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E-Man comments on Colombian Vallenato songs and dominicans

Article written about Bachata and the use of Bachateros to use older Vallenato songs and recording them as Bachata: http://www.iasorecords.com/bachata.cfm?subsecid=108

E-Man comments on Does Colombia Have Earthquakes? 5.4 Magnitude Earthquake in Los Angeles Today!

I felt the one here in Southern CA today and I have felt a couple of tremors when I was in Cali Colombia. Fortunately, there was little or no damage. The apartment that my girlfriend lives in Cali had to be reinforced due to prior earthquakes.

E-Man comments on Colombian Vallenato songs and dominicans

Elmo, Your posts are always entertaining! How many Vallenato singers look like this though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0jjDgnC4BU

E-Man comments on Colombian Vallenato songs and dominicans

Here is another song that was originally a Vallenato but recently sung as a Bachata. Actually, I like both versions. Sin Perdon - Bachata - Acosta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuCrgAaHWYg Sin Perdon - Vallenato - Celedon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSYOOFTmkuU

E-Man comments on Going to Cali first time, what to expect

Gogopher, Cali is nice to visit and there are a limited number of things to do: 1) For Salsa it is definitely Juanchito if you are good at Salsa 2) Malls or Plazas a )ChipiChape - Mall where many gringos go and you can people watch (including the Calenas) and see a movie b) Palmetto Mall - Nice Mall where there are less Gringo and you can eat, drink and watch a movie c) Other malls are Unicentro and Jardin Plaza 3) Places to eat: Tizones - Steaks, Karens Pizza and there are many nice restaurants in the Granada area (close to Avenida Sexta in the North). 4) Chivas Bus 5) Hiking Tres Cruzes 6) Zoo 7) Avenida Sexta use to be a happening place but not as much so now Here are other comments: 1) The closest I can describe the weather for Cali is similiar to Hawaii to me (Warm (80s) and humid). Lately, it's been raining alot but has been comfortable at night (about 70 degrees). 2) Cali has a lot of pretty women. I am sometimes amazed on how many pretty Calenas there are. It's easier to meet the women or people first on the internet and then meet them in Cali. But please be careful. 3) I am not sure if you are fluent in spanish but in Cali it's even more important that you speak and understand spanish since in general many people in Cali do not speak English. 4) If you take a Taxi (especially at night) , please make sure to use a Taxi where they call it rather than flagging it from the streets. 5) Even though there are a lot of nice people, there are are a few bad apples (as in most cities) so be careful and use common sense.

E-Man comments on

Salsa, Cumbia, being friendly, having beautiful women, soccer, cooking good food, partying and being catholic.

E-Man comments on Fast salsa songs

Here are some more fast or moderately fast (some of the songs are syncopated) salsa songs: Batman y el hombre arana, by Azabache. Arrepentida - adoloscentes orquesta hoy aprendi - adolescentes orquesta Al Son de los cueros Sonora carruseles n'klabe - i love salsa Mambo Gozon - Tito Puente El Plastico - Ruben Blades Anabacoa - Oscar DeLeon Colombia has created some excellent Salsa groups and many of the groups have created fast Salsa songs. Check in You Tube for the following groups: Grupo Gale, Sonora Carruseles, King Bongo, Joe Arroyo and Grupo Niche and Frukos as mentioned above,

E-Man comments on

Here are some Colombian Restaurants in SO CA: La Maria - N Hollywood 818 755-8811 Sabor Latino -Montclair 909 445-1069 El Molinito - Pico Rivera 562 948-1828 Susanas - Azusa 626 812-4312 La Fonda Paisa - Pico Rivera - 562 948-4702

E-Man comments on hard to find items in Colombia

For whatever reasons blueberries are hard to find in Cali. I go to Costco in the US and buy the blueberrries in the bag. It is kind of ironic since the blueberries they sell in the store here are from South America.

E-Man comments on Medellin Food! Do the natives just not have money to eat or is it the food that makes them so thin?

In general I would say this (comparing to the US): 1) They don't eat heavy meals at the end of the day (dinner) as much as we do in the US. 2) They walk a lot more. 3) I don't think that their meals are filled as much in steroids (beef, chicken) and other additives as we do. 4) The kids in the US today eat a lot of junk food and stay at home and watch tv or play video games. 5) The elevation makes you work harder. 6) We have more money to spend on food (especially junk food).

E-Man comments on Hello, My Name is Edison Miranda.

Great to see someone become successful from the streets. I saw his fights with Allen Green (win) and Kelly Pavlik (loss) and he has a lot of power in his punches. With some fine tuning he could win a world championship. In the ring he certainly is a different person than outside the ring.

E-Man comments on Descontructing The Popular Myth About The Big Bad Tough Colombiano

MT, Pretty interesting stuff written here. I do agree with what is written here that Colombia is a very dangerous country. I actually compare it to the Wild Wild West. The information here gives precautions on traveling to Colombia. I am sure you could tell some interesting stories about Chicago (my hometown) too and some of it's worst areas as I can. I do love Chicago though.

E-Man comments on Descontructing The Popular Myth About The Big Bad Tough Colombiano

Person from Chicago = Chicagoan Chicano = Mexican American MT, I think that every major city (in US, Colombia, etc.) has good and bad areas and that the American media over portrays Colombia as overly dangerous. There are certainly dangerous areas and people in Colombia (as in the rest of the world). However, by being in the safe areas and safe people you certainly minimize the dangers. I believe that in general Colombia is more dangerous than the US but that should not prevent someone from visiting or living there. Even if it were dangerous, some people enjoy the ability to take risks. Or some people enjoy the less restrictive environment in Colombia.

E-Man comments on What is your closest brush with danger in Colombia?

Wendel, I think it would scare the hell out of me (I have a 4th degree blackbelt in Karate and have competed in MMA) . If they wanted my money I would give them my money. If they were going to kidnap me I would certainly fight back because once they get you in the car your odds of survival is fewer. GIB, I agree with you. Funny how age and life experiences change your views on life :)

E-Man comments on What is your closest brush with danger in Colombia?

I was on Avenida Sexta in Cali and there were gunshots. My first thoughts were: 1) Get the hell out. 2) Is this the Wild Wild West? 3) A Narco, Borracho or a jealous boyfriend is not happy with someone. It still does not deter me to go back to Cali or other parts of Colombia since there are good people (including my novia) there. Growing up in the city in Chicago I saw people shot (Humboldt Park), I have been burglarized and also robbed so crime is not really that surprising to me. Bottom line: 1) Be careful 2) Always watch your back and your property 3) When there is trouble get the hell out of the area ASAP. By the way they caught a bunch of thugs on Avenida Sexta recently: http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/notas/Diciembre192007/jud01.html It was good for the police to catch these thugs.

E-Man comments on Salsa Lessons in Medellin or New York

Hey Mitch, Here are some Youtube videos showing some footwork. You can also enjoy watching the girls dance. You can see the basic cumbia step with a kick on the 4th count and the constant bent knees when doing the steps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJz3_URVL2k Here is a clip of man doing some nice Colombian Freestyle dancing. It looks like it's from the 1980s. He actually does the moonwalk. In the background you can see a couple dance closely doing side to side cumbia steps which I have also seen very commonly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVxKyB-qUzs

E-Man comments on Salsa Lessons in Medellin or New York

Mitch, I have danced with women from Cali, Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin when I was in Colombia. I think that droble 77 is correct. In Colombia they mostly dance on the 1 (beat) and use very basic steps. Even in Cali the majority of people (not counting performers) dance that way. Since you already know how to dance NY style you should be able to pickup their style by watching or having a women in Colombia or NY teach you. I dance LA style (on 1) which is a slot style like NY salsa. By watching and dancing with Colombians I noticed the following generalities: 1) At times they dance in a slot or in linear fashion but not very much. If they do dance in a linear fashion it is more with a basic salsa step with the left foot on the 1 beat. They don't do cross body leads (move bringing your partner to face the other side in this slot) that you see in NY, LA, PR and Cuban styles salsa. 2) Very few or no turns (vueltas). If there are turns it is more like the turns you see in cumbia which are half turns. I noticed that many women don't like doing many intricate moves or turns since it would ruin the women's hair and makeup and dancing is not about the moves or patterns. 3) They usually dance in a closed position versus an open position 4) Think more basic and many use very small cumbia steps with more emphasis on lower body movement versus the intricate patterns we use in our styles. 5) In LA and NY style we dance with a (slow portion) (quick, quick, slow). Some people there dance with a touch step in the place where we typically have the slow portion so it feels like there is no slow in their dancing. 6) Keep it very simple and more romantic (especially if you are dancing with a Novia) . I noticed generally the people dance very close together, no turns and their footwork moves to the accents of the instruments. The videos on youtube typically show the performers and that is not how most Colombians dance.

E-Man comments on Racism in Colombia - Elmo covered racism towards the darker skinned folks, but I'm curious what about Asians ( Koreans, Japanese, etc.)

Agreed with gringoinbogota that the Asians typically stick to themselves in Colombia. The comment: "many colombianos like a hole and a heartbeat... jijiji is hilarious. The only color that counts to "Putas" (if that is what you are looking) is green.

E-Man comments on Colombian Salsa Singers

Off the top of my head: Joe Arroyo, Orquesta Guayacan, Grupo Gale, Grupo Niche, Son de Cali, Sonora Carruseles & Frukos y Sus Tesos. You can check them out in Youtube.

E-Man comments on Racism in Colombia - Elmo covered racism towards the darker skinned folks, but I'm curious what about Asians ( Koreans, Japanese, etc.)

I am an Asian from the US (born in the US) and have traveled to Colombia twice and other latin american countires and will be going back to Colombia soon. I haven't been to Medellin but here are my thoughts about my visits: 1) There are Asians in Colombia but you will not see very many. 2) When they see you they will most likely think you are from Asia rather than the US. 3) The Colombians as well as in many Latin American countries will call you Chino if you look anything like a Chinese person even if you are Japanese or Korean. Don't take it negatively even if you are not Chinese, just accept it. It's not typically a derogatory comment. 4) The general perception is that you have money just like a white gringo from the US. Thus, people will try to charge you more money on goods. Just pay what you believe is fair. 5) If you are a guy looking for women, there are women that like Asian guys and obviously there are some that don't like Asian guys. If you are an Asian woman, many of the Colombian guys I talked to like Asian women. 6) Throw the preconceived racism out the door that you have encountered in the US and go to Colombia and enjoy the culture. 7) In order to be really accepted you will need to speak and understand some spanish and the culture. If you are outgoing (not being shy and so reserved like your typical Asian, especially since generally latino men are more aggressive in approaching women) and want to learn more about the culture you would be surprised how many nice people there are and people that are interested in you in Colombia. By communicating it throws out the preconceived ideas about you. The Colombians are proud people and value people that want to understand their culture. 8) As an Asian guy I did meet some Colombian women that were definitely very interested in me. 9) Colombia has some of the most beautiful women that value a good man. However, the women won't know you are a good man unless you communicate effectively.