Medellin Living

48 hours after waking up in Boise, I am finally rested and showered in Medellin.    My flights got so screwed up.  First my flight from Denver to NY was delayed, which I actually welcomed.  Then the flight crew from NY to Ft Lauderdale was put on a mandatory rest hold by the FAA, so [...]

She said “no” – so are you never asking her to dance again? If she says “no” to you and “yes” to another gentleman a minute later, is this really inappropriate or “lame?” — Grace Badillo Now that I’m back in the Washington, DC area, I’ve been scouring the internet to get a grasp of [...]

I’m about to start packing my bags for Medellin.  Before I leave, I’ve been trying to fit in some of my favorite things to do in my hometown, and saying good-byes to those most important to me.  I was most grateful to get to see Broke City, my favorite band, in concert just a few [...]

When I first moved into Maira’s apartment in Envigado, I would watch the music video channels a lot, which exposed me to a decent amount of popular music.  One of the videos was of an old Mexican singing an understated romantic tune in full sequined costume from sombrero on down. Turns out that man, Vincente [...]

El lugar donde nací y con mis amigos crecí, la ciudad para mis hijos, donde vivo y trabajo por ti Medellín crece contigo su progreso es para todos Depende también de ti darle amor a Medellín;Caras alegres bajo la luna, niños felices cerca del sol, y en sus Barrios, sus montañas y en sus parques [...]

As I continued to try and squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of my time left in Medellin, I decided to check out Grupo Gale July 11th.  They had performed the prior night at Colombia’s 2009 Salsa Congress party, and were now offering a free show at Premium Plaza.  Once there, I met up with [...]

I returned to Cien Fuegos on my final Friday night in Colombia for one last salsa lesson.  It being the night geared toward more advanced salsaleros, the combination taught was rather intricate.  I laughed when I saw the instructor show us the first time, however after he broke it down into pieces, and I practiced, [...]

As my time in Medellin was drawing to a close, I wanted to make the most of the salsa dancing opportunities.  Earlier in the week, I’d gone out to El Eslabon Prendido for the last time, though I didn’t get to dance too much because it was way too crowded.  I love the music and [...]

Campina by Afro-Cuban Jazz Project is another awesome salsa song which I think I first started hearing in El Eslabon Prendido.

Medellin and Colombia definitely have a skate scene, and like I noticed in New Zealand and many other countries, it is not uncommon to see little skate parks around cities.  This Zoo York* video even features a few spots I recognized.  The guys are doing a lot of flip tricks on a bank formed by [...]