about the urban regeneration of the city, much lauded in the international press, but also, the reality of being a middle to lower income resident of the city. Enjoy this frank conversation and the Colombia News Brief from journalist Emily Hart.
On Episode 429 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we're allowing the dust to settle on the recent presidential elections in Colombia and take a look at one of Colombia's first free-thinkers, Antonio Nariño. Our special guest this week is Emily Hausheer who has investigated in-depth the life and times of Nariño. It all begins with the outbreak of the French Revolution which sets Nariño's mind on fire. He translated the Declaration of the Rights of Man and had the document printed in his own house (1794). He might as well have handled dynamite. He was accused of sedition, convicted by the highest court of the land, and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in Africa, permanent exile, and the confiscation of his property (1795). Hear the full story of this incredible individual.
Over the last fifteen years Colombia has moved from ostensibly failed state to emerging market and tourist destination, providing Nobel-endorsed evidence that peace and reconciliation are possible after decades of brutalization. But while Colombia may no longer be the country that former president Ernesto Samper described in 2002, where governing was like trying to pilot an airplane in a storm while the passengers were rioting, neither is it the wonderland depicted in official propaganda. Many Colombians live badly; many more, well into the nominal middle class, live precariously; and still more structure their lives around minimizing their chances of falling victim to crime—something the poorest are unable to do. Unhappiness about the present and pessimism about the future are rampant across the social scale, focused precisely on those themes the Juan Manuel Santos government (2010–2018) touted as successes: the peace process, “social inclusion,” and infrastructure and public s...
Colombian writer, journalist, philosopher and art dealer Juan Pablo Plata joins us on this week's Colombia Calling podcast (Episode 427) to discuss Colombia as a literary experience and how literature in Colombia has been defined over each decade by single-crop farming (monocultivo) and extractive industries. Perhaps, says Plata, we can look at Palm Oil, Coca (for cocaine), Bananas, Coal, Oil Coltan, Rubber and beyond as defining literature in Colombia depending on the era? And certainly, Jorge Isaacs, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Laura Restrepo and others can be linked directly to this phenomenon. "We already know that the best Colombian history is written by anglosaxons," said Plata. We discuss anglosaxon literature on Colombia, such as by authors such as Malcolm Deas, Davd Bushnell and Wade Davis before plunging into Colombia's new literary frontier of ELO (literatura electonica colombiana). Check out Juan Pablo Plata on Twitter: @jppescribe and his literary magazine: Colina Revista -...
What a rollercoaster of an afternoon we had, viewing the results of the first round of the Colombian presidential election as they came in. On this week's Colombia Calling podcast, we chat to Mark Kennedy (journalist: Latin American Advisor and Inter-American Dialogue) and throw around ideas regarding the voting and how this develops for both candidates in the second round on 19 June. The polls had predicted a win for Gustavo Petro for months and over the past three weeks we had witnessed a surge in support for outsider Rodolfo Hernández, but there were few who would have bet safe money on Hernández overtaking Uribista and continuity candidate, Federico Gutiérrez by such a wide margin. So what now for the two leading canddiates Petro and Hernández and then Gutiérrez and Fajardo, what deals are being made? What does Hernández need to do to win and what should Petro be doing now? All this and more on this week's Colombian Presidential Election Special.
Dr Hannah Meszaros Martin is not a newcomer to the Colombia Calling podcast having previously joined us on Ep413 "What is Forensic Architecture?" On Episode 425 she brings her wealth of knowledge on the topic of glyphosate to the podcast to discuss its history, use in the eradication of coca and beyond. She says: "the eradication of coca cannot be seen as separate from the armed conflict in Colombia." What becomes clear and as Meszaros Martin explains, in Colombia and in this industry, the licit and the illicit rely on one another. Hear about land becoming sterile after decades of fumigation with glyphosate and then re-appropriated by destructive industries such as petroleum exploration, palm oil and cattle farming. We also discuss the possible policies presented by the two main presidential candidates, Gustavo Petro and Federico Gutiérrez, regarding fumigation with glyphosate in Colombia.
Shafik Meghji is an award-winning travel writer, journalist and author based in South London specialising in Latin America and South Asia. But on this episode 424 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we discuss his new book: "Crossed off the Map, Travels in Bolivia," and also pick his brains about travel in Colombia. Tune in to hear fun banter with Meghji as we hear how he went from being a sports journalist to a travel writer and his adventures in Colombia's Llanos, Providencia and his in-depth exploration into the traditional drink of Chicha. Buy the book and here's what people are saying about it! ‘Meghji skilfully unveils the layers of this complex society with candour and a warm curiosity. It makes you want to get on the next flight to Bolivia.’ Noo Saro-Wiwa, author of Looking for Transwonderland https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Shafik-Meghji/dp/1909014257/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=