November Update from Cali: Salsa, Peace, and Movie Theaters
Itās already mid-November. Winter is coming to Cali. People are starting to prepare for Christmas. Unfortunately, Iām still breaking out into a sweat after ten-minute walks. The temperature has not dropped even a little bit. Iāve gotten used to the heat, but itās still oppressive. Anyway, for this post, I want to share a hodge-podge of observations, from the mundane and trivial to la Paz.
Salsa
As you may know, Cali is the world capital of salsa. Salsa was actually born in New York, but Cali is the true mecca. Salsa caleƱa is genre of all its own. For a sense of Cali salsa, check out Grupo Niche, the most iconic group from Cali. Their most famous song, Cali Pachanguero, is basically the official song of the city (the video includes great shots of Cali). When I arrived here, I knew that I had to learn salsa. Itās an integral part of the culture. It blares from car windows, restaurants, bars, and houses. You cannot escape it. During my first few weeks here, my inability to dance was a source of stress. I actively feared being invited to go to a salsa bar. Thinking back, I really had no clue about what salsa even sounded like before I came to Colombia. Maybe I had heard it before, but I certainly couldnāt have identified it as salsa. Consequently, my ear for the music was truly abysmal. When I heard salsa music for the first month, I heard complete chaos. Iāve improved in my ability to pick out the rhythm, but only marginally. I really do like salsa, but there are just so many instruments and rhythms being played at once. A cacophony.
During my second week here, I decided to go all in. I was going to learn to dance salsa no matter how long it took. I enrolled at a salsa school called Swinglatino. CaleƱos think itās absurd that I go to classes. For them, I should be able to just naturally understand the rhythm and pick everything up quickly (ridiculous). I started going to classes about twice a week. My instructor, a young guy named Javier, started teaching me the basics. For the first month, we spent each class just reviewing the basic moves. Javier is a very nice guy. He plays BeyoncĆ© when we stretch to begin and end class, which I love. We dance side by side, in front of a mirror. Any moves he does, Iām supposed to copy.
But I really test Javierās patience. For the first month, any switch from one move to another was a true disaster. My legs would go in all directions, and Iād stumble and come close to actually hitting the floor. Other times, Javier would stop dancing to see how I would do without him. Iād quickly lose a hold of the rhythm so badly that I was dancing almost as off-beat as humanly possible. Javier would stoically let me continue until the song stopped, but he practically couldnāt even look me in the eyes afterward. I was just so atrocious. Javier is a pretty soft-spoken, terse dude. Compliments from Javier donāt come easily. When I finally land a move that Iāve previously failed, he always just says, āEso esā (āthatās itā). No exclamation. Iāve learned to interpret eso es as terrific praise.
Thereās one response to my ineptitude that Javier often employs that I dread above all: the training tape. If Iām off-beat even by my standards, he cuts off the normal music mid-song and switches to this brutal track that counts the beat for you. Uno dos tres, cinco seis siete. Uno dos tres, cinco seis siete. The second Javier abruptly shuts off the music, I know whatās coming. I know Iām in the doghouse. This song is maddening.
As Iāve written before, there are some things I can say here in Cali that get a laugh no matter what. I break these out whenever Iām caught in an awkward situation, which is often. One of my secret weapons is to bring up salsa and tell people, āI have absolutely no sense of the rhythm.ā I tell them about how Colombians often have to tell me ātranquiloā and āslow downā when Iām dancing, because Iām dancing about five times faster than I should be. I tell them Iām improving little by little. For some reason, they think this is all hilarious. One guy who works at the bakery near my apartment asks me how my salsa is coming along literally every time I see him. He wants to know which clubs Iāve been to, and how my classes are going. He is endlessly amused by my attempts to pick it up.
I really have improved, though. I definitely have a better sense of the rhythm than before. When Javier makes me go solo, I only somewhat lose the rhythm. Iāve gone out several times to salsa clubs with university students, and Iāve never really embarrassed myself! At this point, I can proudly say that my salsa is passable. Javier still thinks my name is spelled Flecherth, but thatās OK.
La Paz
On October 3rd, Colombians rejected the peace agreement that would have ended their 52-year war. It truly was a shocking moment. As I wrote leading up to the plebiscite, the polls uniformly predicted the peace would pass by a fairly large margin. So, when the No came in, it was the equivalent of a Brexit or a Trump victory for Colombia. On Facebook, all the Colombians I know posted long, devastated responses. They were genuinely apocalyptic. I saw one person write that this No showed how Colombians are stupid. Another said that the No vote would forever condemn Colombia to violence and to a bad reputation worldwide.
The most painful thing for these supporters of the deal was that people in the areas most affected by violence overwhelmingly voted Yes, while the wealthier populations in less affected cities voted No. The second most painful thing was that only 36% of Colombians voted. Most plebiscites require that 50% of the population vote for the result to count. Santos did not require this minimum (nor did David Cameron for Brexit). To my Colombian Facebook friends, this turnout was a sad reflection of political apathy.
Of course, the next day, people headed to work as normal. There was a bit of a hush around campus, but not dramatically so. The signs and banners promoting the peace were taken down, and people got over it. Originally, President Juan Manuel Santos told voters that there would absolutely be no renegotiation; this was the one and only chance for peace. People generally resented this as an empty threat to pressure people to vote Yes. It appears they were right. The FARC rebels still want to be integrated into society, and FARCās leaders remain open to negotiation. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that most people donāt want to let FARC off the hook. The peace agreement essentially pardoned them of everything. Now, it seems people successfully called Santosās bluff. Negotiations will start back up at some point. Nobody knows when a new peace deal may arrive, but within a few years Colombia could be looking at another plebiscite. While the No vote was depressing in the moment, it seems like it was not nearly as devastating and confusing as initially thought.
Final Thoughts
- Lots of people love to go the movies here. The same movies come out here as in the U.S., at the same time. During my first month, when I knew no one here, I often went to the theater alone to practice my Spanish and pass the time (it sounds like a low point, but I actually found it quite relaxing). Some movies here have subtitles, while others have voice-overs. The theaters are fantastic. They have comfy seats and sushi bars (no good, I would imagine). They sell hotdogs, hamburgers, popcorn, and kettle corn. People eat full meals during the movies. They take movie-going quite seriously.
- Lots of people in Colombia wear Crocs.
- Lots of adults in Colombia have braces.
- Colombia leads almost the entire world in national holidays. We have two this month. Iām writing this on the Monday afternoon of a holiday, and it feels so good.
To finish, hereās an awesome piece of graffiti I found here in Cali. As our tour guide during the Bogota graffiti tour told us, this is an example ofĀ āenvironmental graffiti,ā where the artist incorporates the architectural features of the building into the art. Here, the gutter acts as a spear.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Thatās it for now - stay tuned!
















