Bogotá, Colombia: An island of calm, surround

[LatinIntro]

COMPLETE ARTICLE: http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/4316138.htm

BOGOTA - It was a typical night at San Angel, a favored nightspot among Bogotá's chic and elite.

Men in suits and ties accompanied by perfectly coifed (and in many cases surgically enhanced) women danced and drank as they craned their necks to better enjoy a recent lingerie show. Sexy models strutted around in $45 bras. Outside, drivers and bodyguards guarded the fancy SUVs.

And everyone simply ignored the police dogs sniffing the outside bushes for bombs.

The headlines here and around the world may be about war raging across Colombia. But in Bogotá, capital of a nation where rival armies kill or kidnap some 7,000 people a year, those who can enjoy life are determined to do so.

''People often say we're insensitive to the violence, that we're too used to it,'' said Rocío Londoño Botero, director of the Bogotá Culture and Tourism Institute. ``But you can't think about and react to violence all day. It's impossible. In war, people find ways to confront it -- positive ways to confront it.''

In a nation beset by the ravages of war, Colombia's capital has managed to remain comparably unscathed. Despite occasional car bombings, Colombia's decades-long civil conflict barely registers in this metropolis of seven million people, proud of their green space, bike paths and cultural offerings. This chilly, rainy and mountainous city -- dubbed by some as ''the Athens of Latin America'' -- has managed, through good urban planning and leadership, to foster a civic spirit, a relentless determination to forget.

City leaders point out that Bogotá's murder rate -- 28 per 100,000 residents -- is lower than that of many big American cities, and half that of the rest of the country's. Bogotá has more than 1,000 parks and 120 miles of bike paths. A record 130,000 people lined up for a recent Rembrandt exhibit, and the biggest news these days is the launching of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez's long-awaited memoirs. An annual outdoor rock music festival typically draws 150,000 people, and its book fair dwarfs Miami's. Even the plastic surgery business thrives -- often with customers from Miami.

''Bogotá has less crime than Caracas, Rio, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and maybe now even Buenos Aires,'' Vice President Francisco Santos said. ``It's an island in everything -- culture, tolerance and violence. What has been accomplished here is spectacular.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/4316138.htm

[Michael B]

... in response to Bogotá, Colombia: An island of calm, sur..., posted by LatinIntro on Oct 21, 2002

Car bomb at the main police station, 2 dead 36 hurt.

[lswote]

... in response to Bogotá, Colombia: An island of calm, sur..., posted by LatinIntro on Oct 21, 2002

Nelson,
I have the copy of that article that actually appeared in last Sunday's paper sitting on my dining room table.  I can bring it with me on my next trip to Bogota October 30 if you are interested.
Bruce

[valuedcustomer]

... in response to Bogotá, Colombia: An island of calm, sur..., posted by LatinIntro on Oct 21, 2002


Interesting.  We have two agency owners recently deciding to make posts.  I wonder if business is down.  This might be a good time to negotiate a deal.  

[LatinIntro]

... in response to Re: Bogotá, Colombia: An island of calm,..., posted by valuedcustomer on Oct 21, 2002

Bogota gets so much negative press, that I just wanted to show a positive note on how the city is really doing. Business is not really that bad, at least for us.  

Nelson.

[mudd]

... in response to Re: Re: Bogotá, Colombia, posted by LatinIntro on Oct 21, 2002

i felt a lot safer in bogota than in cali. i also thought the city was nicer too.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Re: Bogotá, Colombia, posted by LatinIntro on Oct 21, 2002

Your post was at least informative, and a whole lot more interesting than what valoedcustomer was referihg to.

[valuedcustomer]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Bogotá, Colombia, posted by Cali vet on Oct 21, 2002


I personally have decided for myself that going to Colombia is worth the risk.  But, I also believe that every customer has the right to full disclosure so that he can make the decision for himself based on all the facts.

----- news story today ------

Colombian Police HQ Bombing Kills 2
Tue Oct 22, 9:54 AM ET

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A bomb exploded Tuesday outside police headquarters in the Colombian capital, killing two people and wounding nearly a dozen more, authorities said.

The bomb exploded in downtown Bogota outside the headquarters of the Bogota Metropolitan Police and the Colombian Judicial Police during morning rush hour. The blast set several cars afire and blew out windows in nearby buildings. The presidential palace is less than 10 blocks away.

Police Gen. Luis Alfredo Rodriguez told RCN radio that two people were killed: a police cadet and a civilian.

Police blocked off access by cars and people to the area and searched for more bombs.

Colombian rebels have set off bombs in Bogota and other cities in the past. Last week, they waged a three-day gun battle against security forces in Medellin, Colombia's second-biggest city.

Colombia is mired in a civil war that pits two leftist rebel groups against U.S.-backed government security forces and outlawed right-wing paramilitary grou

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Re: Bogotá, Colombia: An island of calm,..., posted by valuedcustomer on Oct 21, 2002

I think there's no question their business is way down.  These boards (here and LWL) had a lot more activity 6 months ago or 2 years ago.  Not every man who does this posts on these boards, but I think the percentage of men going versus men posting if fairly constant.  So when the board activity is slow, I believe fewer men are showing up at the agencies.  I think the US economy is stopping a lot of men for looking overseas for a wife.  I would go back now, but my fiancee won't let me leave. ;-)

Steve

[valuedcustomer]

... in response to Re: Re: Bogotá, Colombia: An island of c..., posted by DallasSteve2 on Oct 21, 2002

Some of the agencies came close to closing their doors after 9/11 including the aforementioned.  I think it has more to do with the general fear of flying today.  I advocate that men keep their eyes open to the business cycle and go down during off times and not during group tours or other popular periods.  That way they get more attention and less interference from other men.    

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Re: Bogotá, Colombia: An island of c..., posted by DallasSteve2 on Oct 21, 2002

I agree. I bet the stock market has more to do with fewer guys traveling to agencies than any bad press on Colombia.