Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

Surely you didn't miss all the press coverage surrounding this story a few weeks ago after President Trump released some formerly classified CIA documents!? Yes, the story is real, whether or not it's true is something else, so, this week on Ep209 of Colombia Calling we sit down with fellow expat, blogger and interested soul, Stuart Oswald and discuss whether or not Adolf Hitler could have or did spend time in Colombia in the 1950s. 

What we know: The CIA investigated claims that a man who said he was Adolf Hitler was living in a community of ex-Nazis in the 1950s in Colombia. Declassified documents indicate that although agents did not take the claim seriously, they did receive a photo of the man who had a striking resemblance to the German dictator. A former SS soldier, Phillip Citroen, approached CIA agents in 1954 and said that a man claming to be Hitler was living in the town of Tunja. 

Tune in to hear about the documents and our thoughts on this matter.

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Have you heard the tale of the poet who drinks three bottles of gin a day!? No, I hadn't and the mere thought of that much booze makes me uncomfortable. Hear about this anecdote and so many more with writer, author, teacher and journeyman Eduardo Bechara as he leaves Colombia to seek out and discover the new voices of South American poetry. 

Bechara's project "En Busca de Poetas" has been many years in the making but as it has developed so has it broadened its reach. We get on the line to Cordoba, Argentina with Bechara to talk about his life as a writer and the most recent spin-off project of a new collection of poetry from the southern cone entitled: "Breve Tratado del Viento Sur". 

Bechara's quest is to unify the South American continent in a literary sense and if you believe in what he is doing, then throw a few dollars at his crowdfunding page on Indiegogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/publicacion-breve-tratado-del-viento-sur/x/642296#/). 

So, tune in to hear about Bechara's life, an interesting tale which has taken his from being a Bogotano lawyer to researching being penniless on the steets and now promoting poets across the whole continent.

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From the coffee cultivations in the highlands of the Tolima region, this week on Colombia Calling, we speak to US writer and photographer Michael Evans who has made his home in the small town of Líbano. And so, this week's episode is an exploration of life in a Colombian small town in the heartlands of the coffee region. 

For an idea of the imagery and the ambiance of Líbano, Michael's home and his muse, check out this excerpt from his new book of photography, "My Colombia, the First Seven Years."

"Líbano sits in the middle of the Tolima Department’s coffee region. The Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia has an office and warehouse here, where farmers deposit their harvests and collect their pay. You probably know of Juan Valdez and his trusty mule, Conchita. Juan isn’t just a fictional character in coffee commercials; he’s the trademarked mascot of the federation — invented in 1969 — and through the magic of casting, he always remains young and fit. And although Juan always looks a little too clean and well-groomed for doing manual labor, his outfit is spot on, because Colombian coffee farmers still wear straw hats and ponchos, still strap machetes to their belts, and some still bring their harvests to market on the backs of mules."

Known to some as Memphis Mike, tune in to hear all about the curiosities and beauty of small town Colombia.

Did you know that over the last ten years, the UK has been the third largest investor in Colombia, with British companies investing confidently across a variety of industry sectors, including energy, mining, infrastructure, and financial and professional services. So, this week in Ep 206 of Colombia Calling we jump at the opportunity to talk with the director of the UK Colombia Trade non-profit organisation Alejandro McAllister. 

In a free and flowing conversation, we discuss the Colombian economy and its needs, where investors and businesses are most welcome and why in this country. With concrete examples of British companies setting up in Colombia, this is a fascinating insight in to how Colombia's economy works even against the backdrop of Brexit, the peace accords and the Colombian presidential elections in 2018.

While the story and characters in A Reluctant Warrior are fictitious, they are based on events Kelly Brooke Nicholls witnessed first-hand while living and working in Colombia. During this time, she interviewed thousands of victims of paramilitaries, guerrilla and drug cartels. She knows Buenaventura, where the novel is set, intimately, including the most notorious neighborhoods where foreigners rarely venture. She worked closely with the former Andean Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration to help her realistically map the events in this novel.

And, of course, we have Kelly here on Colombia Calling telling us about her experiences in and love for Colombia and the people, how her book came about, opening up about threats hurled at her by a former president and some thoughts on current-day Colombia. 

Tune in for an excellent episode of Colombia Calling which ties human rights, politics and literature all in one in a neat package.