Back from Bogota

Just back from scouting a location in Bogota Colombia. Was there earlier this year and saw the Virgilio Barco Public Library, designed by the famous architect Rogelio Salmona, and knew it

would make a smashing location. Between then and now I had my contacts in Colombia work on getting meetings set up within the government to provide us access to this public library. During our trip we met with library officials, whom were not very pleased with the idea and our main contact Fernano R. a local politician whom very kindly both met with us and worked us up the political ladder to the minister of education. The project is approved and all that we are waiting on now is for the Minister to sign the final documents. While in Bogota I visited and snapped a few shots at the famous National University, which as you can see is firmly in the socialist camp.

While walking about, there were more than a few hard gazes as the blue eyed capitalist pig gringo invaded their sacred ground. Outside the walk-though and other moderate adventures, what really struck me the most, was the roughness of the place. It remained me very much of Bangkok when I lived there in the early 90s. This kind of contrast between my life in Miami and the life of an average citizen in Bogota is both startling and telling. To see people, sometimes entire families digging through the trash late int he night, piling that refuse onto a hand drawn or horse drawn cart just to earn what amounts to a dollar or two puts some perspective in you soul. To feel and live the coarseness of their lives on a daily basis and again contrast that with the plush living of even the poorest of Americans is telling. The city has so many inherent qualities which as of now have been tromped over in the rush to modernize. I do expect that in time, this city will mature and the beauty of surrounding mountains will again infiltrate into even the deepest barrio.