Letting Go In Cartagena

The narrow streets of Cartagena were filled with thousands of people this Friday for the celebration of its independence. I have been the only white boy in a number of situations in my life, but this one took the cake. I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera out into the madness, so let me paint a picture for you.

It’s raining, pretty damn hard, off and on all night. Half of the people are carrying foam guns, the other half buckets of blue paint. These people show no hesitation in covering anyone they pass, especially me. Every five minutes someone throws a handful of firecrackers into the crowd. At one point of the night, I tried to enter a building to use the bathroom, and while in route to the building walked directly into a landmine of fireworks. I covered my head, closed my eyes, and tried my best to keep my feet off the ground. When I heard the cracks stop I picked my head up and had one of those “remember for the rest of your life” visuals. Through the clearing smoke hundreds of people started jumping up and down and cheering, throwing whatever they had into the air: Literally and figuratively letting go. I might not have jumped as high, but I joined right in.

The house I was staying at was three blocks away from the building the national beauty pageant was held in. The locals I was staying with, musicians and film producers, told me I would have more fun in the streets than sitting in the ballroom. I’m glad I listened to them. By 9 pm on Friday I was covered in foam, my face was blue, I had salsa danced outside of the police station, and already jumped in numerous freestyle cipher sessions.

I spent the next day relaxing, reading, and walking around this absolutely beautiful city. You can check out the pictures I took on fb: