Monday morning I was out walking around downtown Bogota when I happened upon this lovely little library in the park. This stand makes part of the Paradero Para Libros Para Parques (PPP), a program created about 10 years ago to help promote literacy across the country. The program is part of Fundalectura in association with [...]

Today I went to visit a couple of the libraries that make up the BiblioRed in Bogota. BiblioRed is Bogota’s public library systems, and it’s composed of a number of large, and small libraries, as well as a bibliobus. Today I went to visit the Biblioteca Pública Parque El Tunal, and the Biblioteca Pública Virgilio [...]

While I was growing up in Colombia libraries were very scarce, the only library one ever heard mentioned was the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango (BLAA), which I finally got to visit.
While the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango is owned by the Banco de la República de Colombia, it is very much a public library, and open [...]

I arrived in Bogota last night and today I’m off to visit a few libraries, my first stop is the Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. As Colombia’s national library, one of their main responsibilities is serving as the country’s legal deposit.
The collection includes monographs, journals, and a large music collection. The library’s music collection includes both [...]

Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America by Chesa Boudin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked up this book because of the title; I’m a big fan of the word “Gringo.” And for those of you who are about to get offended, know that I am the daughter of a self-proclaimed “gringo” and [...]

Between mid November and mid December the boat “El Navegante de la Amazonía” navigated along the Amazon and Putumayo rivers in Colombia offering training in the use of computers and the web. This project was developed by Colombia’s Ministry of Technology and aims at helping people in this part of the country to access the [...]

RedEsColombia is an online platform that offers a space where Colombians around the world, and everyone one else interested in the country can interact, and share ideas. Ultimately the network hopes that these interactions will help bring about new ideas, and development for the country.
You do have to register to get the full benefit of [...]

Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso by Gustavo Bolivar Moreno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a piece of fiction that weaves together a lot of Colombia’s recent history relating to the drug war. The story follows a young girl along her struggle to become physically “beautiful” in order to gain the attention and [...]

Recently the Vanderbilt library has digitized and made available a portion of their material on Colombia, specializing in 19th century culture and history, titled The J. León Helguera Collection of Colombiana. Currently the collection is divided into three main categories; broadsides, 1825-1972; pamphlets (including novenas), 1785-1969; and programas, 1819-1914. The site also allows for easy [...]

La Silla Vacía is an online forum for all things related to contemporary Colombian politics. The site offers qualified commentary on the country’s political activity, and it is updated multiple times throughout the day. The idea is to keep others informed, as well as offering an open space for debate. Under “La Movida del Día” [...]