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No. 30. Voice From the Studio. The Newsletter of The Art of Félix Berroa. Atlanta, Georgia, December-Januaryr, 2009 |
Proximas Exhibiciones: |
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The Exhibitions starting in March and April, 2009. |
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This Edition : "Trip to Bucaramanga, Colombia" |
Page 1:.-Traveling by Bus +++ "The Pretty City" +++ The Public Transportation +++ Walking Withou Fear in the City +++ Page 2: -The Country Side +++ Bucaramanga Artist: Jorge Ivan Arango +++ Page 3: -Market Plaza +++ Restaurant Meal +++ Page 4: -Nacional Park of Chicamocha +++ Cepita, an Small Town in the botton of the Chicamocha Canyon +++ -Mesa de los Santos and the El Salto del Duende +++ Giron +++ Big-Bottoms Ants (Hormigas Culonas) |
My wife is native of Bucaramanga, capital of the Santander State, Colombia. A charming city, the one which I had known for only one day in the past and I had arrived by airplane. This time, I travel there by road and stay there for one month. The experience was extraordinary. Bucaramanga is known in Colombia as "The Pretty City." Also, as "The City of the Parks", because it has more than 70 parks. Is located in the Oriental Mountain-Range that is an extension of the Andean Mountain-Range. It is the fifth city most important of Colombia. Although it has characteristics of metropolitan city, has only a population of 616.512. With the neighboring towns, Floridablanca, Piedecuesta, Giron and others, the population increases, since many of its inhabitants drive to Bucaramanga for work. Bucaramanga is 248 miles from the Colombian capital city Bogotá, distances that I traveled by bus across valleys and montains. (I take around 2500 photos. I'm sharing here some.
For this trip I uses two digital cameras. A compact Canon SD550, for places in the city where it is not wise to use one of expensive appearance, and another full body, a Canon Rebel XTi. (The body of the Rebel XTi it is excellent for travel to other country, because it can be hide in any small hand or shoulder bag to be undetected. Is no as big as the Canon Mark III EOS-1D, or to small as a compact camera). The size of the lens it is very important for the quality of a picture, so in a trip it is good idea to take a camera of full body. I take around 2500 pictures. I'm sharing some here).
I will select the best 50 photos of this trip to print them in Giclee and mount it in a mat system in formats of 14x18 or 11x14 incheses. They will be for sale at a reasonable price in some of my 2009 shows,starting from April.).
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During my time in Bucaramanga, every day it was transmitted, through one of the television channels, some advertising images with the testimony of famous personalities that living in Colombia. At the end of each testimonial video clip, the famous said: "Colombia, the only risk is that you wants to stay".
Traveling by Bus
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I arrive to Bogotá in the night and, in the following morning I takes a bus at the Bus Terminal of Salistre heading for Bucaramanga. By plane, the fly take about 35 minutes, but by ground takes around 9 hours. The highways are very narrow with very closed bend-road areas that go through flatland and mountains, some of them very dangerous as the the Canyon of Chicamocha.
In previous visits to Colombia (I visits the Virgin Cathedral in Chiquinquiera and the Salt Cathedral in Zapaquira), every time that I have taken a bus toward the countryside, I have been amazed with the landscape along the different roads, with the generous that it has been the hands of the Colombian man with the land. Immediately it reminds me a fragment of the poem "There is a Country in the World" of our Dominican Republic National Poet Pedro Mir (who was my "Aesthetic" and "Theory and Art Critic" professor in the state autonomous university UASD) inspired in it critical reality of that country: |
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"Missing Men
for so much land. That is to say, missing men
that undress the virgin mountain-range and make then mother after a few songs.
Mother of the vegetable.
Mother of bread. Mother of the canvas and roof.
Solicit and nocturnal mother next to bed...
Missing men that kneel down trees and then
raice them against the sun and distance.
Against the gravery laws.
And take out them rest, rebellion and clarity.
And men who lie down with the clay
and leave it given birth of walls ."
"Faltan hombres
para tanta tierra. Es decir, faltan hombres
que desnuden la virgen cordillera y la hagan madre
después de unas canciones.
Madre de la hortaliza.
Madre del pan. Madre del lienzo y del techo.
Madre solícita y nocturna junto al lecho...
Faltan hombres que arrodillen los árboles y entonces
los alcen contra el sol y la distancia.
Contra las leyes de la gravedad.
Y les saquen reposo, rebeldía y claridad.
Y hombres que se acuesten con la arcilla
y la dejen parida de paredes."
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This photo was taken from the higher area of the National Park of Chicamocha. The "arrow numbers 1" it is the road that leads to Bogotá. The "arrow numbers 2" it is a bus that it comes lowering toward Bucaramanga from Bogotá. |
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The Colombian flatland and mountains get dressed with the most green variety, but no always green to the nature hazar, but greens thought to generate lives: fruits, grains, cattle, chicken, etc
It seemed that the hands of the Colombian farmer had controlled most of the flatland and mountains located in the terrestrial journey of nine hours, until, one hour left to arrive to Bucaramanga, we get at the higher level: the mountains of the Canyon Chicamocha. In the distance, the mountains got lost among the dense clouds. The bend-road got much more closed and the precipice were more deep.
The bus skirted the mountain in descent. Drivers seem to be accustomed to this type of road of "one single rail to go, another to come, and closed bend-road", because almost all, in their desire of arrive quick to their destiny, they passing one to other, although on their right be a precipice of hundred of meters depth, on the left, gigantic soil and rock mass that rise up (the mountain), and in front a bend-road that hides among the mountain impeding the vision of possible vehicles that approach in via contrary. Somehow, they are able to pass the vehicles that run in less speed, enter ahead of him, and be able to avoid on time, without colliding, the vechiculo that appears suddenly in front, at very scarce meters of distance from the bend-road that hides among a mountain (large trucks called in Colombia " mules ", buses, cars. . ). Half hour later, a great relief. Still from a high mountain, the Bucaramanga city it is visualized in the distance. Wow! What a view! Only missing my hat to feeling like Indiana Jone, discovering a lost city in the mountains! ! ! (I left my hat in home in case I found some interesting in the "Panama" style).
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In the distance, the city of Bucaramanga. The illuminated small town before Bucaramanga, is Floridablanca. |
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"The Pretty City "
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I look for the popular and traditional thing, the nature, the mountain landscape, the collective organization, churches, madonnas, arts, etc. that is it what makes unique, special, extraordinary, a modern city in today's world that has not yet arrived to THE EXTREMES of the contaminations that produces the overpopulation and the "ACCULTURATION" of elements FROM OTHER CULTURES. |
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"The Pretty City" nickname it is real. Some nicknames don't go with the reality, or they are said alone for patriotic pride, or at least they were in the past, but no in the present. Bucaramanga is beautiful and clean in the present. Is no a very large city, but has characteristics of metropolitan one. Bucaramanga has a population of alone 616. 512. With the neighboring towns, Floridablanca, Piedecuesta, Giron and others, the population increases. The city is encircled with mountains that, in occasions get lost between the dense clouds or fog. Every night, the sunset is spectacular that is complement with the darkened landscape of the buildings and the mountains. It often rains, what promotes the vegetation, making the area a small paradise of a great variety of greens, that you can appreciate in the fruits and vegetables that are sold in the "Market's Plaza" (tpictures of fruits). In the Market's Plaza I saw fruits that I had never seen neither eaten. The climate is extraordinarily balanced. Neither heat, neither could. During the whole year, the temperature average is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 20 degrees Centigrade ). Bogotá also has a temperature average the whole year, but but it lowers, and it is necessary to use heating. |
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Courthouse of Bucaramanga |
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Museum of Modern Art Foundation |
Illuminated block for Christmas |
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The public transportation quality reflect the image of any organized country. The public transportation in Bucaramanga it is extraordinary (with so many taxis and buses it is not so primordial to possess a car). It will be better when the incoming year -2009 - the new bus fleet, called "Metrolinea", similar to the famous "Transmilenio" of Bogota, be inaugurated. The price of the buses fare it is 1200.00 pesos (55 cents of dollar) and of taxis, minimun: from 3200.00 pesos (1.56 dollar). These taxis and buses traffic the whole time, for what the wait can last from one minute to five as maximum between an aubobus and another. The same thing for taxis. Right now, the gasoline prices are expensive. The gallon cost: regular: 7000.00 pesos (3.50 dollar) and the super 9000.00 pesos (4. 50 dollar), but most of the taxis, the same as in Dominican Republic, use gas propane as fuel.
In all Colombia exists what they call "peak and plate" for public and private vehicles. This means that in certain hours, the number even circulate and in others the odd ones. This helps to that the city be clear, "livable".
All these public vehicles are very clean and with exterior paint in good conditions. None collided or scratched. There is a law in march on "chatarrizacion" (removal of old and junk vechicles). In the public transportation (buses, busetas, taxis and trucks), the law doesn't allow vehicles that have already completed its normal life cycle.
I find that almost all these taxis and buses are made in Colombia, and some of them in Bucaramanga. From the Japan they are cared alone some parts.
There is also law for the motorcyclists. In addition of the plate number in the rear of the motorcycle, the drivers should wear a jacket with the same number and in the helmet, both with reflective paint. If there is a passenger, this person had to wear another jacket and helmet with the same number. There are severe penalties for the violators. his helps in the organization of the motorcyclists, but also to control the delinquency. |
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Walk Around the City without Fear |
Although it is necessary to be careful, I notice that the level of delinquency is very low, what allows people to move through the city in the day and the night without being frightened, contrary to Bogotá and others major cities as Cali and Medellin. Sure, there are always its degrees of dangers, especially in some areas of the city. According to informations I got there, there is two or three neighborhoods in the borders of the city with bad reputation in what refers to the personal security.
As it happens in all the societies, there is also poverty. In Bucaramanga and in all Latin America, that poverty "can be seen from inside and ouside of low income people's houses". The existence of the poverty, or the less fortunate ones, in any society has its price, has its "side effects": the desperation, the impotence that in people without scruples neither Christian faith can take them to the delinquency. Even in the United States, the most rich and powerful country of the world, there is poverty. What happens is that "you don't see it from the outside of the houses, but from inside". The same as in the areas of the city of Bucaramanga, official laws exist in the constructions of housings. People have to have plans by an engineer, to use qualified constructors, and after having finished, to be inspected by a city council official to be approved or disqualified. With the high cost that represents this, nobody build or buys a house using cash, but by banks lend. Those who don't qualify for a loan, RENT or APPLY for "SECTION 8". In the United States, the amount of people that receive public assistance (welfare) to live it is surprising (Welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, Section 8, etc). To qualify for these services, it is necessary to be in the most lower economic income or none (bellow of the 10,000.00 annual). Around twenty millions people don't have medical insurance in United Estates. They can't apply for public benefits for be over this income level, and neither they can buy an insurance for the high cost (for a man or woman over 40 years old and more, the medical insurance can cost from 400 dollars montly and can go over thousand for a family).
In previous times people lived the poverty with more dignity. Nowadays, with the low-level of the morals and religious faith, some easy life searcher coping negative examples: easy street life, lowers esteen for school, business of controlated substances, etc., and ending up the authenticate, the traditional thing, other people's respect, etc. in many cities .
In a general sense, always will be people without scruples that want to shorten the road to obtain goods, and that happen no only in the poor class, but in all the spheres or social classes, that in Colombia are call "social stratums" (they have six social economical levels called: "stratum 1", "stratum 2", etc.).
In Bucaramanga, t he "stratum 1" are in some of the city border areas. In the photos below some possible "estractos 1", housings that were built in "invaded lands", but that they are already enhanced. The most critical housings I saw correspond to some recent "land Invasions" where they improvised wooden houses with zinc roof. (I do no take photos of those new "invasions" houses). |
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One of the neighborhoods of "invasions lands", already enhanced. As you see, they are houses of bricks, tile and zinc roof. No bad, compare with some houses in other places. |
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Other Galleries from Colombia - Otras Gallerias de Colombia |
Other Galleries from Dominican Republic- Otras Gallerias de Republica Dominicana |
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| About Félix Berroa - Acerca de Félix |
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| Felix Berroa's Works - Trabajos de Felix Berroa |
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| Outdoor Shows - Exposiciones al Aire Libre |
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| Contact - Estableciendo Contacto con Felix Berroa |
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| Santo Domingo, San pedro de Macoris, Republica Dominicana |
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| Travel - Viaje - a Bogota, Colombia |
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