... in response to no whites allowed huh??, posted by santo on Nov 15, 2001Santo,
Dayuum, I must have struck a nerve!!!!! Now, you know how it feels when someone posted that stupid "NO!!!!!!" reply to a person who is genuinely interested in travelling to another part of the world, and meeting people. Basically, the "NO!!!!" reply of that anonymous poster sent the message that "Black men are not welcome in Cali," which is totally absurd. There are many blacks, indians, and whites in Cali Colombia, who have intermixed with each other. The culture from these groups of people have mixed, and in Cali Cartagena, and Barranquilla especially, the African culture has been assimilated considerably.
If you would have read my post entirely, you would have read that there is racism in Colombia. And, you're right to an extent. There is, as you have eloquently put, a "preference for lighter skinned people for mates, jobs, social advancement" (Santo, 2001). In fact, this occurs around the world. I don't disagree with that. However, there tends to be less of this within countries that have higher rates of diversity and more homogeneity in socio-economic status across groups.
And as far as Salsa is concerned, YES!!! There are many whites in Latin America, even in the USA, that Salsa well. White people can have soul too!!!!! And they can dance salsa, which is a dance and music that originated amongst negros latinos. Also, I never said that whites could not go to Juanchito.
Santo, please don't place words in my mouth, and try not to run away with something I said, and create a whole ficticious context.
Note...I am not a racist. I am open-minded to all people, all kinds of love and relationships between anyone. I think that race is of secondary importance, but if a person wants to discuss racial issues with me, I can debate with anyone on this matter skillfully because I fully understand the history and socio-economic roots of the problem.
Aaron
