In Guainía, the land of many waters and frontiers, we also went South. We navigated the course of the Inirida river towards the south in search of the Cerros de Mavecure, a sacred place in the middle of the Orinoquia jungle savannas. The Cerros are a group of massive tepui rocks formed during the Earth…
Located at the eastern side of Colombia, bordering Venezuela and Brazil, and at the transition between the Orinoquia and Amazonia forests, is the department (state) of Guainia. Known as the “land of many waters” due to its rich hydrography, Guainia has remained on the margins of the country for centuries, with fragile connections to the…
It has been almost three months since I returned to Bogota. Quickly, I have tried to adapt to its scale, flows, and rhythms. It has been quite an intense experience, full of surprises, memories, and paradoxes. My hometown has changed a lot, but is also the same. As I step and do not step into…
Students, teachers, and parents continue to fight for school reforms in several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Last week, they organized a networked simultaneous strike in Sao Paulo, Mexico City, La Paz, Santiago, Bogota, Lima, Santo Domingo, and Buenos Aires, in which millions of people occupied both physical and virtual public spaces. Their voices, in…
The past three weeks have gone fast. Time flies the first months of the year. It is mid February and it feels I am a Bogotanian again. Walking sidewalks fool of geographic accidents, taking little shoes taxi cabs, and riding busetas. Now in a a new role as a professor and living in Chapinero, a…
Last week I completed a journey that started in 2006 when I left Bogotá to attend MIT and pursue a masters degree in Comparative Media Studies. Twelve years and a half later, I returned to my point of departure, closing a “viaje de estudios” (journey of studies) that extended more than expected, and that ended…
[Reposted from BKC Medium Chanel] Innovation is at the core of social, cultural, economic, and technological change. At the most fundamental level, innovation can be understood as a process that involves the generation of new ideas, products, and services, and their adoption, implementation, and diffusion. Nearly all individuals — regardless of race, gender, age, and social class — have…