Bogotá 2600 – It’s On and Poppin’
Modern office buildings tower over centuries-old cathedral spires. Yellow, bug-like taxis dart past ragged horse carts. The electric pulse of international house music compliments a full repertoire of folkloric standards from the provinces. Contemporary art galleries and explosions of graffiti. Boutique hotels and backpacker hostels. Theatre festivals and street performers. Five-star restaurants and five-thousand-peso luncheonettes. Highlife on 93rd and whores on 23rd. Ten minutes of equatorial sun and ten hours of ice-cold rain. Vast flatness leading to a jagged horizon of green mountains, Monserrate andthe Virgin Mary blessing the whole array. Developed-world comforts and developing-world chaos. Rags and riches. Bogotá is contrast, perched 2,600 meters above sea level. That’s high.
Hosting a burgeoning population of over eight million, Bogotá has almost shed its not-so-unearned reputation for insurgent violence and other such un-pleasantries. Almost. Battling both selective news reports and erroneous Hollywood imagery, most of the city’s renaissance has only been chronicled in Spanish-language media (which many English-speakers just don’t understand). But this year, the crown of the Colombian Andes caught the eye of The New York Times, which listed Bogotá in its “53 Places to Go in 2008,” and we consider it our duty to continue exposing the shiny new Bogotá as it joins Buenos Aires, Santiago, and São Paulo among the ranks of the continent’s world cities.
Bogotá 2600 is a gateway to the Bogotá that welcomes ever-increasing scores of foreign tourists—three times as many gringos since 2003—as well as foreign expatriates, planting roots in the city in the clouds. Here, English-speaking visitors and residents can discover the who’s, what’s, when’s, where’s, why’s, and how’s of Colombia’s on-and-poppin’ capital city. So welcome to the Cinderella of South America, where, as the country’s official tourism agency touts, “the only risk is wanting to stay.”
Ernest White II and Pepe Caracas
Previously Featured
About Bogotá 2600
The who’s, what’s, when’s, where’s, why’s, and how’s of Bogotá, the city 2600 meters closer to the stars
What »
Music Makes Magic in Bogotá: 15 Upcoming Events
Yesterday one of the most anticipated music events took place in Bogotá—Iron Maiden and a musical history of more than three decades satisfied more than 40,000 enthusiastic fans.
I believe music is one of the most recognized and beloved arts and a big element of culture everywhere, and Bogotá is no exception. From the [...]
Where »
Getting High
We’ve pretty much established that Bogotá is clearly in the nosebleed section of the Andes. But if terrestrial pursuits don’t raise your interest, there are many ways of elevating body and soul closer to the heavens—this city isn’t at all short on lofty viewpoints.
One of the most obvious vantage points is the Sanctuary of [...]
Why »
Bogotá 2600 – It’s On and Poppin’
Modern office buildings tower over centuries-old cathedral spires. Yellow, bug-like taxis dart past ragged horse carts. The electric pulse of international house music compliments a full repertoire of folkloric standards from the provinces. Contemporary art galleries and explosions of graffiti. Boutique hotels and backpacker hostels. Theatre festivals and street performers. Five-star restaurants and five-thousand-peso luncheonettes. [...]
How »
Finding your way around Bogotá
One of the first things people do in a new city—either to visit or to live—is to get lost. But you don’t have to do what “people” do: you too can avoid feeling disoriented.
While it’s easier for some, who hasn’t ever taken the wrong bus or headed in the opposite direction or gotten tricked [...]