Finally I am in Bogota. The respectful indigenous looking middle aged man, carrying my name on a piece of paper he is holding up guides me toward the door. I am very disappointed that other than introducing myself, asking him his name and declaring “Encatada”, I can’t either understand, thus, or converse with him in any meaningful way. Luckily, English speaking sweet Natalia comes to our help. Both he and I are relieved! Soon enough, zipping through modern highways, we are downtown at the hotel reserved for the instructors. It has a European urban feel to it, clean, comfortable, the staff amazingly friendly, although with little English. Unless, you plan to stay at one of the historic hotels in the La Candaleria region in Bogota, Bicentenarrio is a very good place to stay, which I will explain why later….
Traditionally dressed youth in front of Museo del Oro
I am excited to discover Bogota all day by myself until meeting my hostess Dr. Cuadros, who is organizing a course at her hospital on child maltreatment and its prevention followed with an international conference in town next week. My first destination is El Museo del Oro, the Gold Museum, which apparently is the jewel of Colombian culture. First, I need to withdraw cash from my bank account. It turns out to be quite a task. The ATM at a Colombian bank doesn't even accept my card. Locals tell me to try the Citibank. Even there, ATMs are monolingual: Only the "English speaking" ATM accepts my card! In my pursuit of cash, I discovered where the Gold Museum is located and I now am proud owner of COP $300,000 (this $ sign before each charge I commit to paying in my future credit card use will make me feel very uncomfortable, since on credit card receipts it does not state COP. I just trust people and hope that I won't have to pay these horrendous numbers in USD!
I am finally in the Gold Museum. It is indeed impressive. It shows mostly the history of the rich and the rulers of the communities that lived over a stretch of land covering modern day Colombia, and parts of Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, and Brazil. The huge amounts of silver, copper, but most specifically gold they invested into the accessories the rich wore to show their power over those that they ruled is unimaginable without seeing it with your very own eyes. Each chieftain wore a golden forehead piece, under which a nose piece connected to a facial mask that extended with two large ear rings. In fact the ear rings specifically were made to be very heavy they were eventually able to fit in circular gold plates in the holes created with the weight of the ear rings themselves. Further, they had wide wrist and ankle bracelets as well as a wide belt below a chest plate, mostly circular, in the shape of the sun or a duplicate of the facial mask depending on the tribe and culture.
Gold, gold, gold....
Once I find my way to the 7th Avenue, I come across something that turns out to be a very interesting Colombian way of processing the past: Two indigenous intellectuals had started an initiative, inviting people to bring in newspaper clips related to the violent episodes in Columbian history and write a paragraph related to that clip. They have extended clotheslines from one tree to the other along a full block alongside the 7th Avenue. I will discover later on that 7th Avenue is a place for the people to do as they please; it is almost a claimed-by-the-people place.
These newspaper clips are clipped to the line for passersby to read and remember the violence of the past to prevent it from happening again. I am excited and feel very close to the two gentlemen sitting on a bench responding to the questions of some readers like myself. They tell me the purpose of this initiative is to keep the memory of the past alive. I am also impressed with the number of people stopping by and reading the clips of all ages and walks of life.
After shaking hands and giving each other our best wishes in Spanish, English, and Spanglish as they call it here, I move on toward the Cathedral Primada, which was built in early 1500s. There are two sections to the cathedral, one section is a more prominent building architecturally and the other has a more humble facade. The interior of the latter is also much more humble than the churches I saw in Europe, however, there is such a calming air in it. I must say, I find a kind of peace in every church I walk into and have to remind myself not to forget about what kind of atrocities were conducted through especially the old old church of Christianity, which is really not unique to any one religion, every organized religion has incidents and at times prolonged periods of atrocities, such as inquisition, such as crusades, such as what fundamentalist islam is doing all over the world now, such as Israel's expansive aggressivity in the "holy lands", on and on and on...
Try it, when you feel tense, just think of a smile in your mind and notice the tension you are in. Once you settle into the warmth and relaxation of that smile, notice what it does to your eyes, especially the outer angles, feel your muscles around your eyes relax, than bring the smile to your mouth and sense the relaxation of your facial muscles, then feel it in your throat, in your chest, in your belly, in your arms, in your legs... I did that all, and when I reached my toes, my tired body, walking for hours now was so relaxed and was so much at peace, I almost wanted to lie down right there and take a nap.
Of course I wouldn't do that out of respect to those around me at least. Instead, I stood up heading outside to go to Museo Botero. On the way out, I saw an invitation to all believers (perhaps church members) to campaign for the evangelization of Colombia. Something turned inside of me, I noticed it, made a mental note of it, but did not allow what I just saw ruin my meditation: I walked out. Oh, fresh air felt good....
Botero museum is part of a complex that is funded by one of major Colombian banks and it is free to visit! What a treat... Botero is one of the most famous Colombian painters and sculptors. But not only those, he is also a philosopher and a political activist. He made Abu Gharib famous by painting the pictures regarding the tortures that took place there and created a media sensation all over the world with that series. Not only that, he documented with his art all the violence that took place in Colombia, witnessing and testifying to all the pain his countrymen suffered from for centuries and recent decades. Botero calls himself most Colombian of all Colombians despite living in Colombia for only one month a year. I find it interesting but curious as well.
Yes, he raises his voice very loud for all that matters to become the voice of his coutnrymen. He has donated a huge amount of his art that creates the basis of living art in many places in Bogota including the Botero museum. But is that enough I wonder. I am not asking the question critically. I am asking because I am a Turkish American living in America and feel as dedicated to my country of origin if not as an originally-Turkish woman, but as a world citizen as Botero perhaps feels he is to Colombia. But I do not live in Turkey, I do not suffer from the pains that those who live there do on a daily basis. They are the ones, who fight against the daily oppression of the fundamentalists ruling the country for the last decade or longer, they are the ones who will have to fight the major fights to be fought when it comes to it. That is why, I wonder if one can leave a land and still feel more of that land than those who stay… I, perhaps need to read more about Botero and learn more about him...
The museum is stunning: Some of the most striking work of this now-80 year-old master (so they call him in Colombia) is on display. His style is now known as "Boterismo": He depicts people and live or inanimate figures in large, exaggerated volumes (he himself calls his people “fat”). His fame started building a year before I was born in 1958. Although, later on I will discover, his early style was quite different than his most recent signature style. When I bring this observation up my friend Dr. Cuadros will make a firm statement: He was a master even then! If you would like to enjoy his art and the very strong voice that he emits through his art, take a look at a few of his work at: https://www.google.com/search?q=fernando+botero+paintings&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=JIDqU9rZMZGBygSlsIGIDQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=853&bih=645
In the evening, my hostess introduces me to a number of colleagues, who have arrived in town from Spain, USA, and other parts of Colombia. We head toward Monserrat sanctuary, the hill top right behind Bogota. A church for pilgrims of 1600s was built modeling after a counterpart in Barcelona, Spain. The hilltop is now known as Monserrat. Bogota was shimmering down below as we visited teh premises of the church with no opportunity to get into the French restaurant adjacent, that had to wait until the next visit.
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| Bogota shimmering down below from Monserrat |
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