La Tierra del Olvido

I am listening to Carlos Vives sing "La Tierra del Olvido," a nostalgic song about Colombia. The music reminds me of some good Nueva York moments and parties when I was a graduate student at Columbia University.

Although I still have not visited Colombia, the country, I wish I can go one day and drive from the Atlantic coast cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena to the rural beaches on the Pacific side. Colombia is such a rich country with so much good music and beautiful women. If only Garcia Marquez had not painted such a colorful tapestry of this South American country, I would not be as mesmerized by such a forbidden region.

My flatmate Jeff in Mexico City backpacked through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and ultimately ended up going to a wedding in Colombia. Bastard! I think we have all seen the wedding scenes from the movie "Blow", where Johnny Depp hooks up with Penelope Cruz.

Colombia will soon find stability, and maybe then will the rest of us find our way to the true land behind the inspiration for the film "Romancing the Stone", yeah, the one with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Romancing the Stone.

This painting is titled "Pareja Calaca" by Claudia Galvan. It's amazing how Galvan can make skeletons look so alive and full of blood...albeit not red.