Henry, who has been helping me with Spanish and I with his English, invited me to an environmental short film festival in Envigado. I enjoyed the films, some interpretive, some literal, all in Spanish which evaded me completely.

I attempted to absorb the meanings subliminally. All that language is out there somewhere, out in the noosphere, stirring in the collective subconscious, and it´s as much a part of me as anybody else. Why not tap in an suck straight from the source?

I left oblivious.

Also along was wild, chatty Olga, who buzzes around town on a motorized scooter in a helmet which she describes as ¨muy bacano¨ - really cool. She couldn´t take me for a ride, however. A recent rise in ¨drug and vengence¨ related murders prompted the local officials to instate a month-long ban on male passengers on motorbikes, the prime getaway vehicle. The measure is working, Henry said. Murder rates are down, so far.

But so what?

Not everyone requires the comfort of a motorized escape vehicle when enraptured with those thorny, deliberate emotions which demand death to assuage. Amu the Jolly German witnessed a shooting on a sports field not two weeks ago, the culprit disappearing on foot once the deed was done. And just yesterday, a student was shot four times at the university across the street from my apartment under accusation of affiliation with the leftist guerilla revolutionary militants, FARC.

The shooting of drug addicts, prostitutes, theives, and FARC members occurs regularly as part of a mysterious program known as ¨Limpieza Social¨ - cleaning society. Some people blame the Augilas Negras (Black Eagles), a rouge faction of retired cops who have taken the law into their own hands. Others blame right-wing fundamentalist radicals known as ¨paramilitaries¨. Some even suggest that the goverment itself is employing clandestine groups to remove the undesirables from society. A hit-list was recently distributed indicating thirty students at the universities who had been identified as FARC infiltrators. You can bet that at least twenty-nine check marks indicating ¨absent¨ will be made over the course of the day.

The pressure for neutraility from both sides creates a situation where people are kept in a constant state of fear of expressing political opinions which deviate from dead-center. It´s kind of like wearing a blue bandana in the wrong L.A. barrio, except the tension centers around something a bit more personal than crack dealing territiory. Every so often the conflict reaches boiling point, with masked guerillas and paramilitaries alike opening fire and throwing home-made ¨potato bombs¨ until the riot police arrive and tear gas everyone out of the university.

So maybe its no wonder that Medellin has something of a reputation, hell, all of Colombia has something of a reputation for being somewhat...unsafe.

The average tourist has nothing to fear, however, except the run-of-the-mill street slime you´d find lurking in any urban environment. For example, a few days ago I was approached by a dude in broad daylight who rattled something off in rapid-fire Spanish. I offered him some bread rolls, which I´ve begun to carry around habitually as a result of sheer boredom with making excuses when approached for loose change.

I finally gathered that he wanted to see my cell phone. He was concerned that it might be stolen. Which meant he wanted to steal it. Just around the corner was ¨Los Puentes¨, the local liberated goods emporium.

I told him no. His left eye twitched. I could see from his tight fitting clothes that he wasn´t carrying a gun. He may have had a knife, but he also had a limp. A power-walking granny could have lost the poor bastard. So I walked away.

Now I reflect on beautiful Colombia, a country too lazy and disorganized to ever become a threat to anyone but itself, and am reminded of the words of the late Donovan -

¨Que sera, sera.¨

written by  chaddeal on March 13, 2009 from Medellin, Colombia
from the travel blog: The Great Pan-American Synchronistic Cycle Extravaganza Unlimited
Send a Compliment

---

Holy papayas, Chad! Not only adventures, but intrigue,riots, and murder right in your neighborhood!
I guess I don't have to tell you to "Proceed with Caution"! You definitely have some lively ideas for a great story or book now, I'm sure.
I hope you have a fun week ahead with Jill! (Now that news is a surprise!)
Love you much, Mom

written by  Viki Deal on March 13, 2009

comment on this...