Bogota

I am about to board a flight to Barranquilla, leaving Bogota after a couple of days. In those three days I have had, as usual, a love/hate relationship with my native city. I had forgotten how noisy and messy it can be, cars driven everywhere, horns being used repeatedly for no reason, music being blasted nonstop everywhere. No respect for traffic regulations, or for personal space. However I must say the hate part of my relationship with the city is marred by the fact that I’ve been living in Europe for the past 12 years of my life. For every sense and purpose I grew up in the UK, I was barely 17 when I moved initially to France and then to England and I have become accustomed to the neurotic attitude northern Europeans have to regulations and privacy. Often when I come back to Colombia I feel like a tourist, unable to take a bus to the right place (I, more times than I would like to admit end up in completely the wrong place). I regularly fail to understand the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the people in the city and end up making a fool out of myself. However every time I visit, and the longer I stay, my love for the city grows. I have travelled widely and visited many different countries but to this day I’m yet to find a city where people are so resilient and hard working. Everybody, and I really truly mean everybody, finds a way to make a living (OK, sometimes that might not be the legal kind) either selling sweets in street corners, going on buses with a guitar and singing, or just by doing something we didn’t know we needed but end up unable to live without like buying single cigarettes from street vendors. In spite of the insecurity, the economic crisis, the political upheavals the people in Bogota love their city and are proud to look after it. Not taking into account civil servants, people are incredibly efficient and fun loving, always with a smile.

The contradictions and ironies of the city make me love it a bit more every time I visit, in the space of a few blocks you can find embassies, the best restaurants in Latin America and a brothel... you will be wolf-whistled in every street corner but when you get on a bus men will, without fail, offer you a seat; the city has a reputation for being dangerous but if you find yourself in trouble, are lost or need assistance people will undoubtedly jump at the opportunity to help you, and even if at times they look stressed (it is one of the biggest cities in the world) politeness is a permanent feature, a good morning, a thank you, and a please are always present. I have to say, even though I love (and sometimes hate) Bogota, I could not live here. Perhaps the love part of the relationship is so much more important precisely because I only experience the city as a tourist, and because its beautiful chaos is a welcomed relief from the squareness of British culture.
Over the years I have come to realise that I can have more than one home, Bogota is one, London is another. I am sure with time many more will be added, and with each I will have a marmite-like relationship. Bogota is my birth city, not only because I was born there, but because a big part of who I am is intrinsically linked to my city. My overly political nature might seem out of place when I am in London but it is not in Bogota. We are, by nature, politically engaged citizens, personally invested in the development of our beloved town. My often contradicting ways can be partly attributed to having been brought up there. Like London, our parents` generation was made up of immigrants from other parts of the country, and most of us have parents who come from very different parts of the country, and Colombia being so incredibly diverse means that often Bogotanos of my generation are made up of contradicting natures conflating in our beautiful city.

Bogota is a city like Buenos Aires that resonates of old Europe, with a wide intellectual background, being the location of some of the best academic institutions in the Americas and the largest library in the continent. It also hosts the biggest street theatre festival in the world and music events are a permanent feature. The city is also full with parks, big ones and small ones. Every block has a park with swings; the city is widely covered by a bike only route, and every Sunday the biggest streets are closed off to traffic so that the residents can go on their bikes, skates, etc. But the city is also full of bars, clubs, and restaurants. I was surprised when I moved to the UK that the eating out culture was so new, with my family (and I think that is the case with most of my friends) every Sunday we would go out for lunch either in or out of the city, and after my parents` divorce we instituted a Monday night eating out date with my dad. I have eaten in the so called best restaurants in the world but I will always choose my favourite spots in Bogota over all those other fancy places. Going out is not only cheap but great, and the variety will put London to shame.

Growing up in Bogota I learnt that politeness is not a sign of weakness but rather an essential part of being a good citizen, that a greeting doesn`t cost us a thing but it can make a whole lot of difference. Fair enough, living in Bogota also thought me to be very cautious and sensible, and to avoid putting myself in dangerous situations, but surprisingly the only time I have ever been the victim of a crime was while in the UK, never in Colombia. It is true that it is also a poor city, and that the contrasts are unfair and that we have become immune to the injustices because they are so widespread they don`t shock us anymore. I know I can write this from privileged position, one that 99.9% of Colombians don`t have, but at least having grown up in Bogota that political side of me, and of many of my fellow Colombians abroad, means we will strive to, one day, contribute to a positive change in our city, and from there to our country.

Living in London, my other home, I often forget what being a Bogotana means, and how much I owe my city, that`s why it is always a good thing when I visit, it reminds me of where I come from, and that I ought to be proud of all of what Bogota has given me, and what I hope in time I can give back, and also that wonderfulness I can bring back with me to London.

I will be going to see my mum in Barranquilla for a couple of days, a city by the coast, hot and humid, equally chaotic but much smaller, and often with what I like to call “The Miami complex”: the annoying obsession with all things American, but still retaining the echoes of Latin culture. I wouldn’t choose it as part of a tourist destination (us Colombians are very “regionalist”) but the fact that a big part of my family lives there makes it a must go place. I get spoiled rotten, eat amazing food, go to the best shoe shop in the world and get a bit of sun and warmth. We shall see what it offers me this time...