Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

It's a great pleasure in this Episode 210 to welcome back members of the Bogotá Writers to Colombia Calling and sit down with Peter, Caroline and Juan Manuel and talk about their latest publication of short stories entitled: "Voices of Bogotá". 

In this new edition of works by the hard-working group, there are 16 stories all told by residents of the city. They tell of different times, people and places, but the dominant character uniting them is the city itself. Read about the tattoo parlours of Lourdes, the time keepers for bus routes and so much more.

Direct download: RCC_210.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:15am EDT

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.

Tags and Keywords: hitler, adolf hitler, did hitler escape to colombia, hitler in south america, hitler in colombia, hitler in bogota, hitler in tunja, ss in colombia, mengele, nazis in south america, nazis in colombia, stuart oswald, richard mccoll, colombia calling

Direct download: RCC_209.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:15am EDT

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.

Tags and Keywords: Eduardo Bechara writer, en busca de poetas, indegogo, crowdfunding, breve tratado del viento sur, beggar for a day, mendigo por un dia, colombia calling, podcast richard mccoll, escarabajo publishing

Direct download: RCC_208.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:36am EDT

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.

Direct download: RCC_207.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:06pm EDT

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