Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

Imagine a work of fiction set in Colombia where the line between real and unreal, fact and fiction no longer exists...this is what you get when you read author Lachlan Page's debut novel, Magical Disinformation. Think Waugh, think Greene and then a smattering of de Bernieres and you know what you're in for, a romp of a read which brings a smile to your lips as you enjoy this fast moving tragicomedy.

Oliver Jardine is a spy in Colombia, enamoured with local woman Veronica Velasco. As the Colombian government signs a peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas, Her Majesty’s government decides a transfer is in order to focus on more pertinent theatres of operation. In a desperate attempt to remain in Colombia, Jardine begins to fabricate his intelligence reports. But the consequences soon take on a life of their own.

In the era of ‘fake news’ in the land of magical realism, fiction can be just as dangerous as the truth.

Buy the book! www.lachlanpageauthor.com

It's a great pleasure to invite anthropologist and expert in gender studies, Nicol Lesmes on Ep354 of the Colombia Calling this week to discuss the state of play regarding the implementation of the peace accords in Colombia.

Lesmes works investigating how the peace accords and the key issues of the accords are being implemented across the country. This is a timely episode as the signing of the accords - to great international fanfare - occurred a little over four years ago.

We discuss the structural problems in Colombia which hinder the implementation of the accords in the regions, the issues of land reform, political participation and state presence in more isolated parts of Colombia.

Tune in to hear a first hand account of what is going on in rural Colombia and with reintegrated members of the FARC guerrillas.

If you want to know the real stories about what is happening on the frontlines of demonstrations in Colombia and Ecuador and on the border with Venezuela, you have to seek out the reporters on the ground, the freelancers that beg, borrow and cajole their way into certain danger to get the story. This is what US journalist Joshua Collins does. Why are the people protesting, why is there almost unversal unrest? Ask Collins.

Since Collins has been reporting for the mainstream media and publishing on his own website (https://www.murosinvisibles.com), those of us searching for boots-on-the-ground information don't have to look elsewhere as he's got it covered, from the violence on the Colombian border with Venezuela when the aid trucks were set alight after the "Branson Concert," when he reported from within the billowing clouds of tear gas in Quito, Ecuador and of course, during Colombia's N21 protests, now in their one year anniversary.

In this episode 353 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we hear about the challenges of being a freelancer, the journalist's desire to tell the stories and include the voices of those affected and the reasons behind their malaise.

In this heartwarming episode, we hear from Colombian musician in Paris, Diego Franco about the foundation he created with others called Piano Movil (Pianomovil.com).

PianoMóvil is intrepid and each tour of the country starts by loading a grand piano into a truck and heading out to lesser known parts of Colombia to bring musical activities to people ordinarily ignored by social and cultural events.

The aim is to promote the value of musical practice and to inspire societal change in smaller towns. We talk to Franco about some of the towns he has visited, some of the people he has played for and his hope for the future with the Piano Movil Foundation.

Tune in for a positive story from Colombia.

It's July 4 2014 and national team defender Mario Yepes has just scored a goal against Brazil in the stadium in Fortaleza. Had the goal stood, Brazil, the hosts would have gone out, alas no, the goal was wrongly disallowed and Colombia were sent home in the Quarter Finals, their best ever showing.

With historian Miguel Cuadros, we reflect on this momentous occasion in Colombia's footballing history, an event which brought - despite the undesirable loss - the joy back into the beautiful game for Colombia. The murder of Andres Escobar was pushed back as a distant memory and James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao showed what the cafeteros were capable of.

On a political level, would a victory against Brazil have led to national euphoria and a change in the Colombian mentality and psyche. Anything could have been possible? Would people have taken to the peace accords differently, would they have had a positivity about the country? It's worth considering.

Tune in for a fascinating discussion on what could have been...

In a startlingly frank and open discussion Cali-resident for 11 years, Kevin McCaffrey joins us to share his experiences of being drugged with scopolamine in Cartagena, Colombia

If you're not sure what scopolamine/ devil's breath/ burundanga can do, read on: You fall into a “zombie-like” state that leaves you with no ability to control your actions, leaving you at risk of having your bank accounts emptied, homes robbed, organs stolen, or raped by a street criminal. The US State Department notes on their website that scopolamine can render a victim unconscious for 24 hours or more. In Colombia, where its use seems to be most widespread, “unofficial estimates” of scopolamine events are at roughly 50,000 per year.

McCaffrey relates his robbery with such candour that it's hard not to admire his resilience and positivity, but he's firm that he's sharing the story to help others.

Tune in to hear a quite terrifying story that occurred only a few weeks ago in October 2020.

ArteSumapaz was founded by California-born Ric Dragon, a former digital marketing entrepreneur, and Bogotano Pedro Crump as a creative centre and retreat for artists of all types. And where better to get the artistic juices flowing than in Colombia's rolling hills and coffee landscape in southern Cundinamarca.

ArteSumapaz is located on Hacienda Australia, on 181 fanegadas (116 hectares, or 288 acres). The property is located in the municipality of San Bernardo, Cundinamarca, about three hours outside of Bogotá. In recent years, the property had been used as a cattle farm, although historically the farm was part of a larger coffee plantation.

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Dragon opened his doors to previous visitors and then once everyone had arrived, the doors were closed to the public and quarantine was observed. Dragon has been always taken a keen interest in trauma and how the arts can serve as a healing process.

In this week's fascinating conversation, we discuss how Dragon came to relocate to San Bernardo, what he hopes to achieve with ArteSumapaz and the trauma in Colombia.

Check out www.artesumapaz.org

Having designed and created the immensely successful La Leyenda multi-stage mountain bike race - a first of its kind in Colombia - Cali-resident Brian Murphy knows a thing or two about what it takes to entice travellers to Colombia. Murphy is also the co-founder of the Colombian Project, a tour operator offering bespoke and organized trips to Colombia.

And so, on this episode of the Colombia Calling podcast, Murphy and I enjoy a back and forth about the future of tourism in the country, how we see the industry developing and our hopes for this period of rebuilding during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We know and you all know that Colombia has it all, but, do we have the know-how to be able to move tourism forwards to be able to aid and address some of the most pressing issues inherent in Colombia?

Tune in for a interesting conversation between two implants to Colombia.

La Leyenda MtB race - https://la-leyenda.com
the Colombian Project - https://colombianproject.com

After I got out of jail, I was determined to find out more about how the issue of drugs not only landed me there, but has shaped the entire world: wars, scandals, coups, revolutions. I read every book, watched every documentary. I saved up to buy plane tickets. I went to Colombia, Mexico, Russia, Italy, Japan and the Afghan border—all in all, fifteen countries across five continents.

Call me Narco Polo.

Niko Vorobyov was jailed for dealing drugs in the UK, now he's out and tracing the history and data surrounding illicit drugs around the world. He talks to the Colombia Calling about his book Dopeworld, and gives an insight to his conversationally written compendium on the drugs trade which he witnesses firsthand.

Magdalena: River of Dreams, A Story of Colombia is a captivating new book from Wade Davis--renowned, award-winning, bestselling author and photographer, and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence for more than a decade-- that brings vividly to life the story of the great Río Magdalena, illuminating Colombia's complex past, present, and future in the process.

Thia week, Wade Davis, author of the inimitable book on the Amazon river, One River, joins us on the Colombia Calling podcast. It's humbling to have someone of this stature on the show, please enjoy.