La 33

Recently I succumbed to the power of marketing of one of the most interesting sites I´ve came across on the net. Last-fm is not a new service on the net, and it mainly offers a free-customizable radio station that suggest new or underground artists based on your parameters of preference. It gathers that information by synchronizing its servers with your audio tracks in Itunes/ipod. In some sense this "free music" comes at a really high price: you are sharing your consumer preferences so the mayor companies can studie your market behaviour. Moreover, it's a market platform where every artist played in Last-fm is actually offering its products in front of a potential consumer that otherwise wouldn't notice them. However, the strategy is not bad for the final user, as it gets to know interesting music when he is tired of his own collection of purchased items, and allows the possibility to enrich his taste proposing interesting combinations that can suit to its needs.

Was in this process where La 33 arrived to my ears as one of the suggestions of new artists in the salsa field. These bogota-based salsa group doesn't have anything to be discontent of being in a city with no salsa heritage. Actually, as most of the business in Colombia, the centralization of power makes the best players move to Bogota as it is more probable to find an a recording label sponsoring them than in any of the other mid-size cities. Its single ¨La pantera mambo¨ is a rich collection of fusions between latin jazz and underground salsa movements. I was very pleased to find that its album is much more than just one single, and that not only covers salsa, but also mambo and bogaloo with different perspectives.

Listen to this album of La 33 is like being transported to one of the almighty salsa clubs in Cali, Colombia. The band succeeds in shaping an album with the energy of a live performance even in a recording studio.

The style of the album can be catalogued as ¨a unisex salsa¨, that is, a genre that can well be worth for a fan of the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico or to an avid listener of new groupings like Orishas or Sergent Garcia. Its swing is in some respect influenced by Yerba Buena, Sidestepper, and Eddie Palmieri.

The best songs for my taste:
- La pantera mambo¨
- Que rico boogaloo
- La 33
- Suelta el Bongo

Sobre la educación en Colombia

Me tome el tiempo de responder algunos cuestionamientos sobre el plan decenal de eduacion en colombia para el 2010. Creo que hay metodologías del sistema educativo en Colombia que aun se rigen por conceptos de hace 50 años, como la memorización o la orientación al resultado. Esta es una oportunidad para cambiar algunas cosas, y fomento la idea de que aun podemos contribuir a cambios en procesos tan fundamentales como el de la educación en colombia.

Hay un modelo muy interesante sobre metodos constructivos para la educación, sugiero darle una mirada al video de Claus Brabrand al respecto.

Esta es mi mirada al respecto:

Sobre la educacion y la evaluación

La educacion presta al individuo las herramientas basicas necesarias para un posterior desarrollo en la vida laboral. Es necesario seguir un proceso, en donde los conocimientos aprendidos sirvan como bloques para el posterior desarrollo de juicios y criterios por parte del estudiante. La evaluación en general debe servir como el filtro para definir si se han cumplido o no con los requerimientos cognitivos de un curso; definiendo si el resultado del proceso de enseñanza ha sido captado por el estudiante.



Sobre los elementos de una buena evaluación

La evaluacion debe basarse en los conceptos que el estudiante ha formado sobre un topico en especifico. examenes de memoria fomentan un conformismo y sesgan la creatividad. Un estudiante debe estar en capacidad de: 1. Extraer las nociones fundamentales sobre un concepto. 2. Establecer relaciones entre los distintos conceptos. 3. Formar un criterio propio respecto al conocimiento adquirido.

Sobre la equidad en las evaluaciones

Al maestro se le debe equipar con tecnicas de enseñanza y evaluación especiales para garantizar el correcto seguimiento de los estudiantes. Una evaluacion debe realizarse con base en el proceso de construccion de conocimento por parte del estudiante. Considero que procesos a mediano plazo (tipo proyectos de curso) permiten al estudiante motivarse y construir conocimiento, donde el profesor actua como un guia y facilitador.

Los estudiantes y la evaluacion.

Una correcta evaluación debe garantizar que el estudiante domina el tópico de estudio de manera correcta. Esto va mucho más allá que el hecho de recitar conceptos de memoria o aprender tablas y formulas sin sentido, y debe permitir al estudiante presentar ideas propias, conceptos adquiridos y criterios formados respecto a un tema especifico. Discusiones y socializaciones de proyectos pueden ser una buena estrategia

La evaluacion hoy: retos y desafios.

1. El gobierno no debe definir topes minimos o maximos en la educación. Si no se han adquiridos las destrezas de un curso, el estudiante debe repetirlo, sin más discusiones al respecto.
2. Incentivaría al estudiante a buscar su propio conocimiento, dandole libertad de investigación y evaluando el proceso por el cual construye sus conceptos.

Desaparecido

Ok, so this is it... I've been kind'a lost during these two months. It's not that nothing happens in my life; on the contrary, two many things have kept me busy all along the way.

First of all, the trip to colombia was amazing. I thought the things would be different, more partying and drinking (I really expect to deserve that kind of emotions not experienced on so much time), but it was not the case. Its striking the healing power a family can have on you, not only because you interact with them, but much more because returning makes you feel in a safe environment. Of course, "hotel mama" is not meant to be taken forever, but a stay once in a while is alwsays good for cleanse your toughts.


As for my traveling passion concerns, we went to visit the eastern part of Colombia, at the province of Santander. The nature there is perfect for all kind of extreme sports (even arriving there was kind'a extreme) and the multi-ethnicity of the people makes it an interesting spot to visit.

De San Gil - Col...

On the return trip we passed by Bogota, a city where I will return several times because of the italian bureaucracy. My feeling is that you feel safer in the city than six or seven years ago, and the storic center is well taken by the government. Nevertheless, some spots in the city require special attention if you plan to visit it alone, such as the surroundings of the national university and transmilenio stations.



Always to the south, we passed by the southern region and visited Darien and Buga, two small villages near Cali, typically known by catholics for the "basílica" and for being the craddle of one of the oldest native american tribes in colombia.

De Calima y Buga

Finally, the journey stopped on Popayan, a beautiful city known by the catholic traditions of its population, their white-colonial architecture and the university centers that pulls the south-occidental part of colombia through the advances in R+D.



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I'll put more photos once I found the way to integrate the new iPhoto and My picasa albums, stay tunned


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From Manu Chau:

Me llaman el desaparecido
Que cuando llega ya se ha ido
Volando vengo, volando voy
Deprisa deprisa a rumbo perdido
Cuando me buscan nunca estoy
Cuando me encuentran yo no soy
El que est enfrente porque ya
Me fui corriendo ms all
Me dicen el desaparecido
Fantasma que nunca est
Me dicen el desagradecido
Pero esa no es la verdad
Yo llevo en el cuerpo un dolor
Que no me deja respirar
Llevo en el cuerpo una condena
Que siempre me echa a caminar
Me llaman el desaparecido
Que cuando llega ya se ha ido
Volando vengo, volando voy
Deprisa deprisa a rumbo perdido
Yo llevo en el cuerpo un motor
Que nunca dejade rolar
Yo llevo en el alma un camino
Destinado a nunca llegar
Me llaman el desaparecido
Cuando llega ya se ha ido
Volando vengo, volando voy
Deprisa deprisa a rumbo perdido
Perdido en el siglo... siglo XX... rumbo al XXI

Europeans vs. Italians ( & Colombians)

You can change the colours of the italian flag, and the pasta by a "bandeja paisa" and you will obtain the comparison between europeans and colombians

Plan Colombia Documentary

Now that i'm not sleeping i'll try to update this thing a little with new finds (unfortunately, not on research).

This documentary presents the US initiative for the erradication of drug production in Colombia, in a particular way made by americans. Normally I dont like this kind of material, but I think they capture quite good some unclear concepts, like the unexpected interests of the troops on oil-producer regions and the introduction of mercenaries on national fields.

Colombian coffee? Why it's so special

One of the most particular things I've experienced since I cam here is the feeling of property I've gain relating to the colombian products outside. Is not that all the colombian products are characterized by their quality or flavor, but some of them are particularly good comparing to the things you can taste outside.

This is the case of the colombian coffee, which is not just a phrase to identify a coffee with good flavor. Much more than that, the coffee by itself has a mystic in its growth, its recollection and toast. On the first one, the lands where coffee is planted conserve a mild climate with temperatures ranging 15 and 20 grades, naturally enriched with natural fertilizers and protected from the sun using natural shields like the "plátano¨ (baking banana) trees in which the ecosystem is carefully protected by their inhabitants.

The second, and crucial aspect for which colombian coffee has the reputation above other nations is the care the coffee producers have to select the grains. Every single grain is collected by hands, with the patience of hundreds of farmers that only select grains that are sufficiently good for the next process, with acceptation rates below 40% or less depending on the farm. This selection process, initially criticized by small farmers is now producing very good refunds, guaranteeing a flavor recognized by coffee lovers (nationals and foreigners) all over the world.

Finally, the social role of the coffee in colombia shapes a culture in which different generations are tied together in the different phases not explained here (e.g.: Clean, Dry and Toast among others), creating environments in which "fair trade" is the default policy the respect for the nature and the society are the most important values.

Now I hope I have clarified my preferences when people ask me why i'm willing to expend more for a cup of colombian coffee. Of course that I can take other ones (eg. the costarican that tries to imite us unfruitfully, or the widespread brazilian coffee), but there are some things that you cannot forget....