Positive Press for Colombia in UK

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 16, 2005, 08:26:

that is great! and in the guardian wow
ps: yes I agree pity about the mixing of the positive with the negative.
but at leats better than some

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Hunter says on Mar 16, 2005, 11:45:

Nice article Its a shame BA doesn't fly any more to Bogota.

Hunter

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoX says on Mar 16, 2005, 12:02:

It's a very nice article, just too bad that like the typical foreign journalist, he has to keep mentioning the country's reputation over and over again. It kind of puts a damper on the wonderful things he's saying about Colombia. For example:

"and discovered a country that welcomes visitors with enthusiastically - utterly distant from Colombia's reputation for being good at narcotics, terrorism and little else."

"By the time the plane begins to sink into the darkness, fires burning orange in the forest below, the folly of taking a holiday in a country where 23,000 people were murdered in 1989, the worst year of violence, seems obvious."

This is 2005!!!


"Big, sprawling and mostly modern, it's no beauty spot."

Yeah, as if London was also a "beauty spot".


I also didn't appreciate this comment and I'm sure no one from Manizales did either:

"This was our guide Juan's hometown - and he was proud of it, even the insanely ugly concrete cathedral."

I completely disagree with this comment.The Catedral de Manizales is NOT ugly. I think it's quite imposing and beautiful. Check it out in my image gallery and see for yourselves.

Oh well, but I agree this is certainly better than the National Geographic article.



ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Mar 16, 2005, 14:54:

Sorry ColX but it isn't that beautiful, at least not by the standards of many European cathedrals. I am judging by photos on the web that I have seen of it.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Tinto (Moderator) says on Mar 16, 2005, 15:21:

Maybe people should be thankful the journalist ONLY mentioned 23,000 murders as the "worst" year of violence (1989, according to the article). That appears to be wrong in both absolute numbers and the murder rate per capita.



Selected years:

1989 - 21,600 homicides - 62.7 per 100,000 people

1991 - 28,284 homicides - 79.3 per 100,000, highest rate year

2002 - 28,837 homicides - 65.8 per 100,000, highest absolute year

2004 - approx 20,000 homicides - approx 46 per 100,000



Source: www.derechoshumanos.gov.co

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Mar 16, 2005, 18:27:

Whoohoo!! Things are looking up!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoX says on Mar 17, 2005, 04:47:

"Sorry ColX but it isn't that beautiful, at least not by the standards of many European cathedrals."

That's funny, by my Colombian standards, I seem to think many European cathedrals aren't that beautiful either!


CX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Mar 17, 2005, 06:42:

Which one's specifically? I am sure you can come up with a few. I can think of a few, but I am curious which ones you don't like.

The photos I have seen of the cathedral of Manizales are only shown from the front and never in any detail. Show me some other photos that are clear and show detail and perhaps I will see it the way you do.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoX says on Mar 17, 2005, 06:57:

La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona comes to mind.

I'll find you some nice pictures of the Manizales Catedral later, right now I don't have time.


CX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Mar 17, 2005, 07:54:

Agreed.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Mar 18, 2005, 17:32:

Still don't like it sorry. Just my opinion. Perhaps I owe it a visit in person. I spent a few hours looking for photos of it and they are all taken from the same vantage point. Many cathedrals do not photograph well due to the confines of their surroundings and their immense scale.

0 funny, 0 helpful.