As a Colombian, I stopped going to visit my country for many years because of the war and the violence. But for the past two years I have gone back with my children to visit Medellin and have had a great time there. I have traveled in the country side, of course always making sure things are safe, and it has been wonderful. Things are changing in Colombia, I hear it and feel it to the point that my brother and I are planning to buy a residence there. I've read Gabo, and understand how it portrays our history, but it does not mean that that is how it is always going to be in Colombia.

Yes, I fully realize by now that these pieces are more travelogue than literary. - But I really don't see how one can omit Alvaro Mutis, born and educated in Bogota. His epic, fatalistic picaresque, The Adventures And Misadventures Of Maqroll, is on a par with Don Quixote and reflects the sadness, pathos and tragic humour of much of the Latin American mindscape. A very deft English translation by Edith Grossman has been available now for over a decade. More recently, Mutis has won the 2001 Cervantes Prize and the 2002 Neustadt International Prize For Literature. Aside from all this, he's just a very, very good writer.

A nod to Mr. Fishbane: He has lived in Mexico since 1956.

I was just looking at photos of Bucaramanga and a mountain town called Zapatoca--off the drug path by a ways--thinking about how nice it would be to visit, or, given the costs in Baja ($1.7M for a nice house placed ideally for being carried away by 3' sea level rise)--actually partially retire. For the same reasons given in the post, not many tourists want to go there. I wouldn't go near Bogota or Medellin but, it's true that plenty of people live there. Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden wrote a great book on Pablo Escobar worth anyone's time, Killing Pablo. I have been reading all of Garcia Marquez' work in Spanish, except for those ones I already read in English, but I will go back to those now. And thanks for the other suggestions in the comments and posting. (Spanish titles helpful). In Spanish, Garcia Marquez seems unequaled as the Shakespearean art of packing detail, irony and ripples of cultural, political and literary significance into a phrase, while seeming to say something commonplace and keep a ripping plotline moving along. His small books are worth reading on a trip because ounce for ounce, they keep the mind engaged more than almost anything else. That said, I am still very fond of the Argentine writer Julio Cortazar and the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa.

An unfortunate aspect of living in North America is that our impressions of Latin America tend to be based on very stale news, sporadic and sensational reporting, and reprehensible cultural bias. My wife and I, who have been heavily involved in Latin America through study and work for many years, were not immune to the usual prejudices and fears-- until recently. We adopted two Colombian orphans, part of the process of which requires an in-country stay of several weeks. What I want to report is that Bogota is the site of a genuine renaissance of civic virtue and general tranquility. Several municipal and national administrations over the past decade or so have changed the face and the culture of the city in admirable ways. Just a few examples: Every weekend, large segments of major highways are closed to vehicular traffic for the "ciclovia", as many thousands of residents mount their bicycles for a long recreational ride; the new "Trans milenio" bus line operates on its own dedicated road, providing mass transit across the sprawling city that had been known for the worst traffic jams in Latin America. The historic center is a fine mix of colonial and other historic structures, museums, and parks rivaling that of Guadalajara, Mexico. Art and high culture are everywhere. Food is cheap, abundant, and almost always delicious. In a month of residence, during which we walked and drove through much of the city, we never once felt threatened. This rosy picture is not the whole story, of course; our Colombian friends warned us to avoid certain areas and activities. But in this respect Bogota is probably no worse than Los Angeles or Chicago. Also, despite improvements, traffic can sometimes be maddening. Overall, however, I would recommend Bogota, and certainly Cartagena, as worthwhile, colorful, and genuinely fascinating destinations, with more than their share of friendly, honest, and helpful Colombians to make the trip comparable in enjoyment and stimulation to other destinations of interest in Latin America.

The author forgot to mention that Colombia has a variety of folk music that matches its variety of habitats - and we have the tiple (Colombian variation of guitar, with extra strings) for music from "the interior" as well as all sorts of percussion intruments that go with cumbias from the coast. And now we have Shakira and Juanes, two of the most poular singers in the world as ambassadors of current music from Colombia.