On leaving work at night on 12/2/15 I heard a school band playing in a nearby building. Like a moth to a flame I slipped into the courtyard and found the nascent music school band practicing the same songs I heard and photographed at an earlier practice. The band is much larger now with more than a dozen players and they are shaping up well. Having more players helps in this case.

The courtyard is part of a newly renovated Museo Telegrafista – or Telegraph Museum. The original Casa Telegrafista was the home and telegraph office operated by the father of Gabriel García Márquez. The museum stood for many years like the understaffed historical societies that dot the rural landscape of America. The doors didn’t lock, the roof was failing and historic artifacts were being stolen.
Dispaly of telegraph equipment

A combined effort of the Mayor’s Office, the postal service “4-72” and FundePalma, a charitable fund created by the Palm Oil Industry, created an expansive enclosed courtyard, a small postal service office, interesting displays on telegraphs, stamps and books by Márquez, a classroom and most surprisingly a well outfitted microcomputer lab. Maintenance cost for the new facility will be much higher, but it will serve as a classroom extension and public performance space.
Computer Lab

The event itself, like many in Aracataca, ran behind schedule. The band arrived at 10:00 AM and was packed into the air conditioned classroom. Guests arrived at 11:00 AM and waited in the attractive but sweltering courtyard. The esteemed guests, including a VP of Cultural Communications from Bogota arrive a little after 12:00 PM, upon which the inauguration events began. Staff served bottled water and iced fruit juices during the long wait. I benefitted by meeting a number of Aracataca’s dignitaries including the chief justice in the courts, retired professors, writers and political leaders. There is a general air of concern about the fate of Aracataca and Colombia. There are many wounds from past periods of violence and displacement and more current economic displacement. The economy of Aracataca is not growing to keep pace with population growth.
Dignitaries

I had a long conversation with representatives from FundePalma. Two representatives in the foundation, currently living in Santa Marta, had traveled to a summer camp on Sebago Lake in Maine years ago. They remembered the lobster most of all. These occasional glimpses into a more urban, higher economic strata are interesting. I spoke at length with one of them about my project and their goals, as well as some of the challenges presented by monoculture African Palm Oil plantations in Aracataca. I hope there are opportunities to work with them in the future. Museum restoration is a good, visible project for a foundation like theirs. The work I’m doing doesn’t have the same visibility and may be of less interest.

The program was interesting, opening with a reading by a writer that has devoted time to interpreting Márquez writing. Márquez’ brother (Jaime García Márquez) gave a short thank you speech. It was nice to be able to shake his hand. Various dignitaries spoke about the project and the importance of preserving history. The band played a long set with more songs than I thought they knew.

I was surprised that the local dance troupe performed. This time I was nearby and got a nice video clip of the Mapalé dance style. The beginning and end are choreographed for the entire group, but the body of it is primarily a one-on-one dance between a male and female that is fast and erotic. I wonder about the historical connections between Mapalé and Lindy Hop. The part that seems common is the quick rotation between couples demonstrating their athletic and perhaps erotic capabilities.

Food was served and the party ended about an hour later than planned. All in all it was a good experience with some downstream opportunities. I’ve been invited to participate in some subsequent events and hope that this will lead to some openings for completing my work.