Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

It's always important to me to feature local people whenever possible on Colombia Calling and indeed especially those who are giving back to Colombia, so I was particulary happy when I was put in contact with Jose Miguel Jaramillo. Jose is a Bogotano and the brains behind a small, socially aware company called Clark and Rose (www.clarkandrose.co) which makes a variety of stylish leather bags. 

This week we speak to Briton Jay Speller who moved to Minca, Colombia eight years ago and opened an eco hostel with a capacity of 10 guests. We talk to Jay about how he came to be in Minca and choose this place, how the business has increased and how Colombia has changed.

It's a pleasure to have academic and University teacher Pete Watson back on the show (see Ep185 Football and Politics in Colombia) and talking about his findings from his time in Colombia in 2017. 

Sitting down and chatting with British journalist Matthew Charles who will stop at nothing to get the story out there. Who better to speak to regarding Colombia's current state of malaise than Charles? Having recorded interviews with members of neo paramilitary groups and then spent more than a week with the ELN guerrillas, Charles can provide us with an invaluable insight into off-limits Colombia and the work, life and times of a serious freelance foreign correspondent. Tune in!

This week on Colombia Calling we throw you are curve ball and bring on Charles Massey of Ottawa to talk about his experiences in Barranquilla as a volunteer English teacher, but not only do we focus on La Arenosa, but we delve into the world of Bollywood a little too. In a fresh and fun episode we are able to broadcast for the first time on Colombia Calling some bollywood songs and they certainly don't disappoint. Tune in and enjoy.

Here we are, on Colombia Calling, starting 2018 fresh in mind and ready to take on the world...or at least Colombia in this election year which may be a make or break moment on various fronts for the country.

It's a real pleasure to have Briton Hannah Matthews on the show once again and see how far she's come in Colombia. It seems like only a few weeks ago that we had her on the show talking about what it was like to teach English as a foreigner in Colombia. 

It's a brave man who sets out his stall to bring high school trips to Colombia, but, British travel writer Simon Willis has done just this with his outfit, Kagumu Adventures (www.kagumuadventures.com). 

So, this week on Episode 211 of Colombia Calling we get on the line with Matty in Quimbaya (Quindio) to talk about his life there, the rural guesthouse he is opening up soon named "Cascada Blanca", and the delights of a traditional christmas - lanterns and all - in which he is participating this year in his new home town.

It's a great pleasure in this Episode 210 to welcome back members of the Bogotá Writers to Colombia Calling and sit down with Peter, Caroline and Juan Manuel and talk about their latest publication of short stories entitled: "Voices of Bogotá". 

209: Was Adolf Hitler in Colombia with Stuart Oswald?

208: In Search of the new voices of South American poetry with Eduardo Bechara

207: Small town life in Libano, Colombia with writer and photographer Michael Evans

206: Talking business and the Colombian economy with Alejandro McAllister

205: A Reluctant Warrior, a conversation with author Kelly Brooke Nicholls