Buenos Aires (Argentina), the 4th May, 2010

Flashes about Colombia

Colombia is still on mind, although I've already moved into a different world.
Here are some flashes (silly but honest ones) about Colombia (the little I knew of it):

1. From where do all those gorgeous men come?

It's like being a kid in a candy shop.:)

The staff of Avinca (colombian airline company) was breath taking.
I took a look at the pilot when traveling from Bogota to Medellin and almost had a stroke. He was GORGEOUS. I mean: G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S.

I must have looked stoned while staring at the man and I guess my mouth took several seconds (if not minutes) to be shut again.
Add to this temptation the fact that all men I met were extremely sweet, polite and romantic...Colombian women seem to be quite lucky!

2. I was also shocked with all the plastic surgery obviously performed in many, many, many women I saw everywhere. It seems to be a plastic surgery hell over there and this really left me sad.
I heard Colombia and Venezuela are the countries where this craziness is mostly seen. I could easily confirm it. It was like entering in a museum full of freaks.
Very frightening.

I find natural beauty irreplaceable.
I find self-acceptance and loving yourself a MUST for every woman in this world.

Coming from the Middle East where so many women go under the knife in the attempt to correspond to what they think men desire (mostly egyptians and lebanese), I thought I had seen it all until I reached Colombia.
Very young girls are already full of silicone in their breats, arses, face and wherever your imagination takes you.

Quite disturbing.


3. Botero's paintings and sculptures made me fall in love with him.
Botero is a world wide famous sculpture and painter (originary from Medellin) who pictures mostly extremely fat women (great opposition to the plastic surgery craze I saw in Colombia).
Their voluptous bodies and natural confidence could be a wake-up call to all the latin women I met who are starving for attention and love (thinking they will find it if they operate themselves to the bones in order to fit a sexy image built in their heads, in the media, in the cosmetic surgery industry propaganda, etc).
I fell in love with this artist and bought two of his pictures reproductions.


4. Paisas is the name (coming from PAISANOS which means peasants in spanish) people give to Medellin originary people. As the name says, they are known for their farms, horses and country side style of life.
They're also associated with the drug dealing ( in-famous Pablo Escobar at the head of the subject ) and the money laundry necessary to keep up the big drup businesses.
Besides some negative prejudices the paisas carry aroung, I can honestly say I never found sweeter people than this.
Everyone seemed to be made of honey, proving that not all rumours and fixed ideas are according to the truth.

5. Sensuality is everywhere and shown in a obvious, open and - for me! - exaggerated way. The subject of Women as OBJECTS of desire connects plastic surgery with sensuality.
You can see it everywhere...in the streets and in the way women (un)dress to arouse men's desire. In the way they move and dance...etc.
I had to give a pep talk to the students who attended my workshop and explain that Oriental Dance is not a streap-tease dance where you HAVE to seduce men.


Oriental Dance represents the opposite of all the effort to please I saw in most latin women.
You don't have to be pudic but you also don't have to pretend you're having sexual intercourse while dancing. It's just NOT necessary and not part of the nature of this dance.

Oriental Dance represents natural, organic, effortless sensuality that comes from the simple pleasure of moving and feeling our bodies and hearts in connection to the music.
I hope the message was delivered and some of it can help these wonderful women to accept, value and love themselves more.