Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

Colombians go to the urns once again in national elections on 29 October 2023 and so, what better occasion to invite friend to the Colombia Calling podcast, Sergio Guzman, Director of Colombia Risk Analysis to explain some of the key issues and trends taking place. We try and keep this conversation somewhat jovial since the outlook is pretty bleak! There are four main talking points: 1. The 2023 local elections will become a referendum on President Gustavo Petro. 2. Lack of voter intention polls will likely affect voter preferences. 3. The erosion of the political party system is likely to continue. 4. Political Violence is likely to increase as Colombia gets closer to election day. We discuss journalist Laura Ardila Arrieta's latest book: "La Costa Nostra," a deep dive into corruption overseen by the Char political clan from their seat of power in Barranquilla and take a look at other issues affecting the political landscape in Colombia. The Colombia News Brief is reported by journalist Emily Hart. Tune in and also check out: https://www.colombiariskanalysis.com/home-eng

The migration of a mennonite colony to Colombia's eastern plains is a little-known story worthy of greater coverage due to the environmental and social impacts this has had on the region and the traditional communities found here. And yet, hardly anyone has heard about it. On this episode of the Colombia Calling podcast (available wherever you get your podcasts), Oscar Parra from Rutas del Conflicto - a website dedicated to bringing you stories about the Colombian conflict not covered in the mainstream press - and journalist Natalia Malaver join me to discuss this topic. Hear about the history of the Mennonites in Colombia, their use of a portion of land here, what they are producing and why the Colombian authorities look the other way as deforestation takes place in the name of progress. The Colombia News Brief is reported by journalist Emily Hart. Check out: www.rutasdelconflicto.com and https://www.instagram.com/greenlybachue/

This week on Colombia Calling, Emily Hart is joined by María Fitzgerald – brilliant human rights journalist, writer, and Gender Editor at outlet Cambio. Her new book, Los Nombres que Olvidamos (The Names We Forgot), collects chronically under-told and even hidden stories of Colombia’s everyday and normalised violence. It also serves as a statement against depersonalised writing, against the myopic focus of the mainstream news agenda, and as a call for better, more personal, and more humanising ways to narrate the country’s conflict (and indeed conflicts) and to foreground women’s bravery and action in the face of it. We’ll be talking about women in conflict, social justice, and journalism via armed groups, the paro national, illegal mining, and more - as well as the female journalists who inspire us, from Svetlana Alexievich to Joan Didion.

Ricardo Cubides is the regional coordinator for the Colombian Caribbean region for the NGO CODHES - La Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento and it is an incredible honour to talk with him and tap into his knowledge of the sociopolitical issues here. On this Episode of the Colombia Calling podcast - permitted only due to the fact that the conversation is in English - we deal with incredibly sensitive information about the chronology of armed groups in the region of the Canal del Dique, the structural racism and the on-going conflict in the region. The Canal del Dique is a feat of engineering, built by slaves from Africa, commanded by the Spanish empire, running for 115km in length and connecting the lakes and waterways of the Magdalena river basin with the city and port of Cartagena. Latterly, the area has been controlled by the EPL guerrillas, then the ELN and then the FARC before coming under the control of the AUC paramilitaries and now the AGC or Clan del Golfo. We discuss the situation now and in particular alongside the ambitious Paz Total or Total Peace project promoted by the current government of President Gustavo Petro. The Colombia News Brief is reported by journalist Emily Hart. Support us at www.patreon.com/colombiacalling

Colombian distance record holder and paragliding guide, Sebastian Ospina works as a professional tandem pilot in Europe but perhaps is better known for his incredible achievements in paragliding competitions. It's a great honour for us to speak to him here on the Colombia Calling podcast. We talk to Sebastian about his life as a paragliding expert living in Interlaken in Switzerland, how he became enamoured with the sport and some of the intricacies involved in competitive paragliding...how to stay alive! Unable to fly for Colombia (explained in the conversation), Ospina was snapped up by team GB and with them won the Gold at the 2021 World Championship. How much do you know about competitive paragliding? Did you know that there are four categories? Precision Paragliding Landing Acrobatic Paragliding Cross Country Hike & Fly Check out some of Sebastian Ospina's titles, awards and more... First pilot to fly over 200k straight line in Colombia 5x Winner of the Rolda Open (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2013) Winner of the British Winter Open 2019 3rd overall place XContest 2019 and 2020 Winner of the North American Paragliding Nationals 2022, Valle de Bravo Team Gold at the World Championship 2021 6th at the World Championship 2021 Winner of the Eiger Tour challenge category 2022 6th World Cup Superfinal 2022 The Colombia News Brief is reported by journalist Emily Hart. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/colombiacalling

Reading an extract from his forthcoming work of non-fiction: The Mompós Project, A Tale of Love and Hotels in Colombia, journalist Richard McColl discusses the issue of witchcraft in this corner of rural Colombia. Having set up a successful business in the town of Mompós - a town that inspired much of the writing of Gabriel García Márquez - he incurred the wrath and envy of a handful of townspeople. The book with be available in all the usual places from November 2024 but stay informed at www.fullervigil.com Richard McColl has worked as a journalist in Colombia since 2007 and is the host of the Colombia Calling podcast and the LatinNews Podcast. The Colombia News Brief is reported by journalist Emily Hart. www.colombiacalling.co www.patreon.com/colombiacalling

Hallo and welcome to another episode of Colombia Calling – I’m Emily Hart and this week I’ll be talking to the team at Power Leaves – who are unleashing the health and nutritional properties of the coca leaf by creating de-cocainised extracts and essences – and exporting them from Colombia across the globe - working with the country’s Nasa indigenous community. Today on the show we have Ahmed Shehata, Co-Founder & President of Power Leaves and Carolina Mejia, VP of Regulatory Affairs for the company in Colombia – we’re going to be talking all things coca leaf – its properties and uses, how the company is navigating the regulatory frameworks to get coca extracts into markets across the world – and how Power Leaves are challenging the monopoly of the giant household name who import coca leaves to the USA and sell their drinks in more than 200 countries. I’m talking, of course about Coca Cola. This week’s headlines reported by journalist Grace Brennan.

It was remarkably good fortune that famed writer Sara Wheeler came through Mompós in Colombia when I was there overseeing our hotels. Over coffee and conversations we discussed Colombia, the politics and her travel writing. And so, I was very honoured that she agreed to come on the Colombia Calling podcast to discuss future projects, past projects and much more. Wheeler's latest book, Glowing Still: A Woman's Life on the Road, is her most personal to date, reflecting on her own experience and the changing world of travel. "How are we supposed to live? The best writers all know that there aren't any answers, there are only questions." Tune in here and wherever you get your podcasts for this and the Colombia News Brief reported by journalist Emily Hart.

No strangers to the Colombia Calling podcast having featured here on more than a few occasions, this week we chat to Dave Proctor of La Leyenda MTB race and hear about their expansion into the Caribbean, Series races and the multi-stage race in Colombia. It's a good news story from Colombia, highlighting what is possible, with an idea, an aim, a dream and then following through with the hard work. Let's celebrate La Leyenda and what this mountain bike race has done and is doing to promote the best of Colombia. https://la-leyenda.com/en/ La Leyenda Colombia La Leyenda, South America's most prestigious mountain bike stage race, where adventurous professional and amateur cyclists from around the world race side by side in the majestic Andean mountains of Colombia. As formidable as it is breathtaking, the Leyenda route showcases the best of this cycling crazy country La Leyenda del Caribe La Leyenda del Caribe is the Caribbeans's premier MTB stage race! Adventurous amateur cyclists from all over the world race side by side along the stunning, palm tree lined beaches, lush forests and river valleys in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic. The Colombia News Brief is reported by Emily Hart. Please support us at www.patreon.com/colombiacalling

For more than five decades, the people of Colombia have suffered the consequences of warfare between illegal armed groups. Landmines were laid throughout rural areas, devastating local towns and villages. Nearly 12,000 people have been killed or injured by mines or UXO since 1990—that’s a casualty rate second only to Afghanistan. This week, we speak to Oliver Ford, programme manager for the HALO trust in Colombia about the new challenges to humanitarian demining in the evolving conflict in the region. HALO has been clearing landmines in Colombia since 2013, making land safe across Antioquia, Boyacá, Casanare, Cauca, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Tolima and Valle del Cauca. We’ve removed landmines from coffee plantations, farms, veredas (villages) and indigenous reserves. The Colombia News Brief is reported by Emily Hart.