BOGOTA

Whats up world? Back once again, you already know, its the incredulous... your boy vDIME, reporting live from Bogota. So I'm here in Colombia doing the teaching thing for a while and I figured I would keep a record of my experience from the perspective of a rap fan. REGGAETON I had a bit of an awkward introduction to one of my fellow teachers when he offered to DJ our dinner via his ipod on the first night. When prompted with inquiries regarding his library, his first suggestion was to throw on some reggaeton. I actually burst out laughing. Unfortunately, he wasn't joking. He likes reggaeton. Naturally, I checked myself (so as to not wreck myself). "Oh word? No, that's cool man. I mean, if you really like it, that's cool. I didn't mean to... I just never got into it, personally..." As it were, this a dude who is very similar to myself in that he is white and coincidentally also from Michigan. Now, I didn't expect him to go straight to Enter the 36 Chambers, but his preference definitely caught me off guard. I knew that there were people out there who liked reggaeton, but I don't think I have ever really met any of those people. To make things stanger, everyone in this group seems to like reggaeton, and they all seem to jam out to songs I've never heard before. While it makes me feel unique that I have a deeper interest in hip-hop than the other members of the group, it can also be a somewhat lonely feeling. One of my fellow teachers is from Houston and I thought I overheard her say 'trill' in a conversation with another person. I immediately asked her if she likes UGK and... nothing. I guess they were talking about singing? I'm sure that there is plenty of hip-hop to be heard in this city and also the rest of the country, but it looks like I will need to put in some effort in order to find it. One interesting thing about Bogota, however, is that graffiti is not only legal here, but it is encouraged and admired as an art-form. Pretty much everywhere you look you will find tags and murals, and I've heard that they do graffiti tours here in which you can learn about some of the more famous artists. I haven't taken any good pictures yet but hopefully I can snag some. That is all for now, hasta la proxima. -vd