"Uno debe amar lo mas que pueda"

From my brain to yours, 

I have been going back and forth for a couple days trying to decide what I should write about. Should I write about the insanely problematic government we are being forced to live by? or maybe the unstable economy we are desperately trying to stay ahead of? Or should I be positive and write about my trip to Colombia?

Why not both?

At the beginning of January I traveled to Medellin, Colombia to see Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio (aka el conejo malo). For those of you who are unaware when Benito announced his world tour, he purposely left the United States for two main reasons. Razon numero uno because his goal was to aid Puerto Rico and its economy with his concert. Razon numero dos because of ICE. Benito decided he would not tour in the US in fear ICE would ambush his fans outside of his venue. Now this is a decision I can respect, and it was the reason my family made the effort to travel to him. 

Bad Bunny DTMF - Medellin, Colombia night 2

Benito's album is unmatched. He was able to unite so many different people from different backgrounds. I know it was a huge discussion in many of my classes specifically how he was hard to understand (even for native speakers) but regardless the message was clear. That we should love and respect each other spreading hope and positivity and not hate. His message was evident to even those who don't speak Spanish — that is if they were willing to listen. 

Bad Bunny DTMF tour - Medellin, Colombia night 2

Colombia is an insanely beautiful country and her people know it. We landed on a rainy afternoon but make no mistake it did not infringe on her beauty it only enhanced it. The land was so green, and the air was so full of life. It was nothing compared to rainy days in Chicago. The people love their land and who can blame them? They have one of the best balance of inhabitants and nature I have seen so far. They do not overstep. They respect the land they live on. They only have one main road from the airport to the city and about 15 minutes in the road leads into a tunnel. The mountain range is too vast to make a road around the mountain, so they have one road, but it goes through the mountain. Saving the people from a longer commute and the mountain from being littered with dozens of roads. When we arrived in Medellin the uber driver pointed out how clean the city was, the people don't litter, they respect the land too much to do so. I thought this was really eye-opening coming from a country where we think we are the best at everything we do but we can’t even keep streets clean. We pride ourselves with high education and advanced technology but can't solve something as simple as litter and pollution.

I will remember the people I met in Colombia forever. They are incredibly smart, kind and willing to learn. We met so many people that were willing to teach. We learned the differences of our mother tongue. The most prominent being:

• Mande vs Digame

“Mande” is historically used by Mexicans. It is used as a sign of respect or servitude towards hacienda owners and Spanish colonists. 

• Perdón vs Tranquila 

Typically, when you bump into someone in Mexico you would usually say “hay perdón” but in Colombia customs are very different. Instead, the response to a bump would be “tranquila/o”. The wrong response in either country will earn you a couple of confused looks. 

• Bueno vs Alo

“Bueno” is another one of those fun words as it was used to check phone lines when they were not reliable. This greeting is common on the phone but in Colombia they greet you by saying “alo” short for ‘hello’. 

But regardless of our difference we still made the effort to learn and adapt. We were cautious to be as open minded as we could and understand that we were not enemies. The concert helped us understand how similar we were. How someone from Puerto Rico can make a song about an experience shared by Mexicans and Colombians alike. Now how unique is that? To be able to capture the history of your homeland, connect the experiences to other Latin countries and spread the message of love and respect to those of a different language. All while making history and having DTMF be the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. 

Truly inspirational to Spanish Speakers everywhere. 

Yours truly,

Sandy <3