Then and Now: Colombia Redux

Phil Giesen (Colombia VIII, New Colombia I)

Back in Colombia after 48 years, I’m asked how the country compares to my first trip in 1963 as a rookie Peace Corps Volunteer. How do you answer that question when you would have to compare the mountains of Boyacá, where I was the first time, and the costa del Caribe (Barranquilla), where I have been for the last six months. Add to that, my first tour of duty was pre-digital and internet age. Nowadays, most young people don’t know what typewriters, snail mail, and land line telephones are.

When I give a short or flip answer, I often make a joke that it might have been a little more fun for me if I had been assigned to Barranquilla as a 21-year-old and sent to the mountains of Boyacá at age 70! But if I think the question is serious, I talk about the high-rise buildings, the modern cars, advanced medical care (and good systems of health insurance) as examples of positive change. However, I wish the drivers used their turn signals. I have a picture of me in Cartagena (1964) sitting on a wall and in the background there was only one modest high-rise building and now—wow!—it looks like Miami.

The best part, though, is that many things haven’t changed. Sure, the gap between rich and poor is still too obvious (as it is in the U.S.), but the good traditions remain in both the coastal and mountainous areas of Colombia. The people are kind. They used to offer cigarettes and tintos to friends and strangers. Now, to their credit, they still offer tintos as well as help and directions with a smile. (Luckily, most of the smoking has stopped.)

Colombians also have maintained their music and dancing styles, such as the cumbia, vallenatos, mapolé, and salsa, while enjoying some of the imported music styles. This seems to contribute to people of all ages enjoying family get-togethers. The women of Colombia are recognized by many as being the most striking of the world, and family values are clearly very strong and traditional. The practice of años rurales for lawyers, doctors, and teachers has lasted for more than half a century, and I am gratified by this because it seems to assure a positive future.