Stories That Cross Boundaries
Being born in Colombia —a violent and lovely land of duality, of rancid poetry, marvellous heartbreak, impossible beauty, and sequestered abundance— is a curse. On the one hand, it’s a magical, fertile, lush kingdom filled with wonders and beauty. From the Amazon Rainforest to the Caribbean Sea, from the Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean,… Continue reading The Colombian Curse: A Love Letter to my Country
Day 1 Leaving Manaus on the morning of December 23, 2015 was not at all what I thought it would be. It's midnight and I'm sitting on the top deck of the Amazon Star, the boat that will take me to Belém, thinking about how I was robbed last night. Just a few metres away… Continue reading Nomadic Life: From the Amazon to the Atlantic
Presidente Figueiredo is a small city of just over 30,000 people, located around 100 km north of Manaus, the state capital of Amazonas in Brasil.
Photographs of my journey over the Amazon River, from Leticia, in Colombia, to Manaus, in Brazil.
Day 1 From the deck of the Itaberaba I, the boat that will take us from Tabatinga to Manaus, we watch the sun set behind the river in a scandalous show of red lights that break through the few clouds that dare cross it. The sunlight shines on the colourful hammocks that adorn the decks… Continue reading My Nomadic Life: Travelling to Manaus, Gateway to the Amazon
Coming back to the jungle is like coming home; it’s returning to a place so natural to me that I feel like I was never far away. Arriving in Leticia has marked the beginning of a new adventure, of fulfilling an eternal dream that has consumed my imagination since I’ve had use of it.And it… Continue reading My Nomadic Life: Back in the Jungle
In May 2014, I had the opportunity to return to the Colombian Amazon, this time working as a translator for a documentary film on mining and the significance of gold for the indigenous ethnic groups of the Yaigoje-Apaporis territory and National Natural Park.
Los jóvenes indígenas a quienes acompañamos durante las dos semanas del taller, fueron escogidos por sus comunidades para realizar el trabajo de investigación y digitalización de la formación del Régimen Especial de Manejo (REM) para su territorio, el resguardo y Parque Nacional Yaigojé-Apaporis. * The young indigenous men we stayed with during the two weeks… Continue reading Amazonas: Talleres & Entrevistas / Workshops & Interviews
They said the gods smiled upon us long enough to complete our task. Then the rain came. We sailed down the Apaporis River, away from La Libertad, a sacred waterfall considered to be the origin of life for the seven ethnic groups of the Yaigojé-Apaporis National Natural Park in the Colombian Amazon. As we made… Continue reading Visions in the Jungle: A Journey Through the Apaporis
En 2014 viajé al Amazonas colombiano para la grabación de un documental sobre la protección ambiental y pude visitar varios lugares inolvidables en la selva. /In 2014, I travelled to the Colombian Amazon to work on a documentary about environmental protection and visited unforgettable places in the jungle. CERRO YUPATÍ • CHORRO SAN FRANCISCO •… Continue reading Amazonas: Cerro Yupatí, Chorro San Francisco y atardecer sobre el Río Caquetá
Laura Restrepo Ortega 