Orlando Jaramillo's Campaign for Cuba

Cuba crusader Orlando Jaramillo on La Ciclovia.

If you've ridden on Bogotá's Ciclovia, you've probably seen Orlando Jaramillo. In fact, you could hardly miss him, with his placards celebrating communist Cuba and denouncing the United States, and sometimes Colombia as well.

Orlando told me that he's not Cuban by nationality, but "I'm as Cuban as I can be in my soul." He's been campaigning for the island, which is the only communist nation and the only dictatorship in the Americas, since 2008. But Jaramillo celebrates Cuba's accomplishments in health care: for example, its infant mortality rate is 4.4 per 1,000 live births, compared to 6.8 in the United States and 16.1 in Colombia, and education: Cuba boasts a primary school enrollment rate of 99% and an adult literacy rate of 100%, compared to 90% and 93% for Colombia. One might, however, question the openness of that education in a one-party state with no  free press.

Jaramillo also celebrates as heroes the Cuban Five, who in 1998 were convicted for spying in the U.S. Cuba admits that the group worked for its intelligence network, but says they only spied on Cuban dissidents. However, the five were convicted of sending U.S. military information to Havana.

But Jaramillo might feel fortunate that he's not in Cuba demonstrating for the U.S. or Colombia: he wouldn't get far before going to prison. Freedom House labels Cuba as 'not free' and says that "Opposition to the ruling Communist Party is not tolerated" and "Human rights defenders and political prisoners endure torture and deplorable prison conditions." 


Perhaps Jaramillo should consider balancing his praise of La Revolucion with a bit of reality. 

'Colombia is passion for corruption.'

'Five Cuban heroes imprisoned by the empire.' 'We demand their liberation.'

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Rock al Parque in the Media Torta

Dancing away in La Media Torta

Bogotá's annual Rock al Parque music festival, going on this weekend, claims to be Latin America's biggest free music festival. Most of the music is in Simon Bolívar Park in north Bogotá, but a few groups are performing in the La Media Torta ampitheatre, in the hills above La Candelaria. La Media Torta is smaller and lower-key than Simon Bolivar, and its groups - in this case, Ensamble - aren't so famous.

But nowhere else can you enjoy both music and a spectacular view of Bogotá and its Eastern Hills.

Lots of female fans. 

Can't beat the view of Bogotá from La Media Torta.

Kids slide away the afternoon. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Remaking Bogotá's Central Cemetery

Excavating for what is to be a library or auditorium or memorial on part of the Central Cemetery. They've also found human remains. 

In 1830, when Bogotá set aside three huge blocks of rural land for a Central Cemetery, city leaders must have assumed that the tiny town of Bogotá would never expand to reach the area.

A researcher cleans a skeleton. (ElTiempo.com)

Almost 200 years and eight million people later, the Central Cemetery is near the center of a greatly grown Bogotá. A historical, spiritual and emotional landmark, the cemetery also occupies a big piece of unurbanized land in a city short on public parks.

A skull with
dentures unearthed
 on the land.
(ElTiempolcom)

In the year 2000, the Central Cemetery's westernmost section, the Children's Cemetery, was converted into the Parque Renacimiento, or Rebirth Park, intended to be used for contemplation and quiet activities such as reading, jazz concerts, student field trips and tricycling children.

An amulet and necklace
carved from seeds.  (ElTiempo.com)

Bogotános have told me of tremendously moving scenes when families came to retrieve the remains of their children for cremation or reburial. However, a Bogotá mayor said wisely that 'the living are more important than the dead.'

Will the empty mausoleums be demolished?

Next to be used is the old cemetery's central block, which contains a half-dozen huge and now-empty mausoleums and lots of empty land. Excavation has already begun on the area's western edge, where the city plans an auditorium or a library or a museum of historical memory, according to this video.

Stenciled images on the mausoleums represent 

victims of Colombia's violence. 

I've also heard about different plans for the mausoleums, which artists decorated with images of people carrying stretchers, to represent victims of Colombia's violence. These handsome structures are historical monuments, but the neighborhood badly needs green areas. Preserving one of them could be an option - but how would the city protect it from the inevitable graffiti once kids have access?

Corpses piled in the Central Cemetery during El Bogotazo.
Nobody's certain where they were finally buried.

In preparation for the area's new use, archeologists are sifting thru the soil for remains of people who were buried there, either in unmarked graves, or whose markers were disappeared by time. The area was used for burials beginning in the late 1800s until about 1970. The archeologists have found some 2,000 sets of human remains, from which they've learned about dress, health and stature of the time. They've found that in some cases the Bogotanos' health was worse than that of pre-Colombian peoples.  And somewhere on the land historians expect to find mass graves containing remains of victims of the Bogotazo - the huge riots which followed the 1948 assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. Perhaps 4,000 bodies from that single episode, when members of the Liberal and Conservative political parties massacred each other.

With that sort of history, the area's renovation is a great opportunity to create a historical exhibition about this tragic episode and the dangers of political fanaticism.

Parque del Renacimiento: Tranquil, but usually empty.

But, besides that, I hope that the area is made into sports fields, which are badly needed by the mostly poor and often troubled youth of the Santa Fe neighborhood - which happens to be the site of the city's Red Light District, with all of its associated social problems. This section of the Central Cemetery could be a smaller version of Tercer Milenio Park, which on weekends fills up with kids from the surrounding poor neighborhoods. Parque Renacimiento is lightly used, altho this may change when the adjoining Transmilenio line begins operating. The neighborhood's kid don't need another 'contemplative park' to sit around and read and meditate, but space to release their energies in a positive way. 


Soccer, or football, is the most popular sport in Colombia, and central Bogotá lacks good soccer fields. Here's a chance to address this problem. 

Of course, the Central Cemetery's eastern block, full of history, tradition and sculptures will not be disturbed.

The historical block of the Central Cemetery will not be disturbed. 

The Central Cemetery's entranceway. 

Tomb of Pres. Alfonso Lopez. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Saving San Victorino From the Modernizing Steam Roller

The San Victorino Market area

The San Victorino market area and plaza might be the most colorful and quintessentially Colombia place in Bogotá. Unsurprisingly, the city has a plan to 'modernize' and, likely, destroy the area's charm and uniqueness by turning into a wholesale distribution area. Perhaps fortunately, the plan has stalled, according to El Tiempo. And, the area's current resident small businesses have joined forces and persuaded the city to promise to save them from this rush to modernity.

The plan for the new San Victorino - clean and orderly. 

Certainly, it's good to develop central Bogotá. But there must be a way to do it without driving out the existing small businesses, which provide thousands of jobs, and without destroying its uniqueness and turning it into a charmless, pre-fab district which could be anywhere. And, don't forget the many people who shop in San Victorino - altho city planners probably imagine they'd be happier in a Wal-Mart.

In any case, is the middle of downtown really the place for a wholesale distribution facility, with all of its trucks and heavy cargo? The area is already very congested and polluted. Can it handle more heavy traffic? Would distribution companies even want to locate here, amidst traffic jams, rather than on the edge of town?

How about building a middle class apartment building on the open lot, perhaps including a movie theatre? The area has disadvantages - it's just a few blocks from El Bronx - but also lots of advantages: three nearby Transmilenio lines, a park next door, convenient shopping, and you're just a few blocks away from the capital and historical center. What downtown needs to give it more life at night and make its streets safer is more activity and life on the streets after dark. This would help do it.

The area behind the wall to the left is slated to be used as a wholesale distribution center.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

San Victorino market today: chaos and color. 

The San Victorino market area and plaza is likely the most colorful and quintessentially Colombia place in Bogotá. Unsurprisingly, the city has a plan to 'modernize' and, likely, destroy the area's charm and uniqueness by turning into a wholesale distribution area.

The city's plan for the new San Victorino - order and cleanliness. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Leave the Llamas Alone!

What's missing from this picture of Plaza San Victorino?

Of all the colorful and crazy things to be found on Plaza San Victorino, perhaps the most charming are the llamas and other camelids waiting for kids to take their pictures with them and climb onto their backs.

Police confiscate a sales cart parked on Rosario Plaza.

Whether it's an initiative of the recently installed acting mayor or in preparation for the upcoming Under-20 Fifa World Cup, Bogotá police have recently been cracking down on violations of public space laws.

That can be good. But driving the cute camelids out of Plaza San Victorino is taking things to extremes.

Vendors also told me that the cops are prohibiting the animals based on animal protection laws. If there are animals which are more spoiled and pampered than these, I haven't seen them.

Llamas Beethoven and Mateo

Lorenzo, who is half alpaca and half vicuña, takes a girl for a ride. 

Here are some better ways for cops to spend their valuable time rather than taking fun away from kids and income from humble llama owners:

Some, but not all, of the city's working horses are abused and forced to pull heavy loads. 

This horse's wagon was loaded with lightweight cardboard forms, but some are forced to carry huge loads. 

And, if it's animal abuse they're concerned about, what about cockfighting and bullfighting, which are legal?

Authorities might also consider enforcing laws against the pollution which is poisoning us all (including the llamas). 

A llama owner assured me that the city's crackdown wouldn't last. He's probably right. Prohibition rarely works, in any case. The city should instead license the llamas and make sure they get regular veterinary check ups. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Gomez's Story

The Gomez family, diplaced people. 

I met the Gomez family sitting on a sidewalk begging near the Centro Internacional. They said that two months ago guerrillas forced them to flee their farm on the shore of the Orinoco River near the Venezuelan border and eventually came to Bogotá seeking assistance.

Colombia has 5.2 million displaced people - a mind-boggling one out of every nine Colombians, according to CODHES, a human rights organization. The Colombian government and the United Nations say it's 'only' 3.6 million - still the world's largest number of displaced people. The figure is controversial, because Colombia's is a rolling displacement, in which many of those driven from their homes and farms eventually return home or resettle elsewhere. Many of the displaced end up in the cities, doing unskilled work like manual labor, street vending or renting cellphones.

This man gave the Gomezes some coins and asked them
why they had come to Bogotá instead of seeking
assistance from their regional government. Their
answer was not clear. 

Despite the millions suffering from displacement, I seem to see many fewer displaced people in Bogotá these days than a few years ago. Perhaps that's because the number of people being displaced has declined, perhaps they're being displaced in different regions, or maybe the government is trying to move them off of Bogotá's streets. About three years ago, several thousand displaced people camped for months on Plaza Bolívar and Parque Tercer Milenio, as a sort of protest.

The Gomez told me they had had their 16-hectare farm for about 17 years. They raised pigs and fished on the river - and also grew coca leaf, the base ingredient for cocaine. For most of that time right-wing paramilitaries controlled the region. While the paramilitaries have committed horrific human rights violations, the Gomezes said the 'paras' didn't bother them.

But during the Uribe administration the region's paramilitary group demobilized and a guerrilla group took over the region. The Guerrillas paid much less for coca leaf, the Gomezes said. The Gomezes said they refused to work with the guerrillas, who sent them a note ordering them to leave, and so they fled.

Throughout much of rural Colombia, campesinos feel trapped between the guerrillas and the paramilitaries.

"If the paramilitaries don't kill you, then the guerrillas will," Sr. Gomez said.

It's impossible to confirm the Gomezes' account. Some people are said to pretend to be displaced in order to get handouts. Other displaced people just give up, and become permanent displaced people.

But any family who sits on a sidewalk begging a few coins must be desperate.

The Gomezes said they'd obtained a little bit of money from the government's Accion Social agency and were hoping for more assistance. They might also be eligible for compensation under Colombia's new Victims Law - but that will take a long time, if it comes at all. And, might the Gomezes be partly culpable, because they cultivated coca leaf, which finances Colombia's illegal groups?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours