colombia 1/3 – interesting occupations

Javier recently returned from three weeks of travel in his home country: Colombia. Here are a few of his images and thoughts about his experience.

Colombia is an interesting place. So much is said about it in the news, and yet so little. After almost 7 years of absolute absence, I was finally able to see it in a new light. My love/hate relationship with my home country had started to shift towards the side of love. Now I feel an urge to go there and explore its rhythms and culture. Expose not only the country’s problems, but celebrate its uniqueness and humor. Amidst an incredibly complicated political situation, a daily life full of violence and despair, Colombians have figured out a way to smile, and smile lots.

Some of the things I find most interesting are people’s occupations. In Colombia everything is a business, and I mean EVERYTHING. Here are a few examples.

1. Typewriters: Near government buildings or plazas, you can find gentlemen that would typewrite for their customers anything ranging from love letters to official documents. All they need is a handwritten note, or a dictation, and they whip up a perfectly typed letter for you.

2. Cellphone Minutes: At any streetlight, busy intersection, or park (basically anywhere), you can find a person that would sell cellphone minutes. Since not everybody has access to cellphones, these individuals buy the cheapest plan from each of the different carriers so that they can provide you with as many options as possible. They tie their cellphones to their belts, and go around recruiting happy customers that are in need of making a last minute call. Cost per minute: $200 pesos (or 10¢).

3. Mangoes: Mango is delicious. But green mango (with a higher level of acidity) with a little bit of salt, pepper, and lime juice, is a delicacy. You can usually find a mango seller with their little carts or trays in parks. They cut them fresh (although they don’t wash them very well and I once found myself a little sick after indulging), and spice them up. The perfect afternoon snack.

4. Portable Convenience Store: You can buy cigarettes by the unit, a pack of chips, gum, sometimes even boiled eggs. Like this gentleman, there is a plethora of street vendors that carry a wide selection of snacks. Not everybody has the great system of placing all their merchandise in a grocery cart, which allows for easy displacement and transportation.

5. Last but not least: The Hat Man. I found this gentleman in the city of Medellin. In this region hats are a very traditional accessory, especially this type of handwoven hat. This gentleman’s business was to walk around the Parque de Antioquia selling them to passers-by (e.g. tourists, city officials, and distressed traditional men). He was a sweet man, and that little kid decided it was a great idea to help him rearrange his inventory.

Keep an eye out for the next post in Javier’s Colombia series.