farfallah has left 16 comments

farfallah comments on What the US Election Means for Colombia

Concur with original poster. Ominous portent for Colombia. Without U.S. aid, Colombia would be the failed state that it was throughout most of the 1990s and what it shall return to be without continued aid. Maybe, just as only Nixon could have opened relations with China, perhaps Obama can do the same with Chavez, Castro, Correa, et al. But, more likely, he'll return to the holiday from history, attend to his inward-looking constituencies, while letting all of South America turn into more of a powder keg than it already is.

farfallah comments on Patricia Teheran

Article Commenting On Deaths of Vallenato Artists http://noticias.canalrcn.com/noticia.php3?nt=23235

Signo trágico en el vallenato?

Varios de los más importantes exponentes del género vallenato han perdido la vida en forma inexplicable justo en la cúspide de sus carreras.

El primero en irse prematuramente fue Rafael Orozco, legendario cantante del Binomio de Oro, quien fue asesinado en su casa en Barranquilla.

El 11 de junio de 1.992 dos hombres que fueron a pedirle prestados unos insturmentos musicales y le propinaron diez balazos. El crímen aún no ha sido esclarecido.

Dos años después, el 21 de noviembre de 1.994, el turno fue para "Juancho" Rois, quien por esa época era el acordeonero de Diomedes Díaz.

"Juancho", recién casado y con su esposa en embarazo, falleció cuando se precipitó a tierra la avioneta que lo transportaba a un concierto en el estado Anzoátegui en Venezuela. Otros dos integrantes de la agrupación también perecieron.

Un año después, el exceso de velocidad en una carretera cesarense se llevó a uno de los talentos más prometedores. Patricia Teherán, de apenas 25 años de edad y voz líder de la agrupación "Las diosas del vallentato".

Patricia falleció cuando la camioneta en la que viajaba perdió el control y se estrelló a una velocidad de cien kilómetros por hora.

Hoy, los fanáticos del vallenato lloran la partida de uno de sus nuevos ídolos, Kaleth Morales.

farfallah comments on hips don't lie?

I also had a problem with Immigration I was singled out, a couple of years ago, returning from a visit to Colombia for an interview and a baggage search with Immigration. I filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for the reason for which I was detained. About nine months later, I received in the mail copies of computer print outs showing every foreign trip that I had made for the prior five, or so, years. The computer print-out pertaining to the trip during which I was detained had a section to indicate the reason for which I was detained. But, the government inked out the section so that I could not read the text. The government stated its rationale for not letting me see that section was that I would know the reason for which I was detained. So, after nine months of waiting, the government's reply to my FOI request was to deny my request, but in a manner that superficially seemed as though they complied with my request. I hadn't had any other problem with Immigration during the intervening nine months, so I let the matter drop.

farfallah comments on Satellite Radio in Cartagena

XM Radio Satellite Footprint I don't know by experience, but here's a link that shows the XM satellites' footprints. (They use two geostationary satellites.) Someone posted a message on the xmfan message board, asserting to have received XM radio signals in the Bahamas, Acapulco, and western Cuba. And, someone else posted that, due to the different type of orbit (non-geosynchronous), that Sirius radio would more likely have more-southerly reception during some hours of the day. I wouldn't be too optimisitic of XM radio coverage in Ctg.

http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=44108&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=bahamas

farfallah comments on Blackberry use in Colombia?

I think that Comcel has the infrastructure (GSM with GPRS) in place to handle forwarding of e-mails to a Blackberry. But, you should check with your carrier through whom you have your subscription for service. My service subscription here in the US (with T-Mobile) requires an additional service subscription (T-Mobile calls it 'Blackberry Unlimited International E-mail) for e-mail forwarding outside of North America. The additional service subscription is in addition to the service subscription required to get Blackberry service in the US/Canada through T-Mobile. Perhaps your service carrier shall require similar additional fees.

farfallah comments on Apartment Prices in Bogota & Medellin

Bogota Norte Apartment Prices Perhaps the disbelieving poster should also take a look at www.metrocuadrado.com a link volunteered by adrimm in a thread from a few days ago.

Several properties listed in Bogota norte of over 700.000.000, one over 884.000.000.

While I’m not unaware that a listed price is not necessarily the price at which a property sells, even a thirty percent discount off of the listed prices places these properties at well over 200,000 USD.

Makes me wonder about the dreams of many gringos here to retire to Bogota and live happily, in-the-lap-of-luxury, ever after.

farfallah comments on Latin television

Directv (Caracol TV) v. Dish Network (TV Colombia) Might anyone have an opinion as to which is the better provider of Colombian television news and entertainment here in the U.S. Comparison of their programming doesn't show much overlap of programming. Which programming would a Colombian expatriate in the U.S. prefer to watch?

farfallah comments on You don't know Jack Schitt ?

Jack Schitt story is in video form, too
Here's a link to a video presentation (sound card needed for the sound part) of the Jack Schitt story:

http://home.pacbell.net/diana_do/knowjack.htm

I don't suppose the Jack Schitt story would translate well into Spanish.

farfallah comments on apartment in bogota to rent?

Rental Rates in Affluent Parts of Bogota Interesting site, www.metrocuadrado.com . Thanks for the link.

I was surprised to see some very first-world rental rates on apartments in North Bogota. For example, 7.000.000 for a 300 sq. meter apartment in Las Rosales. (Sales price for this property also listed at 780.000.000.) A couple of other examples 3.000.000 for a 200 sq. meter apartment also in Las Rosales, and 5.000.000 for a 1800 sq. meter apartment in Chico Alto.

Plainly, not everyone in Bogota is working at compensation levels at, or a small multiple of, Colombia’s minimum wage.

The apartments also separately list “Valor Administracion” fees. For example, 520.000 for the 7.000.000 apartment. Are these fees similar to monthly common fees here in the US?

farfallah comments on Descomplicado

Thanks! Then, I guess my concerns of having been told that I'm just like/as exciting as a certified public accountant are unfounded.

farfallah comments on Descomplicado

Antoher translation request -- What does detallista mean? And, what does detallista mean? I was told that 'detallista' was 'tu (as in mi) forma de ser. I figure the term somewhat to be a compliment, but I can only translate detallista as 'detail oriented'.

farfallah comments on Cali Airport

Thanks. You’ve allayed my concerns. I’m relieved, in a way, that my experience wasn’t unique. My sixth trip to Colombia, but the first time that I’ve been selected for x-ray examination. Perhaps less than a single rad of radiation from a single x-ray photograph from a properly functioning machine. And, yes, my concerns ought to be directed towards the positive effects of random (or not) selection for submission to alimentary x-ray inspection – Perhaps fewer people shall be induced to attempt to injest and import dangerous narcotics. Needles to say, an extraordinarily dangerous, to life and liberty, undertaking.

farfallah comments on Valledupar and Riohacha

Thanks for info . . . Very interesting information about La Guajira and about Valledupar. From a gringo perspective, it sounds like a particularly unknown and hidden part of the country. Is there easy communication access to the outside from Valledupar – cable (satellite) tv and internet access? Internet cafes? With only a couple of Europeans/Americans living in the city, visitors from these parts must be a bit of a novelty. Looks like a single flight per day, on a small plane, between Bogota and Valledupar. Same plane continues on to Riohacha. And, interesting to read of the Arab influence in La Guajira. I figured that Shakira was an anomaly, being of part Lebanese (?) ancestry. I wouldn't have guessed any Arabian influence in such an unpopulated area as La Guajira.

farfallah comments on Valledupar and Riohacha

Thanks for the advice . . . . Good story Elmodefoque. And, thanks for the invite. I'm probably more suited for the role of Hewkawi Chief Roaring Chicken, and I'll stay behind at Fort Courage. Sounds like a SAMS flight from Bogota to 'sleepy' Valledupar without continuing on to Riohacha is about all the adventure that I ought to seek.

farfallah comments on Valledupar and Riohacha

Thanks for the advice . . . . I’ve read warning regarding Guajira, but I wasn’t sure whether the warnings pertained to the entire province or just the eastern peninsula. Valledupar sounds interesting. All I know about it is that Vallenato music is popular there and Simon Trinidad used to live there, albeit when he had his pre-FARC name. Is the culture similar to along the coast, i.e., Cartagena and Baranquilla? I don’t claim much of any expertise, but in my encounters, natives of the coastal cities have more of live-for-today outlooks than those in the interior.

farfallah comments on any colombians in the dallas fort worth area

Try La Casa Vieja . . . There's a Colombian restaurant, the Casa Vieja Restaurant,
1927 E Belt Line Rd Ste 152 Carrollton 972-416-8172. The owner's from Cali, and all of the Colombian's that I've meet in the area all know of the restaurant.