Lachlan Page's Blog, page 3

2.0 The locations of Magical Disinformation: Part 2 - Santa Marta

In this post we explore Santa Marta and the nearby fishing village turned backpacker party mecca of Taganga.

Santa Marta features in MAGICAL DISINFORMATION with protagonist, Oliver Jardine, meeting one of his key allies in the search to fill his falsified intelligence reports. He briefly visits Santa Marta’s old, slightly run down colonial area before moving on to track down the more nefarious operators who lurk in Taganga.

You can read the first few chapters of MAGICAL DISINFORMATION via the Amazon “Look Inside” function HERE .

Santa Marta

Santa Marta is a city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia with the title as the oldest colonial town in South America. It’s a city that is often overlooked but has some interesting historical aspects and a nice colonial centre of which some parts have been recently revamped.

On the historical side as one of the first established European settlements in South America, the Spaniard Rodrigo de Bastidas hoisted the Spanish flag in 1525, thinking it a good base to explore the nearby Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and its supposed mountain of gold. It also acted as an important staging post for inland exploration as Jimenez de Quesada set off through the Magdalena Valley (and along Colombia’s famous Magdalena river) where he stumbled across the Chorro de Quevedo in Bogota. 

So for a while it was an important city in the new colony of Nueva Granada, but was soon overshadowed by its down-the-coast neighbour Cartagena which became the port gateway to Colombia. Historically speaking, it’s well known as the place where the Libertador Simon Bolivar died on December 17, 1830, before his body was relocated to his birth city, Caracas.

I’ve always enjoyed my time in Santa Marta. The laneways and streets branching out from Parque de los Novios are host to lively bars where you can swill dark rum and swig cold Aguila beer or try a cazuela de mariscos (seafood stew) in one of the seafood restaurants.   

Taganga

Over the hill from Santa Marta lies Taganga. A place that is very much a “you’ll love it or you’ll hate it” kind of place. A place that was once a small, out-of-the-way fishing village which attracted hippy-types in the 1970s and that converted itself into a thriving backpacker town before morphing into a case-study in over-development and over-tourism in a small town with limited resources and infrastructure. It also led to a rise in crime and exploitation which I write about and fictionalise (much is based on real events) in MAGICAL DISINFORMATION. 

The small village of Taganga.

The hippy-types that were originally attracted to Taganga came because of the “boom marimbera”, where a flourishing marijuana growing industry sprouted in the hills of the nearby Sierra Nevada. In marijuana aficionado circles (so I’m told) the famous “Santa Marta Gold” is still widely known. 

As a side note, there’s an excellent Colombian movie which will introduce you to this era as well as the scenery of the area. Much of the dialogue is spoken in the local indigenous language Wayuu. Check out Birds of Passage (2018) by director Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego, which is currently available on some streaming services. 

As I mentioned previously, much of the events from this part of my novel are based on real events so while reading the novel I’d encourage you to google articles, news and stories about Taganga to learn more about what has occurred there.  The news website Colombia Reports gives a good overview of Taganga (here) which will give you an idea of what has plagued the small town.  

Cabo San Juan del Guia in Parque Tayrona. A national park an hour (or so) from Santa Marta.

Now let’s look at some common misinformation about Colombia in general.

Colombia has been portrayed in many films and books over the years. And still to this day it has a very strong, stereotypical depiction as being a place flooded in cocaine. Therefore, I present to you:

Misinformation about Colombia #2 - Colombia is a den of cocaine snorters and it flows in the streets like snow on a Canadian prairie.

(Thanks to... many, many stereotypical media pieces, movies, books and TV series that focus on Colombia)

The difference between “misinformation” and “disinformation”

“Misinformation is misleading information created or shared without the intent to manipulate people. An example would be sharing a rumor that a celebrity died, before finding out it’s false.” 

“Disinformation, by contrast, refers to deliberate attempts to confuse or manipulate people with dishonest information.”

(Source - https://theconversation.com/misinformation-disinformation-and-hoaxes-whats-the-difference-158491)

The Truth

Yes, Colombia has a horrid history with cocaine and, in fact, is today producing more cocaine than ever before (in 2021). In some areas of the countryside (and some urban areas), armed criminal groups known as BACRIMS, left-wing guerrillas (the ELN and dissident FARC groups), and the reminiscence of the paramilitaries (many of which have morphed into or joined the BACRIMS) still operate and vie for control of the industry. 

However, to ordinary Colombians cocaine is not part of their daily life. And there’s nothing that angers Colombians more than references to cocaine or connection to drug lords such as Pablo Escobar. Recently in the news, there was uproar in the UK about a new bar with the drug baron’s name which garnered media attention around the world. It’s still very much a sore point for many and you’re very unlikely to come across it while in Colombia. You’re more likely to see it being used in one of the many export destinations of the drug around the world, i.e. the USA, Europe, and Australia.

So next time you meet a Colombian, you might not want to mention it... 

Next month we’ll head to the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and deserts of La Guajira.

If you are interested in reading MAGICAL DISINFORMATION click here to pick up a copy via your preferred bookstore.

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1.0 The locations of Magical Disinformation: Part 1 - Bogotá

This is a new blog post where I’ll introduce and write about key locations from my novel, MAGICAL DISINFORMATION. I won’t be giving away any spoilers, just some history, interesting facts about each place and provide some common “misinformation” followed by the truth.

(Note the difference between “misinformation” and “disinformation” below.)

“Misinformation is misleading information created or shared without the intent to manipulate people. An example would be sharing a rumor that a celebrity died, before finding out it’s false.” 

“Disinformation, by contrast, refers to deliberate attempts to confuse or manipulate people with dishonest information.”

(Source - https://theconversation.com/misinformation-disinformation-and-hoaxes-whats-the-difference-158491)

Bogotá

First up is Bogotá. A city close to my heart considering I spent 4 years living and working there, now returning every year to visit family and friends.

MAGICAL DISINFORMATION opens in Bogotá with the protagonist, Oliver Jardine, stumbling down the Eastern mountains of the Andean city. For anyone that’s visited Bogota it’s the first thing you notice about the city’s landscape and impossible to miss as you thunder down Avenida El Dorado in a taxi from the airport. Apart from providing a majestic backdrop, the mountains help in navigating the calles and carreras that make up the city. Because they flank the eastern side and run from north to south, they act as a useful landmark to know whether you’re heading north, south, east or west, following the reasonably organised street numbering system of Bogota.

Bogotá with the eastern mountains on the left.

But Bogotá isn’t all green mountains, far from it. Although it’s rather cliched to say Bogotá really is the thumping, pulsating heart of Colombia. A cosmopolitan, bulging city of commerce, culture, and politics sprawled along the Sabana de Bogotá, a flat highland basin sitting high up in the Andes. Being a bustling metropolis, it comes with all the usual big city problems of: crime, pollution, and traffic congestion. However, it also has the noble claim to fame of being the Athens of the Americas, hosting more than 30 universities. I, myself, even taught at a university while living there. 

The site where Bogotá now sits was originally the capital of the local indigenous group, the Muisca, until the arrival of the Spanish under Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who founded the town on August 6, 1538. It was named Santa Fé de Bogotá. Santa Fé from his hometown in Spain (which seems to be located near Granada in Southern Spain where Quesada studied law), and Bogotá, from the original Muisca name, Bacata. It’s thought Jiménez de Quesada founded the city at the Chorro de Quevedo, which is now a plazoleta popular with students, bohemian hacky-sack kickers and the famous cuenteros, storytellers, who keep audiences rapt with their tales. 

Streets of La Candelaria, the historic centre.

In terms of Bogotá’s role in MAGICAL DISINFORMATION, two neighbourhoods stand out in this first part of the novel. First, we have La Candelaria, the historic centre of the city housing the Plaza de Bolivar, Museo de Oro (The Gold Museum), and a Botero gallery and many other tourist related sites. As well as the sites mentioned above in which Jiménez de Quesada was involved. There is one particular scene where Jardine visits a professor at the Universidad de los Andes which is in this area, sitting at the top of Avenida Jimenez, which leads up to the cable car or funicular to Monserrate, one of mountain tops housing a church overlooking the city. 

Later, Jardine is to be found in the neighbourhood of Chapinero, an energetic, hipster-habitating area which connects the historic centre with the more affluent north, branching out along the Carrera Septima which acts as one of Bogotá’s principal roads. 

You can read the first few chapters of MAGICAL DISINFORMATION (which include the scenes mentioned above) via the Amazon “Look Inside” function HERE .

Now let’s look at some common misinformation about Bogotá!

Common Misinformation about Bogotá 

Bogotá has been portrayed in many films and books over the years. I think I gave a relatively accurate picture of the city, but I thought it would be interesting to highlight some common nuggets of misinformation conveyed to the world, often through Hollywood movies. Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for the examples below:

Bogotá Misinformation

It’s steamy and jungle-y.

It’s hot.

There are chickens running around on the streets.

Bogotá? Not likely…

Bogotá Facts

FACT: It’s high (2,640 metres closer to the stars as Colombia’s tourism agency will tell you) 

FACT: It’s cold. You're more likely to see people donning scarves, suits or leather jackets than you are a hawaiian shirt. A good way to stick out in Bogotá is to wear shorts.

FACT: The only chicken I’ve seen in Bogotá was on my plate and usually covered in a garlic or mushroom sauce...

Bogotá.

So there you have a little bit of information about Bogotá and will hopefully be better informed next time you watch an inaccurate movie depicting Colombia.

Coming up next…

As the action gets going, we’re headed to the Caribbean coast of Colombia which is where the rest of the novel plays out.

If you are interested in reading MAGICAL DISINFORMATION click here to pick up a copy via your preferred bookstore.

The Locations of Magical Disinformation: Part 1 - Bogotá

This is a new blog post where I’ll introduce and write about key locations from my novel, MAGICAL DISINFORMATION. I won’t be giving away any spoilers, just some history, interesting facts about each place and provide some common “misinformation” followed by the truth.

(Note the difference between “misinformation” and “disinformation” below.)

“Misinformation is misleading information created or shared without the intent to manipulate people. An example would be sharing a rumor that a celebrity died, before finding out it’s false.” 

“Disinformation, by contrast, refers to deliberate attempts to confuse or manipulate people with dishonest information.”

(Source - https://theconversation.com/misinformation-disinformation-and-hoaxes-whats-the-difference-158491)

Bogotá

First up is Bogotá. A city close to my heart considering I spent 4 years living and working there, now returning every year to visit family and friends.

MAGICAL DISINFORMATION opens in Bogotá with the protagonist, Oliver Jardine, stumbling down the Eastern mountains of the Andean city. For anyone that’s visited Bogota it’s the first thing you notice about the city’s landscape and impossible to miss as you thunder down Avenida El Dorado in a taxi from the airport. Apart from providing a majestic backdrop, the mountains help in navigating the calles and carreras that make up the city. Because they flank the eastern side and run from north to south, they act as a useful landmark to know whether you’re heading north, south, east or west, following the reasonably organised street numbering system of Bogota.

Bogotá with the eastern mountains on the left.

But Bogotá isn’t all green mountains, far from it. Although it’s rather cliched to say Bogotá really is the thumping, pulsating heart of Colombia. A cosmopolitan, bulging city of commerce, culture, and politics sprawled along the Sabana de Bogotá, a flat highland basin sitting high up in the Andes. Being a bustling metropolis, it comes with all the usual big city problems of: crime, pollution, and traffic congestion. However, it also has the noble claim to fame of being the Athens of the Americas, hosting more than 30 universities. I, myself, even taught at a university while living there. 

The site where Bogotá now sits was originally the capital of the local indigenous group, the Muisca, until the arrival of the Spanish under Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who founded the town on August 6, 1538. It was named Santa Fé de Bogotá. Santa Fé from his hometown in Spain (which seems to be located near Granada in Southern Spain where Quesada studied law), and Bogotá, from the original Muisca name, Bacata. It’s thought Jiménez de Quesada founded the city at the Chorro de Quevedo, which is now a plazoleta popular with students, bohemian hacky-sack kickers and the famous cuenteros, storytellers, who keep audiences rapt with their tales. 

Streets of La Candelaria, the historic centre.

In terms of Bogotá’s role in MAGICAL DISINFORMATION, two neighbourhoods stand out in this first part of the novel. First, we have La Candelaria, the historic centre of the city housing the Plaza de Bolivar, Museo de Oro (The Gold Museum), and a Botero gallery and many other tourist related sites. As well as the sites mentioned above in which Jiménez de Quesada was involved. There is one particular scene where Jardine visits a professor at the Universidad de los Andes which is in this area, sitting at the top of Avenida Jimenez, which leads up to the cable car or funicular to Monserrate, one of mountain tops housing a church overlooking the city. 

Later, Jardine is to be found in the neighbourhood of Chapinero, an energetic, hipster-habitating area which connects the historic centre with the more affluent north, branching out along the Carrera Septima which acts as one of Bogotá’s principal roads. 

You can read the first few chapters of MAGICAL DISINFORMATION (which include the scenes mentioned above) via the Amazon “Look Inside” function HERE .

Now let’s look at some common misinformation about Bogotá!

Common Misinformation about Bogotá 

Bogotá has been portrayed in many films and books over the years. I think I gave a relatively accurate picture of the city, but I thought it would be interesting to highlight some common nuggets of misinformation conveyed to the world, often through Hollywood movies. Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for the examples below:

Bogotá Misinformation

It’s steamy and jungle-y.

It’s hot.

There are chickens running around on the streets.

Bogotá? Not likely…

Bogotá Facts

FACT: It’s high (2,640 closer to the stars as Colombia’s tourism agency will tell you) 

FACT: It’s cold. You're more likely to see people donning scarves, suits or leather jackets than you are a hawian shirt. A good way to stick out is to wear shorts.

FACT: The only chicken I’ve seen in Bogotá was on my plate and usually covered in a garlic or mushroom sauce...

Bogotá.

So there you have a little bit of information about Bogotá and will hopefully be better informed next time you watch an inaccurate movie depicting Colombia.

Coming up next…

As the action gets going, we’re headed to the Caribbean coast of Colombia which is where the rest of the novel plays out.

If you are interested in reading MAGICAL DISINFORMATION click here to pick up a copy via your preferred bookstore.

Breakfast in Colombia, lunch in Peru, and Dinner in Brazil

How is it possible to eat breakfast in Colombia , lunch in Peru and then dinner in Brazil , all in the same day?

There’s a unique corner of Colombia that often gets overlooked by the other stunning regions of the country (another blog post of that coming in the future). It’s a place far removed from the rest of the cities and towns, further into the heart of the South American Continent. 

If you’ve ever looked at a map of Colombia and focussed on the southernmost point, you’ll notice a small wedge that juts out in between Brazil and Peru. At the tip of that wedge, on the banks of the Amazon river, lies Leticia, the capital of Colombia’s Amazonas department. The large town of almost 50,000 people sit across from a sliver of Peru which uses the Amazon river and the Javary River as its border, while sharing a land border with the slightly larger town of Tabatinga in Brazil.

Leticia is extremely isolated from the rest of Colombia with no roads leading to or from there from other parts of the country. In fact, most of this Eastern part of la tierra querida is inaccessible by road, with rivers and jungle covering the vast majority of it. Therefore, the only way in and out is via air or river in the form of flights to Bogota (and other parts) and boats that trawl up and down the river to Iquitos (in Peru) and all the way to Manaus and Belem (in Brazil).

 

Leticia, Amazonas (Colombia). World Weather Information Service ©

 

With the close proximity to other countries, it makes it natural to drift between the different countries with no need to go through a border check and no need to get your passport stamped unless you plan on going further into that country. Therefore, travelling from Colombia into Brazil is as simple as walking across the border! Or you can take a taxi or one of the many tuk-tuks that ply their trade in the streets.

Border areas have always fascinated me as there’s often a mix of languages, cultures, politics, trading, and movement of people leading to an interesting mix of two different systems living side-by-side. It usually also conjures up a lawless, ‘wild west’ image of illegal merchandise being smuggled and racketeering with people looking to take advantage of the different laws divided by an arbitrary line providing ample opportunities to benefit and profit but also to exploit. Although I’m sure there are such dealings occurring in this part of the world, for the most part, Leticia is a relatively calm and safe area of South America. I was approached twice by the military asking if everything was going okay and to be careful of unregistered guides who offer tours into the jungle.   

I visited this region of Colombia (and Peru and Brazil) with my partner (now wife) in March 2016, a few months into the wet season (which lasts roughly from January to June). This meant periods of intense rain in the afternoon, but overall was not too bad as parts of the jungle were not yet underwater, enabling us to explore and walk through the humid, decaying undergrowth, exploring the abundant wildlife.

 

Main square of Leticia. Lachlan Page ©

 

There are many different tours you can do from Leticia all revolving around various destinations within easy reach of the town. We decided on one that travels to Puerto Nariño, a small town in Colombia further up the river to see the town and a nearby lake with river dolphins. Then to head across to Peru, have lunch and relax and explore the jungle around a lodge on one of the Amazon’s tributaries. 

Breakfast in Colombia

We started off in the morning by having breakfast at our hotel (in Colombia) — huevos pericos con arepa, a colombian speciality of scrambled eggs with diced onion and tomato —  before hopping on a speed boat to head up river to Puerto Nariño for a tinto — sweet, strong black coffee — and to watch the grey and pink river dolphins frolicking in the river and lakes. The town itself was very calm and green with no cars or motorbikes allowed, making it nice for a leisurely walk along the hilly cement paths as school children strolled to and from school. We listened to a talk from a Ticuna elder, who explained their way of life before jumping back on the boat and heading to Lake Tarapoto to see the pink and grey river dolphins. They sporadically burst to the surface for air, making it difficult to capture a photo but was amazing to see them in the wild regardless.  

 

Puerto Nariño. Lachlan Page ©

Puerto Nariño. Lachlan Page ©

 

Lunch in Peru

After this we criss-crossed back to the wide, brown expanse of the Amazon before speeding across to the opposite bank into Peru. Here, we disembarked and continued on foot through the jungle for an hour as small monkeys played above our heads until we reached the Marashá Nature Reserve which sits on a small lake fed by one of the many tributaries feeding into the Amazon.

Reserva Natural Marashá. Lachlan Page ©

Reserva Natural Marashá. Lachlan Page ©

Here we ate lunch, swam and kayaked around the tributary on which the lodge sits. We fed the resident capybaras and macaws and also fed the giant catfish-like creatures of the Amazon called Piracucu (also known as Arapaima). If you’ve never read about these fish, google it now! They can grow up to 3 metres in length and If you can find a video of it being fed, it is an amazing sight as it sucks the food in at an alarming rate like a reverse vacuum cleaner times a thousand. We watched one being fed raw chicken and it hoovered it up sucking it right out of the air as the guide held it above the water. In the afternoon we headed back to Leticia on a smaller boat through a number of small offshoot tributaries and creeks before arriving back to our hotel in Leticia.

 

Reserva Natural Marashá. Lachlan Page ©

Uninvited guest at Lunch in Marashá. Lachlan Page ©

Capybara. Lachlan Page ©

 

Dinner in Brazil

It was at this stage that I realised that we had breakfast-ed in Colombia, lunch-ed in Peru, and now, of course, we should have dinner in Brazil. We were both exhausted, but I was determined and managed to convince my wife to slide into a tuk-tuk and head across the border. I know this seems like a ‘box ticking’ exercise but I was also genuinely interested in checking out Tabatinga as we’d only briefly driven through a few days earlier to a popular river lookout. So we set off as the sun was about to descend for our last cross-border meal. 

We easily crossed the border, stopping to take some photos (it’s nothing spectacular) and I chatted to two of the bored Colombian soldiers there who couldn’t have cared less that we were going across. No passport checks, no stamps (although if you plan to stay in Brazil you need to get it stamped in a small office a few blocks away) and no customs. Just walk, drive, ride or crawl across and you’re in! In some ways, it feels as if Leticia and Tabatinga are both the same city as you’d never really noticed that you were even crossing an international border with people moving freely across day in, day out.  

This is the Colombia-Brazil border! Lachlan Page ©

 

Foreign Exchange Booth at border. Lachlan Page ©

Within 10 minutes we pulled up at the aptly named Restaurante Três Fronteiras where we ate (I can’t actually remember what?) and drank a caprihina and a local beer complete with camisinha de cerveja (vital you add the ‘de cerveja’ part when googling this…) for the beer. A Brazilian beer pocket to ensure it’s icy cold. 

 

Dinner in Brazil (Tabatinga). Lachlan Page ©

 

After dinner, we rode back to the hotel (in Colombia) on the back of moto-taxi  and slept soundly before our flight the next morning. 

So that’s how it’s possible to eat three meals in three different countries in one day!

Magical Disinformation around the world

Readers of Magical Disinformation in (clockwise from top left) Cartagena (Colombia), Sydney (Australia), Ulsan (South Korea), London (UK), and San Francisco (USA).

The Real James Bond

With the third delay (until October 2021) of the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, Bond fans were left waiting if they might in fact have time to die before seeing it. 

With that wait in mind, you might find it interesting to know where author, Ian Fleming, actually got the name for his character and that it was in fact a real life person. That is: in name, not in actions. 

There have been many who attribute the actions and exploits of Fleming’s fictional character to Dusko Popov — codename: TRICYCLE — a Serbian who worked as a double agent for the British, passing on disinformation to the Germans during World War 2. According to Popov’s biography, he attempted to gamble with $50,000 of Her Majesty’s Government’s money at Casino Estoril in Lisbon. An event that it is thought Fleming watched unfold as he was stationed in the Portugese capital during the war. A scene many of you will recognise as a key scene in Fleming’s first novel and later movie, Casino Royale.

But what of the name of Bond, James Bond? That was borrowed by Fleming from a very different source altogether — Birdwatching. The real James Bond was an American ornithologist (a bird expert) with a particular focus on birds of the Caribbean. His field guide, Birds of the West Indies, was sitting on a desk at Goldeneye — Fleming’s beach house in Jamaica where he wrote all his novels — and was used by the author, mentioning that: “It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born."

In turns out, Fleming was a keen birdwatcher himself, but it’s also interesting to note that at the time ‘birdwatcher’ was used amongst intelligence agencies as slang for spy. So perhaps Fleming was channeling a tongue-in-cheek, inside joke to former intelligence agency colleagues.

I’m sure birdwatching has been used by real life intelligence agents in the field, it’s a reasonable excuse if you’re caught on the side of a mountain with a long range camera. Although I’m not sure if it would be believed as the case of two birdwatchers from the US found out when they were kidnapped in Colombia in 1998. They were released a month later. 

The protagonist, Oliver Jardine, in my novel Magical Disinformation uses the cover of bird watching while he investigates a matter up in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. Colombia is an up-and-coming bird watching destination with a lot of increasing interest especially as many areas which were previously not accessible due to conflict become more open to birdwatchers from around the world. However, I chose this cover as my own tongue-in-cheek reference to James Bond, the ornithologist. 

If you’re interested to know more about the REAL James Bond, I came across this interesting book by Jim Wright The Real James Bond: A True Story of Identity Theft, Avian Intrigue, and Ian Fleming which tells the story of James Bond the birdwatcher — not the spying kind ;) — and it even includes his encounter with Ian Fleming in Jamaica. It seems he wasn’t overly pleased with the use of his name, but took it in his stride and mentions that it even helped him to get through customs and immigration on his travels!

James Bond and Ian Fleming meet in 1964 at Fleming’s Goldeneye beach house in Jamaica. Source: Photo by Mary Wickham Bond, Free Library of Philadelphia.

So that’s a short story of James Bond, the ornithologist, not the spy. Something to think about and read about while we wait for the next instalment of James Bond in the cinema.

A Colombian film recommendation

(Versión español abajo)

A Colombian film recommendation: The Wind Journeys

There’s a brief scene in my novel, Magical Disinformation, where a Colombian character tells a story about a hopeless accordion player who disappears only to return a year later, transformed into a vallenato superstar (Vallenato is an accordion-and-drum-fuelled music popular along the Colombian caribbean coast — a little more about that later.)

In my case, the scene represents a made up story but based on a Colombian legend — similar to the Faustian myth of Robert Johnson — known as Francisco “El Hombre”. In this tale, a man called Francisco (there are a lot of rumours about who it actually is or if he actually existed), while roaming the countryside playing his accordion, encounters the devil under a tree (also playing the accordion). Instead of deciding to start a Polka band together and tour the Midwest USA, an accordion duel ensues between the two. The Devil — who by all accounts is probably a pretty kick-ass accordion player — plays a song so powerful that the light of the moon and stars are eliminated with only the burning eyes of Satan himself left to light the dark night. In response, Francisco plays the most beautiful melody that’s ever existed resulting in the return of the moonlight and starlight, leaving the Devil to let out a blood-curdling scream and fleeing into the mountains. And thus, Francisco — as the winner of the duel — is forever known as El Hombre. I guess kind of like ‘The Dude’ in the Big Lebowski?

It’s a great story and you can probably see the parallels with Faust’s “Pact with the Devil.” It would be interesting to know if this story appears anywhere else around the world (anyone?) as it is a popular folktale in several countries.

The Colombian tale even featured — albeit briefly — in Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude and it appears that these stories of folklore heavily influenced his own storytelling. El Gabo — as he is affectionately known in Colombia — was from this region of Colombia (El Caribe or La Costa) and once referred to his famous novel as a 350-page vallenato (as mentioned in this article by Betto Arcos).

I knew vaguely of the tale of Francisco El Hombre before writing my book, but the real idea of this scene came from one of my favourite Colombian movies, Los Viajes del Viento, or The Wind Journeys, in English. I first watched it in 2009 just before I first travelled to Colombia, and have since watched almost all of Colombian director Ciro Guerra’s films. The most well-known of which might be The Embrace of the Serpent which was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 88th Academy Awards. I recommend you check out all his films, brilliant directing and almost always accompanied with expert cinematography.     

In terms of The Wind Journeys, the movie showcases the spectacular scenery along Colombia’s caribbean coastal region from the department of Sucre up to La Guajira at the northernmost point of the South American continent, while also incorporating some of Colombia’s indigenous languages such as Palenquero, Wayuu, and Ikun. But, the real beauty lies in its story-telling and culture of the Colombian coastal region and its references to the mystical and supernatural beliefs still prevalent in Colombia today. The crux of which is the supposed curse on the devil-horned-accordion of the main character, Ignacio. It also showcases the banter-y, hip-hop-battle-like duels of live Vallenato. A characteristic rarely seen in the slicker production of recorded Vallenato artists. From my experience, live vallenato is A LOT better than the recorded songs. The drums (the caja vallenata in this case) come through a lot more, and therefore, the rhythm and beat is a lot more prominent. I think it’s interesting to see both of these aspects woven together into an engaging story that reveals a lesser-known side (and regions) of Colombia.

Source: The Wind Journeys (2009)

Some of these areas, for example, La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and La Guajira also feature in my novel. I’ve been to these areas several times when I lived in Colombia (2010-2014) and also back when I backpacked through the country in 2009. They are beautiful places in terms of scenery and culturally very diverse. A quick Google will reveal some of the beautiful countryside you come across.    

So, there you have it. A little bit about a scene from Magical Disinformation and now a Colombian movie to track down and watch.

But not so fast...

It would be easy to leave it there and tell you to watch the movie (The Wind Journeys), be enchanted, and Colombia is magical.      

I’ve seen a lot of internet memes referring to a foreigner’s tendency to view EVERYTHING in Colombia as magical realism. Even Disney’s new movie, Encanto, refers to a magical family in a magical house (I guess I’m also guilty of this calling my novel Magical Disinformation…) It’s a delicate situation which requires balance. There are many people who have travelled to or lived in Colombia (or even currently live) who know that Colombia is a beautiful country, with a fascinating culture, spectacular scenery, warm people, and an energy that is unparalleled. But there is also a more serious, darker side to Colombia — as there is in any country, I guess — which is important to be aware of. However, there are much more qualified people to tell you those stories. 

So I will leave to you, as the reader, to investigate and be aware of those issues, but I hope you can also enjoy a part of Colombian culture that is rarely broadcast to the world and enjoy the movie, The Wind Journeys.    

Lachlan

Recomendación de película colombiana: Los viajes del viento

Hay una breve escena en mi novela, Magical Disinformation, donde un personaje colombiano cuenta una historia sobre un acordeonista desesperado que desaparece solo para regresar un año después, transformado en una superestrella del vallenato (por los hispanohablantes que no saben, el vallenato es una música popular impulsada por el acordeón y la batería). a lo largo de la costa caribe colombiana, un poco más sobre eso más adelante).

En mi caso, la escena representa una historia inventada pero basada en una leyenda colombiana - similar al mito fáustico de Robert Johnson - conocido como Francisco “El Hombre” . En esta historia, un hombre llamado Francisco (hay muchos rumores sobre quién es realmente o si realmente existió), mientras vaga por el campo tocando su acordeón, se encuentra con el diablo debajo de un árbol.(también tocando el acordeón). En lugar de decidir formar una banda Polka juntos y hacer una gira por el Medio Oeste de Estados Unidos, se produce un duelo de acordeón entre los dos. El diablo, que según todos los informes es probablemente un buen acordeonista, toca una canción tan poderosa que la luz de la luna y las estrellas se eliminan con solo los ojos ardientes del mismo Satanás para iluminar la noche oscura. En respuesta, Francisco toca la melodía más hermosa que jamás haya existido, lo que resulta en el regreso de la luz de la luna y la luz de las estrellas, dejando que el diablo deje escapar un grito espeluznante y huya hacia las montañas. Y así, Francisco -como ganador del duelo- es conocido para siempre como El Hombre . 

Es una gran historia y probablemente puedas ver los paralelismos con el "Pacto con el diablo" de Fausto. Sería interesante saber si esta historia aparece en algún otro lugar del mundo (¿alguien?) Ya que es un cuento popular en varios países.

El cuento colombiano incluso apareció, aunque brevemente, en 100 años de soledad de García Márquez y parece que estas historias del folclore influyeron mucho en su propia narración. El Gabo, como se le conoce cariñosamente en Colombia, era de esta región de Colombia (El Caribe o La Costa) y una vez se refirió a su famosa novela como un vallenato de 350 páginas (como se menciona en este artículo de Betto Arcos).

Conocía vagamente la historia de Francisco El Hombre antes de escribir mi libro, pero la idea real de esta escena vino de una de mis películas colombianas favoritas, Los Viajes del Viento , o The Wind Journeys, en inglés. Lo vi por primera vez en 2009, justo antes de viajar por primera vez a Colombia, y desde entonces he visto casi todas las películas del director colombiano Ciro Guerra. El más conocido de los cuales podría ser El abrazo de la serpiente, que fue nominado en la categoría de Mejor Película en Lengua Extranjera en los 88 Premios de la Academia. Te recomiendo que eches un vistazo a todas sus películas, una dirección impecable y casi siempre acompañada de una cinematografía brillante.    

En términos de The Wind Journeys , la película muestra el espectacular paisaje a lo largo de la región costera caribeña de Colombia desde el departamento de Sucre hasta La Guajira en el punto más al norte del continente sudamericano, al tiempo que incorpora algunas de las lenguas indígenas de Colombia como el palenquero, Wayuu e Ikun. Pero la verdadera belleza radica en su narrativa y cultura de la región costera colombiana y sus referencias a las creencias místicas y sobrenaturales que aún prevalecen en Colombia hoy. La clave de la historia es la supuesta maldición sobre el acordeón con cuernos de diablo del personaje principal, Ignacio. También muestra los duelos en vivo de Vallenato. Desde mi experiencia, el vallenato en vivo es MUCHO mejor que las canciones grabadas. La batería (la caja vallenata en este caso) suena mucho más y, por tanto, el ritmo y el tiempo es mucho más prominente. Creo que es interesante ver ambos aspectos entretejidos en una historia atractiva que revela un lado (y regiones) menos conocido de Colombia para el exterior.

Fuente: Los viajes del viento (2009)

Algunas de estas áreas, por ejemplo, La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta y La Guajira también aparecen en mi novela. He estado en estas áreas varias veces cuando viví en Colombia (2010-2014) y también cuando viajé como mochilero por el país en 2009. Son lugares hermosos en términos de paisaje y culturalmente muy diversos. Una búsqueda  rápido en Google revelará algunos de los hermosos paisajes con los que te encuentras.   

Así que ahí lo tienes. Un poco sobre una escena de Magical Disinformation (mi novela) y ahora una película colombiana para rastrear y ver.

Pero no tan rápido ...

Sería fácil dejarlo ahí y decirte que veas la película ( Los viajes del viento ), que te encantes, y Colombia es mágica.     

He visto muchos memes en Internet que se refieren a la tendencia de un extranjero a ver TODO en Colombia como un realismo mágico. Incluso la nueva película de Disney, Encanto, se refiere a una familia mágica en una casa mágica (supongo que también soy culpable de llamar a mi novela Magical Disinformation…) Es una situación delicada que requiere equilibrio. Son muchas las personas que han viajado o vivido en Colombia (o incluso viven actualmente) que saben que Colombia es un país hermoso, con una cultura fascinante, paisajes espectaculares, gente cálida y una energía inigualable. Pero también hay un lado más serio y oscuro de Colombia, como lo hay en cualquier país, supongo, que es importante tener en cuenta. Sin embargo, hay gente mucho más calificada para contarte esas historias.

Así que te dejo a ti, como lector, investigar y estar al tanto de esos temas, pero espero que también puedas disfrutar de una parte de la cultura colombiana que rara vez se transmite al mundo y disfrutar de la película, Los viajes del viento.   

Lachlan

Interview on Colombia Calling

I was a guest on Colombia Calling, an English-language podcast with Richard McColl (see more about Richard below). 

Here is what he said about my novel: 

‘Imagine a work of fiction set in Colombia where the line between real and unreal, fact and fiction no longer exists...this is what you get when you read author Lachlan Page's debut novel, Magical Disinformation. Think Waugh, think Greene and then a smattering of de Bernieres and you know what you're in for, a romp of a read which brings a smile to your lips as you enjoy this fast moving tragicomedy.’ 

Check out the podcast below on your favourite podcast provider:

Episode 355: Magical Disinformation from Colombia by Colombia Calling on #SoundCloud https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/7m22eKVhvkmCQ69W8

Episode 355: Magical Disinformation from Colombia episode of Colombia Calling

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7uieqpscRif5RZSk5i6Hcv?si=So09yY6FTxiF86Y7XCNOcQ

Episode 355: Magical Disinformation from Colombia Calling https://www.stitcher.com/show/53609/episode/80168540

Richard is a journalist, author, hotelier, guide, and political analyst based in Colombia. Please check out his website (http://www.richardmccoll.com/) if you want to learn more about Colombia or are planning a trip there. 

The Colombia Calling podcast is your first stop magazine-style podcast for everything you ever wanted to know about Colombia. Interviewing experts in the travel industry, dealing with security issues and explaining the cultural nuances of this newly fashionable destination, Colombia Calling is hosted by Anglo Canadian expat Richard McColl and broadcast on the Overseas Radio Network

His hotels in Mompos (or Mompox) are La Casa Amarilla (https://www.lacasaamarillamompos.com/) and San Rafael Mompos (https://sanrafaelmompox.com/). If you’re not familiar with Mompox, it’s a sleepy colonial town founded in 1540 on the banks of the Magdalena river. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a rich history connected to the independence of Gran Colombia (present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama). It’s also been described as a real life ‘Macondo’, the fictional town of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude.

I’ve stayed at La Casa Amarilla and it’s a beautiful hotel with courtyard garden, a step back from the river, and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. They organised a bicycle history tour of the town and a boat tour along the river and into one of the many cienaga lakes. Highly recommended!