I feel, after this experience of being the blogger of the month for August, that my English is coming on in leaps and bounds. The awesome Neil´s bites and pieces on English grammar; indeed, the real drive behind this challenge.

I´m still having lots of things to tell about my country, Colombia, were I born and bred. Just for now, watch this.

Thanks pals for your time and patience, when reading my blogs. I did put body and soul into each one.

And bear in mind: Stick to it! Indeed.

All the best,

Alfonso

Done? Let's go, back to the mountains of Colombia. Back to that magic world where you are allowed to build countries with coffee, that magic world where one small and no so elegant butterfly live: ´The Chapolera´

Did you notice those brown points jumping from plant to plant? They aren't points....they are small brown butterflies known as Chapoleras. Thousands and thousands of small butterflies flying around the coffee plants. They are not very beautiful as the butterflies used to. They have not vivid colors, they are not big, and they are not elegant. In short, they are ugliest butterflies.

A few months later, the coffee plantations don´t looks white .They, indeed, are red. Butterflies ? If you see just one, just let me know.

But now we have music. Can you hear that song? Did you notice those women's in the middle of the coffee plants? Wearing custom clothes as long black skirts with ribbons of vivid colors, white blouses with short sleeves, espadrilles made with agave or pita fiber and wearing a hat made of cane.

Singing when working? ´The Chapoleras ´ are here. As some elders which say, those ugliest butterflies become a beautiful women at the harvest season and now you may see the coffee plantation filled with thousands of beautiful one´s picking the coffee beans.
´The Chapolera ´, the women, no the butterfly, stand for his strong and at the same time sweet character. They are hard workers and used to be in the coffee plantation during the harvest season. Those women are used to take care of the coffee bean and his family at the same time. When the harvest season is over, The Chapolera, as he was in the florescence, become a butterfly again and flown away from the plantation.

You must wait until the next harvest season just to enjoy your music and beauty.
Believed it or not. It´s up to you.
All the best,

Therefore, more than ninety percent of the landscape in this region is dedicated just to grow coffee. To summarize, folks that live in this beautiful region, make a living spinning off around the coffee.

We are in the middle of the triangle formed by the three most beautiful cities in the mountains of Colombia. Manizales in the Caldas region, Pereira in Risaralda and Armenia in the Quindío. These regions stand for the coffee growers in Colombia and become known as The Triangle of Coffee. Indeed, the most beautiful place to live in Colombia.

Folks, from these regions, have cultural differences with similar Caribbean's folks. Music is less festive, just a little bit sorrow but beautiful and sticky.

If you hear this, then, you will have a problem. You may never want to leave Colombia, so, you are welcome. Indeed.

Food in this region of Colombia is tasty as Caribbean food is. However, the food is just a little bit heavy.

We have our famous "Bandeja Paisa", a kind of platter filled with a sort of beans, fried plantains, rice, dried ground meat with fried egg on top, fried pork well known as "Chicharrones", avocado, one type of sausage known as "Chorizo", filled with spicy pork, garlic and onion and,"Morcilla" sausage filled with pork blood and mixed with rice, onion and spices. Looks and taste similar as Blood Pudding is. Yummy! Moreover, as accompaniment, you must drink with the platter our "Aguardiente", spirituous beverage, distilled from sugar cane.

Following this, you may see different types of food from Colombia.

As we have seen, we are in a beautiful place, listening that middle of the road music, lots of food and cascades of "aguardiente". What we are waiting for? Let´s go to have a do.
You will have more in my next entry. Enjoy!

Colombians are hard workers. Our country has been facing up hard times and meet the ends every month, turn out to be the hardest task to ours folks. Without differences between the haves and the haves not, we used to work hard, fighting together, shoulder to shoulder, to make this country a better place to live. So, where is the secret? In fact, in our festive spirit!

In short, we have: Carnival of Barranquilla, Sugar Cane Fair in Cali, Sea´s Festivities in Santa Marta, Flower´s Fair in Medellin, and the Harvest´s Festivities in Pereira. Despite this long list of a do, every Colombian city has his celebration.

In my city, Barranquilla, we have our famous Carnival of Barranquilla. This celebration -as you learnt before - is full of magic, music, vivid colors, fantasy, ingenuity and originality.

Carnival is an amazing do and last four days. Haves and the haves not become one reveler. Indeed, if you came over from everywhere to Barranquilla, on those days, you´ll get hooked on. Thus, be sure that you´ll be here again and again, every year, through the rest of your life.

As visitor or reveler, you must make preparations in advance to enjoy four crazy days of a do. In addition to music, food and torrents of rum, you´ll see masquerades or dancers groups known as "comparsas", everywhere day and night. See this link and you will be clear what I´m talking about.

Sounds of drums and beat of hands mixed with the acute sound of the ditch reed flute well known as "flauta de millo" are calling the dancers. Follow up this link and you will learn more.

The "cumbia" is here. The hypnotic music that you can hear day and night during four days, and, after carnival, the whole year. If you don´t hear the sound of "cumbia" just let know to the first passerby and like magic, out the blue, you´ll have beside you, the dancer group known as "cumbiamba" .Look at this.

Living the Carnival of Barranquilla is the best way to enjoy it!

I hope all of you pals, will find my writing interesting and learnt how beautiful my country Colombia, his people and folklore is.
All the best!

At that moment, two powerful empires were trying to take over the then richest Caribbean´s colonies. Some times, was difficult to see which way the Caribbean´s wind blew. Fairs or heads winds, back and forth between Spain and England, left the wind knocked out of the Caribbean. In one of those moments the spanish frigate La Isabela, under Captain Julio Leon Fandiño command, arrested an english captain and accused him of smuggler. As punishment, the spaniard, cut the english´s ear and told him back to England and let know the King that "I will do the same, if he dare to make the same".

Embarrased, weary and humiliated, without one of his ears, the english Captain Robert Jenkins, back to England with his already cut ear in a jar filled with alcohol and showed up on front of The English Parliament. The King George II, after heard the message and learnt from Captain Jenkins misfortunes, got offended and declared the war against Spain; therefore,one of the most powerful naval fleet, ever seen in the world, was at sea.The Brits based in Port Royal (Jamaica), under Admiral Sir Edward Vernon command:186 warships,27.600 mens and 2.000 cannons. The newly fleet took over Portobelo in Panama and, as a result, made a havoc (from here the name of Portobello Road in London). Moreover, in 1741, went against Cartagena de Indias although the cartagenians have had no word about the ear-to-be conflict. However, Sir Edward Vernon nearly destroyed the city in a siege that lasted 67 days.Cartagena de Indias was under military command of spaniard Liutenant General Blas de Lezo, of which gossip story tellers say, used to hold just "half of" his well known fishy stare look to his enemies and "half of"one hung when meet and greet his friends (as described by our famous colombian´s painter Alejandro Obregon, in his Blas de Lezo painting), and whom ;in contrast, did not care nothing about ears, have never heard of any, and; indeed,was less worry about it, because he had lost one eye, one arm and one leg in previous battles against pirates.

So, I´m wondering;on the other hand, if Blas de Lezo asked himself at that moment: What the heck! Why The Brits overreacted in that way just by one ear? He got some advice from them, in the hard way. He learnt;consecuently, why for, one cut english's ear, well worth the British Empire's rage: Litterally holding the forth, in this case de San Felipe de Barajas Castle(see actual photo below), cannons shots started to hit the chain of fortifications , that have been around Cartagena de Indias as a protection against the enemies at that time. Today, together with the castle, are just a tourist attraction and become part of the Cartagena de Indias Old City and Historic downtown.

That war become known in the story, as the Jenkins´ear War and lasted from 1739 trought 1748. Back to the 21th century,to our days,the San Felipe de Barajas Castle still standing proud and tall, fighting against time,the most powerful of his enemies. As, some elders, which say,if you are walking on night around the castle, don´t be afraid, if you see, time after time, a ghost with just one eye,one leg and one arm with a brandishing spade on top of the castle towers and don´t be afraid if you hear the cannory, screams, laments and muskets shooting out through the castle loopholes. Believed or not you may see the Liutenant General Blas de Leso, every day ,on front the San Felipe de Barajas Castle. I swear of God! The real drive behind this awful story, tainted with funny notes, cannons, gunpowder, warships, castles, military fortifications, ghosts,brandisching spades, is just to show you, how, our history, the Colombian Caribbean history, have been filled with magic,with sounds of drums, flutes, dancers, ghosts. You can hear the sounds of drums right now...can you? Follow up the link
Many things in the life of people bring happiness, but nothing have comparability, to which a father feel, with the success of a child, when, achieved a stage further in his life. My latter daughter Juliana, past month of May, took his oath as an American Citizen. I would like to share with you my friends this moment:

In the pictures you may see my daughter Juliana, showing us, her American Citizenship Certificate beside the American BCIS officer during the Oath´s Ceremony in Tampa, Florida, and then with her proud husband Ryan Lindsay. A dream became reality!

Enjoy the life!
Alfonso

Later, the newly-arrived, were voluntarily conquered by the cadenced motion of hips of our womens when danced "cumbia",and it was then, decided to stablish their families in these lands. One hundred fifty years later,the sound of drums,flutes and the cumbia still in the air, so not our elders, that departed before us, leaving established strong families.

My family were reunited (see photo) to celebrate the 54th wedding anniversary of two of our patriarchs Cesar and Janeth. Cesar with strong caribbean roots and Janeth with palestinian ancestors. As Cesar and Janeth, our family is a mix of nacionalities and cultures from Palestine, Germany, Italy, Spain, USA and of course Colombia. As well as my family is, many others caribbean´s families have similarities. So then, the required question is: Wich point may have in common this families to become a single one every year?...Guess the answer? simple...THE CARNIVAL! The great and magic feast of the Caribbean. But ,when the Carnival of Barranquilla will take place?...No joke! Four days before the Ashes Day.....next year. But from now, you - as our ancestors did - start to hear the sounds of drums, flutes and if you are walking around the streets any time, don´t be surprised to watch folks and ghosts dancing together "cumbia"and making preparations in advance for our carnival. Don´t forget...you are in the magic Caribbean. Everything could happen. Magic and reality or magical realism?

The carnival has not begun yet, but already is here, in every home, in every family, in every corner of Barranquilla. Guess where the magic start and where the reality is, becomes a riddle. The city of Barranquilla chooses his "Queen of the Carnival" and also our "King Momo". Both, leading the corresponding celebrations from the beginning of the preparations, but also the husband of the Queen, one happy, boisterous and boozer ghost called "Joselito Carnaval" make his appearance and you can see him sneaking up from behind the Queen´s shoulders, enjoying the festivities, dancing, eating and drinking heavily as must be. The last day of carnival is the Ashes Day,and only at that moment when the sun rise up, not before, no later, Joselito died and you may see his funeral on the streets, the Queen beside his coffin as the revellers and mourners, crying his departure and asking Joselito to be back again next year. Then, all those folks go into the church begging pardon of his sins - if any - commited in carnival. Things like this only happen in the Caribbean, our magic region. Ours housewives, contaminated by "Joselito Carnaval" boisterous and partying spirit declared his independence for mens and decided to start his owns carnival celebrations with a kind of custom ball called "Fiesta de Polleras" were them arrived wearing dresses with long skirts on vivid colours, typical of the Caribbean, and a single and unison voice: "No mens allowed!The "cumbia" is here..Enjoy!" If you don´t believe that just take a look in the photo below:

As the carnival is coming, artisans came over from nearby villages to Barranquilla, offering theirs crafts wich are important components of the celebration.

Those artisans, used to offer his mostly handcrafted articles in shacks or kiosks as showed in the photo so folks from Barranquilla queue to buy it. In the photo from right to left my wife, daughter and sister-in-law in front of one, doing what is suppose and mandatory to do:Buying handcrafted articles for carnival.

In my next entry, I´ll have more about the Carnival of Barranquilla and somethings related with Cartagena de Indias, the historic city, filled out with stories about schooners, pirates, treasures and lots of magic. I´m going to tell you, don´t be afraid, if walking those streets at night - out the blue - you see a passer by ghost wearing 17th century old fashioned clothes carry on a musket or you get terrified hearing the slaves´ lament. This is the Caribbeann.This is our magical realism.
All the best!

Alfonso