I currently find myself with an extra hour before I head to my 10:00 am conversation class and I got up at 6:30am. Why you ask? Well its quite simple really, Colombian disorganization. I'm currently rehearsing for a salsa performance that will occur Saturday. I was chosen by my instructor at the academy to represent him and his students. Sounds pretty cool right? And it is for the most part, except that we didn't start rehearsing until Monday (leaving us 5 days) and now we are trying to cram in as many rehearsals as possible that fit into the four dancers schedules so we had decided today we would rehearse at 8 am because I have to work at 10. I get my ass up (I physically can't get up early these days.. not quite sure why) organize all my stuff for the day which involves bringing a change of clothes, all my class stuff, my swimming stuff etc. Eat some breakfast and head to the academy. I get there right at 8 as all the other instructors are arriving, it was crazy to be there so early since usually I am there at 4. I'm sitting and waiting while they finish sweeping up the floor etc. and hear someone ask Norman, my instructor, who he is with right now. A few minutes later he comes over and says, oh they made a mistake and I have another class right now can you come back in the afternoon. Are you kidding me? Luckily I can because well my schedule is quite open, but it was freaking 8 in the morning! Annoying. I act as if its all fine and dandy because what am I really gonna do about it anyway and leave to head back home. I knew I was going to run into Daniel one of the other dancers because yesterday we discovered we are legitimately neighbors, like we live across the street from each other. And there he was trucking up the street as i left. He looked at me questioning and i explained. He was pissed as he too did not want to get up so early. So we walked back to our houses together chit chatting and getting to know each other and he went back to sleep and I have this awkward amount of time to kill. Furthermore, yesterday when I found out we would be rehearsing at 8 am and I would have to book it directly to campus right before my class, I realized that I wouldn't have time to make copies of the things I needed for my conversation class (I'm doing a lesson on Thanksgiving) so I would have to pay to make copies now. So I go to the local internet and copy place make all my copies which I figured would come out to not be a lot because generally making copies isn't so I just brought 5,000 pesos with me. I was wrong. Came out to be a whooping 16,000 pesos!! Are you kidding me? I was pissed but it was, I thought, really my only option and I had to suck it up. Again I was wrong. So now not only did I get up early for no reason and trek the 20 minutes up la avenida 33 to the studio I'm out 16,000 pesos which is a solid meal or two right there! Its funny because this is not the only time that I've used my American skills of time management and was all prepared to blast through a busy tightly scheduled day and Colombia shits on me. Its as if to make things work in Colombia you have to always be late and disorganized because thats the way the rest of the country is and operates.....Oh Colombia.........
Another fun anecdote that I decided I wanted to share is about the Stadium here in Medellín. I had been there once at the beginning of my time here when we went to see the Under 20 World Cup game, and since then I've walked by it, gotten on and off the metro by it and gotten drinks on the avenue near it but I hadn't really been in and around and explored it. I knew it has some great features but I hadn't ever seen it for myself. Yesterday since I had an afternoon of free time (story of my life) I decided to go for a run. Usually I just run around the neighborhood which isn't super exciting but it gets the job done. Today I decided I would run up to the Stadium (its about a 20-25 minute walk) and see what was up there. Pretty happy I made that decision because let me tell you that place is AWESOME! There are a ton of Colliseums for all different sports... basketball, volleyball, handball, wrestling, fencing, gymnastics, soccer, an olympic size swimming pool, a gym, a track and of course the huge soccer stadium (and there could be more thats all I saw and I only stayed on one side of it). I wandered through it utterly amazed at what it had to offered. People who partaking in all of the above activities. My favorite to watch were the gymnasts. Colombians of all ages were learning to do round off back handsprings, jumping in trampolines, throwing hula hoops up in the air and balancing on beams. I eventually found my way to the track which was my ultimate goal and realized that the outer lane was open for anyone to run. Excellent! I took off running meanwhile seriously observing all the different kinds of people there were working out and training in this area. I'm still slightly confused as to who really uses all these facilities. There are programs through the Alcaldia de Medellín but I don't know if they are just for fun or what. I'm also pretty sure that many of the people working and training there are training to represent Colombia (or try to atleast) in the Olympics because all over there are signs that say "Medellín vamos por los Olympicos"... So I'm thinking that many of the programs are Olympic Development Programs (or what we call ODP). But there are also other government sponsored programs, for example there was a group of handicapped people, they looked like they all had down-syndrome who were sprinting and training as well... I don't know perhaps some sort of Special Olympics because they were decked out in some pretty serious gear. Furthermore, there were some serious muscles I saw there. A girl was running around (but doing the kind of run you do when preparing to pole vault) with the crazy abs I have ever seen. There were some very large girls and boys throwing the shot put, and in the training room I saw a girl with roaring thighs squat some insane amount of weight. So yea, here I am running around the track with people training for the Olympics... that made me feel good about myself... haha. But actually in the lane I was running I was the fastest and I lapped pretty much everyone because it was a mostly people walking and doing a slow jog that were running at this hour in the outer lane. Either way it was a great discovery that I will certainly go back to and look further into what sort of facilities I can use as an outsider while continue looking for the answers to all my questions about who exactly these people (mostly kids) are who are training and using the facilities.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I get sad when I think about what I'm missing and when I see on facebook that everyone is headed home. Again I am missing fall more than I would have imagined and I love going home for Thanksgiving, its usually the first time college students come home and EVERYONE is there. Saturday night at Patterson's and Dicks is just so fun! But, despite the fact that I won't be spending Thanksgiving with my family and friends I will get to have a Thanksgiving dinner and a good weekend!! I have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with Jorge and Dora two English professors at la U de M who grew up in the United States so they understand the beauty that is Thanksgiving. Then this weekend a group of Fulbrighters are coming to spend Thanksgiving with us and to get to know the lovely city of Medellín. Plus I have my dance rehearsal that should be fun and then I only have one short week more of work before two months of vacation. Praise the Lord!!!!!! I'm pretty over working and ready to get out and explore and not set foot on the stupid U de M campus for quite a while. Then when I come back to work I will only have FOUR MORE MONTHS of work which will probably be more like three because of spring vacations and the time I'm gonna take off when my parents come! Yup, things are looking up....
Well speaking of work looks like its time to leave the house, get on the bus and head up the hill to campus. Hope you all enjoyed my random anecdotes from the past few days.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Colorful Reflections
As many of you probably already know I am entirely enchanted by AfroLatin culture. It inspires me, interests me, attracts me and amazes me. In the United States, we have both Afro and Latino influence and culture, however they are rarely combined, and they have experienced extreme marginalization, prejudice, racism and poverty in the US. Furthermore, both African American culture and Hispano American culture in the United States are very distinct from AfroColombian or AfroEcuadorian culture. Its not to say that Afro cultures in Latin America have not been marginalized or haven't experienced prejudice. Ecuador was one of the most racist and racially separated cultures I have ever experienced. Yes the United States has an extreme history of racism, but because of this most North Americans are very very conscious and sensitive to racism and racist terms. We have a hard time using the adjective "black" to describe a person, we prefer and it is more politically correct to say "person of color" or "African-American". Colombia, in my experience so far, is much less racist, more diverse and more racially integrated and mixed than Ecuador. Here people easily call others "negro" or "negrito". AfroColombians refer to themselves proudly as negrito. The word "mona" is also used to describe someone with light features. I, for example, am called mona all the time. However, many Colombians have very light features, light hair, skin and eyes and are referred to as mona as well. Speaking of light eyes, I have seen some of the most amazing eye colors here. It is incredible to see a tanned latino or latina with strikingly blue eyes or "miel" (honey) colored eyes. My eyes of course still blow people away, especially young children, I have been asked many times if they were real. Anyway, Colombia is extremely diverse in physical features, for this reason you find some of the most beautiful people in the world and very little racism.
However, many AfroColombians have experienced displacement due to violence and poverty. The Pacific Coast of Colombia has a dense Afro population, namely the department of Choco and many people from Choco are now living in Medellín. La Universidad de Medellín for example has many students who moved from Choco or Quibdo to Medellín for school. The diversity of UdeM is one of the most positive aspects of the university. The Pacific Coast of Colombia is wild and untamed, yet beautiful and sabroso (flavorful)... or so I hear. As I have found to be very true in my travels geography and culture are deeply linked. Therefore, the Pacific Coast has a unique, wonderful and sabroso culture. Apart from being deeply intrigued by AfroColombian culture, I am very attracted to AfroColombians, in fact they are pretty much the only Colombians I am really attracted to at all.
Medellín continues to amaze me, with its constant offering of fabulous, FREE, cultural events. Last weekend was the Festival de Música Afrocolombiana aka Festiafro. After spending a rainy afternoon with Jessy in el Centro going to an artisan fair and eating delicious chocolate truffles, we headed to Parque de Los Deseos at 5:00 right as the festival was beginning. The first artist took the stage, a beautiful, pregnant woman in a patterned dress singing beautiful songs she wrote herself as thunder roared and lightning flashed and rain poured around us. The rain persisted throughout the night, but added flavor, excitement and soul to the whole event. As my favorite group of the night played Son Pacifico (http://www.myspace.com/sonpacifico), I looked around at a sea of umbrellas with smiles spread widely across a rainbow of faces. Many people were dancing with so much passion, excitement and happiness getting drenched in the rain, there is something about singing and dancing in the rain that is truly magical and beautiful. By the end of the night the crowd had grown significantly and the rain hardly seemed to faze anyone. I was in heaven, surrounded by good music, a good energy, absolutely gorgeous people and the familiar smell of marijuana. To the left side of the stage there was a large group of Chocoana's who, led by one main guy, danced together the traditional steps of baile Chocoano. Everyone was so talented and everyone knew the steps. I was entranced as I watched and stood in the back trying to dance along. To the right side of the stage there were 3 AfroColombian men, two adults and a young boy who stood in a line and danced some traditional moves together, led of course by the little boy. There was also a gringo who although he had no style, rhythm or beat was dancing his heart out. Jessy looks at me and states "it pains me to watch that gringo dance with no rhythm" I laughed but it was true, in comparison to the graceful and stylish Colombians surrounded him he looked quite stupid. Its amazing how most Latinos have dance, rhythm, grace, movement and style in their blood. There was also another gringo couple who could actually dance. They were soaking wet from the rain but enjoying themselves so much and dancing their little hearts out, they were in love and clearly having the time of their lives as they travelled together. This scene and moments like this are some of my favorites. Its what I cherish most about the summer music festivals my friends and I frequent and is even more inspiring and fulfilling when you find it in another country with a slightly different cultural flair and you can share it with a group of people distinct from yourself. Its a moment where your lives, excitement and energy cross, it is a moment of positive globalization and intercultural experience, sharing and communication as you share a look or a smile with a stranger or dance and sing with your neighbor all in this shared moment of ecstasy. Another magical moment that I didn't have a camera for, but will live as mental images in my mind and soul. It was so beautiful and fun to see, it gave made me a longing to be part of it, to be part of a culture so close knit, passionate and beautiful. On my way home I realized that although my culture and community, is much less flavorful, diverse, traditional, passionate and "picante", it still is the base of my life, it still encourages me, supports me, fulfills me and created me. Sure we don't have a style of music or community dance styles, but we have love and community events that most members will do anything to attend....
My salsa instructor, Norman, is a large, strong, tall negrito from Cali. He is gorgeous and awesome, we have so much fun dancing together and its so nice to dance with someone bigger than me! Haha. On Thursday he slid me through his legs... it was awesome! One day we were dancing and he stops and looks down at our hands. "Look how beautiful our skin looks together" he commented. I had to agree, the contrast was incredible. He looks at me and asked if I had ever been with a negrito. I smile and nod. He smiles back and continues to tell me that his girlfriend (a doctor) looks just like me, "una mona" he describes. "Here in Colombia we are very diverse" he continues. I have to agree and tell him that last weekend I went to "El Festival de Música Afrocolombiana", he is happy to hear that it was so amazing and goes on to tell me about the AfroColombian culture or La Chocoana culture (from the department Choco). They have their own style of dancing, music and way of life. This is exactly what I witnessed during the Festival. It was a communal passion, tradition, flavor and shared experience. Norman went on to describe that there is very little racism in Colombia and that AfroColombians were the first to be free after Independence from Spain and Europe. I remarked that I noticed that and that Ecuador was so much more racist. He laughed and responded "Si, claro. Ecuatorianos son brutos y tontos!" (innocent/uncouth and stupid). Considering Ecuador and Colombia are such close neighbors and similar in many ways there are some fundamental differences, this being one of them. Ecuador continues to live in a strictly divided, hierarchical, prejudice and racist society, while Colombia for some reason has been able to move beyond that. In Colombian I really have not seen much less of that, but I have yet to create a theory as to why this difference is so big. Of course there is a major socio-economic separation and the upper class tends to be lighter skinned and featured (or get work done to appear that way) there is much less outright racism and prejudice. People say Colombians are more intelligent and certainly more developed than Ecuador so maybe this all has something to do with it, but it still is quite interesting and puzzling to me. Its certainly something I will continue to question, observe and ruminate on trying to find a theory behind it.
This isn't to say that Colombia isn't without its social problems. Here in Colombia if you have money and you come from one of the handful of families of power you will get anything and anywhere in life. It doesn't matter how smart or devoted you are to your studies, and children from these families know that and are brainwashed into believing many untrue facts about life from their parents. These children will get good jobs and live wealthy lives because of their last names and connections. Connections run Colombian society, I asked a girl my age who had just graduated and was looking for a job. I asked her how one goes about getting a job out of college, she described that you must fill out applications online, but more than anything its the connections you can make or your family has. Luckily, I have very little contact with these families and children, because as I stated before la UdeM is a middle class university and the cheapest of all the private universities in Medellín where tuition is based on your income and it has a high level of diversity. Not to say that there aren't ugly girls with zebra-striped hair, braces, boob jobs and lipo-sunction driving nice cars, but its no EAFIT (the "best" University in Colombia, full of spoiled rich kids) who go to college just because its the next step not because they care. Jessy however works at one of the "best", meaning expensive, colegios (schools) in Medellín called Montessori (although it is far from a true Montessori school). I went to visit her last week, to check the scene and attend her little kid gymnastics class (which was awesome). The campus was beautiful and cute, however Jessy and any other teach I've met who works there can give you quite an earful of the problems they experience working at Montessori. This job has given her quite the insight to the upper class and El Poblado life of Paisas. El Poblado is the most southern part of the city which also happens to be the most upperclass neighborhood. There are many people who live in the hills of El Poblado (where you MUST have a car) and never leave this sector, unless they are forced to and then they keep their car windows up, do their business and hurry back to the high rises, tennis courts, golf courses and pools of El Poblado. Everyday Jessy has a new ridiculous story about the lives and attitude of her students and even worse, their parents. There are many behavioral problems and even some incest... rich families marry rich families... its not uncommon for cousins to marry cousins (first cousins!) and the result?... strange looking children... this is no joke.
Last night (Saturday), we met up with a friend of Meg's from Cartagena who is a break dancer, in an outlying barrio of Medellín for a Concurso de Breakdancing (competition). As we cruised North out of our normal comfort zone of the city, I looked at Meg "where the heck are we going?", she shrugged and laughed. "Alright," I said as I looked around feeling nervous, "I guess I should just accept that I might get robbed tonight"I joked. Meg laughed at me, because this of course is always a possibility no matter where we are, but since we stand out even more in poorer barrios like this we feel more at risk. But we would be with the 6'3" Colombian and we weren't planning on wandering around the streets after the show was over, so we'd probably be ok. The crowd was very Colombian and Hip-Hop (Colombian style of course). We were the only gringos, sticking out like a sore thumb. We walked in and the whole crowd gave us a stare down. I smiled back at them and continued with my life. The Concurso was amazing and a great additional study to my side project for Fulbright...Colombian Dance... Not exactly sure what the final product of all this will be, but it has been quite enjoyable to experience and observe many different kinds of Colombian Performing arts. Keko, Meg's friend from Cartagena, is an awesome guy. He is spirited, fun, intelligent and apparently a talented break dancer. He was not in the competition although he says he has the skill level to compete. Since the moment I met him a week ago, he has been teaching me and sharing with me the culture, style and the specifics of breakdancing. In fact he won a scholarship to go the US for a month in December to study and practice Breakdancing. Apparently it is a more developed subculture and practice in Colombia than one might expect. In Medellín there are many hiphop schools and in el concurso there were groups from all over the country. It is certainly very different than any style of dance I have ever done, but it is beautiful, challenging, useful and amazing in many of its own ways. Breakdancers are called B Boys or B Girls and its a style and way of life. Keko was describing to me last night how it is used to solve problems as an alternative to violence, because its about showing off your skills and being humbled and inspired to practice more and get better when presented with someone more talented than you. He described how for him its a mental reminder to be a good person as well as a kind of meditation and inspiration. Furthermore, the crowd is often a huge influence as they know and respond when one dancer has more passion, style and talent than the other. In the Concurso there were two judges from New York and L.A. and they judge in 5 categories (can't remember them all). There are many rules to a contest and many categories of competition. It was a fun and unique experience as well as a way to further understand and experience the Colombian culture outside the little bubble we can so easily remain within.
Tonight Jessy is having a potluck at her house! I made roasted corn salsa, but am having a hard time making it a decent spicy level since most Colombians can hardly handle the spiciness of mint gum.
Been dreaming about the fall and how its such a magical time of year. In the grocery store today they had ornamental pumpkins and I almost bought one just to put in my room. I'm craving the flavors of fall, the weather and the feelings as the days get shower and energy begins to slow as we leave summer and enter the winter months. Living in the tropics and on the equator has many benefits, however as an North American changing seasons are seriously missed as the weather affects your life and personality so much throughout the year. Here we are in the midst of rainy season, which kinda feels like winter, but it will be over in a month or two, which I am excited about because my tan has started fade :)
However, many AfroColombians have experienced displacement due to violence and poverty. The Pacific Coast of Colombia has a dense Afro population, namely the department of Choco and many people from Choco are now living in Medellín. La Universidad de Medellín for example has many students who moved from Choco or Quibdo to Medellín for school. The diversity of UdeM is one of the most positive aspects of the university. The Pacific Coast of Colombia is wild and untamed, yet beautiful and sabroso (flavorful)... or so I hear. As I have found to be very true in my travels geography and culture are deeply linked. Therefore, the Pacific Coast has a unique, wonderful and sabroso culture. Apart from being deeply intrigued by AfroColombian culture, I am very attracted to AfroColombians, in fact they are pretty much the only Colombians I am really attracted to at all.
Medellín continues to amaze me, with its constant offering of fabulous, FREE, cultural events. Last weekend was the Festival de Música Afrocolombiana aka Festiafro. After spending a rainy afternoon with Jessy in el Centro going to an artisan fair and eating delicious chocolate truffles, we headed to Parque de Los Deseos at 5:00 right as the festival was beginning. The first artist took the stage, a beautiful, pregnant woman in a patterned dress singing beautiful songs she wrote herself as thunder roared and lightning flashed and rain poured around us. The rain persisted throughout the night, but added flavor, excitement and soul to the whole event. As my favorite group of the night played Son Pacifico (http://www.myspace.com/sonpacifico), I looked around at a sea of umbrellas with smiles spread widely across a rainbow of faces. Many people were dancing with so much passion, excitement and happiness getting drenched in the rain, there is something about singing and dancing in the rain that is truly magical and beautiful. By the end of the night the crowd had grown significantly and the rain hardly seemed to faze anyone. I was in heaven, surrounded by good music, a good energy, absolutely gorgeous people and the familiar smell of marijuana. To the left side of the stage there was a large group of Chocoana's who, led by one main guy, danced together the traditional steps of baile Chocoano. Everyone was so talented and everyone knew the steps. I was entranced as I watched and stood in the back trying to dance along. To the right side of the stage there were 3 AfroColombian men, two adults and a young boy who stood in a line and danced some traditional moves together, led of course by the little boy. There was also a gringo who although he had no style, rhythm or beat was dancing his heart out. Jessy looks at me and states "it pains me to watch that gringo dance with no rhythm" I laughed but it was true, in comparison to the graceful and stylish Colombians surrounded him he looked quite stupid. Its amazing how most Latinos have dance, rhythm, grace, movement and style in their blood. There was also another gringo couple who could actually dance. They were soaking wet from the rain but enjoying themselves so much and dancing their little hearts out, they were in love and clearly having the time of their lives as they travelled together. This scene and moments like this are some of my favorites. Its what I cherish most about the summer music festivals my friends and I frequent and is even more inspiring and fulfilling when you find it in another country with a slightly different cultural flair and you can share it with a group of people distinct from yourself. Its a moment where your lives, excitement and energy cross, it is a moment of positive globalization and intercultural experience, sharing and communication as you share a look or a smile with a stranger or dance and sing with your neighbor all in this shared moment of ecstasy. Another magical moment that I didn't have a camera for, but will live as mental images in my mind and soul. It was so beautiful and fun to see, it gave made me a longing to be part of it, to be part of a culture so close knit, passionate and beautiful. On my way home I realized that although my culture and community, is much less flavorful, diverse, traditional, passionate and "picante", it still is the base of my life, it still encourages me, supports me, fulfills me and created me. Sure we don't have a style of music or community dance styles, but we have love and community events that most members will do anything to attend....
My salsa instructor, Norman, is a large, strong, tall negrito from Cali. He is gorgeous and awesome, we have so much fun dancing together and its so nice to dance with someone bigger than me! Haha. On Thursday he slid me through his legs... it was awesome! One day we were dancing and he stops and looks down at our hands. "Look how beautiful our skin looks together" he commented. I had to agree, the contrast was incredible. He looks at me and asked if I had ever been with a negrito. I smile and nod. He smiles back and continues to tell me that his girlfriend (a doctor) looks just like me, "una mona" he describes. "Here in Colombia we are very diverse" he continues. I have to agree and tell him that last weekend I went to "El Festival de Música Afrocolombiana", he is happy to hear that it was so amazing and goes on to tell me about the AfroColombian culture or La Chocoana culture (from the department Choco). They have their own style of dancing, music and way of life. This is exactly what I witnessed during the Festival. It was a communal passion, tradition, flavor and shared experience. Norman went on to describe that there is very little racism in Colombia and that AfroColombians were the first to be free after Independence from Spain and Europe. I remarked that I noticed that and that Ecuador was so much more racist. He laughed and responded "Si, claro. Ecuatorianos son brutos y tontos!" (innocent/uncouth and stupid). Considering Ecuador and Colombia are such close neighbors and similar in many ways there are some fundamental differences, this being one of them. Ecuador continues to live in a strictly divided, hierarchical, prejudice and racist society, while Colombia for some reason has been able to move beyond that. In Colombian I really have not seen much less of that, but I have yet to create a theory as to why this difference is so big. Of course there is a major socio-economic separation and the upper class tends to be lighter skinned and featured (or get work done to appear that way) there is much less outright racism and prejudice. People say Colombians are more intelligent and certainly more developed than Ecuador so maybe this all has something to do with it, but it still is quite interesting and puzzling to me. Its certainly something I will continue to question, observe and ruminate on trying to find a theory behind it.
This isn't to say that Colombia isn't without its social problems. Here in Colombia if you have money and you come from one of the handful of families of power you will get anything and anywhere in life. It doesn't matter how smart or devoted you are to your studies, and children from these families know that and are brainwashed into believing many untrue facts about life from their parents. These children will get good jobs and live wealthy lives because of their last names and connections. Connections run Colombian society, I asked a girl my age who had just graduated and was looking for a job. I asked her how one goes about getting a job out of college, she described that you must fill out applications online, but more than anything its the connections you can make or your family has. Luckily, I have very little contact with these families and children, because as I stated before la UdeM is a middle class university and the cheapest of all the private universities in Medellín where tuition is based on your income and it has a high level of diversity. Not to say that there aren't ugly girls with zebra-striped hair, braces, boob jobs and lipo-sunction driving nice cars, but its no EAFIT (the "best" University in Colombia, full of spoiled rich kids) who go to college just because its the next step not because they care. Jessy however works at one of the "best", meaning expensive, colegios (schools) in Medellín called Montessori (although it is far from a true Montessori school). I went to visit her last week, to check the scene and attend her little kid gymnastics class (which was awesome). The campus was beautiful and cute, however Jessy and any other teach I've met who works there can give you quite an earful of the problems they experience working at Montessori. This job has given her quite the insight to the upper class and El Poblado life of Paisas. El Poblado is the most southern part of the city which also happens to be the most upperclass neighborhood. There are many people who live in the hills of El Poblado (where you MUST have a car) and never leave this sector, unless they are forced to and then they keep their car windows up, do their business and hurry back to the high rises, tennis courts, golf courses and pools of El Poblado. Everyday Jessy has a new ridiculous story about the lives and attitude of her students and even worse, their parents. There are many behavioral problems and even some incest... rich families marry rich families... its not uncommon for cousins to marry cousins (first cousins!) and the result?... strange looking children... this is no joke.
Last night (Saturday), we met up with a friend of Meg's from Cartagena who is a break dancer, in an outlying barrio of Medellín for a Concurso de Breakdancing (competition). As we cruised North out of our normal comfort zone of the city, I looked at Meg "where the heck are we going?", she shrugged and laughed. "Alright," I said as I looked around feeling nervous, "I guess I should just accept that I might get robbed tonight"I joked. Meg laughed at me, because this of course is always a possibility no matter where we are, but since we stand out even more in poorer barrios like this we feel more at risk. But we would be with the 6'3" Colombian and we weren't planning on wandering around the streets after the show was over, so we'd probably be ok. The crowd was very Colombian and Hip-Hop (Colombian style of course). We were the only gringos, sticking out like a sore thumb. We walked in and the whole crowd gave us a stare down. I smiled back at them and continued with my life. The Concurso was amazing and a great additional study to my side project for Fulbright...Colombian Dance... Not exactly sure what the final product of all this will be, but it has been quite enjoyable to experience and observe many different kinds of Colombian Performing arts. Keko, Meg's friend from Cartagena, is an awesome guy. He is spirited, fun, intelligent and apparently a talented break dancer. He was not in the competition although he says he has the skill level to compete. Since the moment I met him a week ago, he has been teaching me and sharing with me the culture, style and the specifics of breakdancing. In fact he won a scholarship to go the US for a month in December to study and practice Breakdancing. Apparently it is a more developed subculture and practice in Colombia than one might expect. In Medellín there are many hiphop schools and in el concurso there were groups from all over the country. It is certainly very different than any style of dance I have ever done, but it is beautiful, challenging, useful and amazing in many of its own ways. Breakdancers are called B Boys or B Girls and its a style and way of life. Keko was describing to me last night how it is used to solve problems as an alternative to violence, because its about showing off your skills and being humbled and inspired to practice more and get better when presented with someone more talented than you. He described how for him its a mental reminder to be a good person as well as a kind of meditation and inspiration. Furthermore, the crowd is often a huge influence as they know and respond when one dancer has more passion, style and talent than the other. In the Concurso there were two judges from New York and L.A. and they judge in 5 categories (can't remember them all). There are many rules to a contest and many categories of competition. It was a fun and unique experience as well as a way to further understand and experience the Colombian culture outside the little bubble we can so easily remain within.
Tonight Jessy is having a potluck at her house! I made roasted corn salsa, but am having a hard time making it a decent spicy level since most Colombians can hardly handle the spiciness of mint gum.
Been dreaming about the fall and how its such a magical time of year. In the grocery store today they had ornamental pumpkins and I almost bought one just to put in my room. I'm craving the flavors of fall, the weather and the feelings as the days get shower and energy begins to slow as we leave summer and enter the winter months. Living in the tropics and on the equator has many benefits, however as an North American changing seasons are seriously missed as the weather affects your life and personality so much throughout the year. Here we are in the midst of rainy season, which kinda feels like winter, but it will be over in a month or two, which I am excited about because my tan has started fade :)
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