COLOMBIA, South America: Cali

Day 3

We hop on an early flight to CALI.

I know there is something different about this place as soon as I see the sign for the MULATO cafeteria! Okay, this is gonna be different.

Hmm...

                                                           It seems Cali is also the salsa capital and they are very proud of it. We missed a big festival by about a week.

At lunch with Beth & Mary Ellen

(L-R) BA, Interpreter, Photographer & Reporter

Our first stop is lunch with the director of the Centro Cultural Colombo American Cali. After lunch I have an interview with a big time reporter there. I sit and talk with the reporter and photographer through my interpreter. 

Reporters and  Michael Cadena

They're all gracious and very professional, as is the cultural director Michael Cadena.

Hey, that's my name again.

Okay, great that's done. Now I go inside and introduce "DuSable to Obama." I settle in with everyone else and watch the film, when someone taps me on the shoulder to come out and do a television interview.

I hope I sound intelligent
or just not stupid;-)

with the TV reporter and Susy

Time to go back in for the discussion with the audience.  

The guy who's keeping me safe today.

They ask really go in depth questions. I'm so use to the same questions that I have a standard answer but this time I actually had to think about my answers. There are 3 Martin Luther King scholars who will be coming to the USA to get their PhD. 

MLK Scholars

Filmmaker who worked
on "Avatar"

Another event at a Bank

Oh yeah, we're in partyville, now that we've sailed threw that lets go PARTY!  What? We have another screening event. We haven't even checked our bags in the hotel yet. But cool, let's go.

We have a packed house, standing room only. All young kids. the are adorable, excited and so well behaved (considering how many their are.)

with some of the students

the band warmed them up  

Speakers after the screening include Ray, the lawyer for the Colombian hip hop group, "ChocQuib Town" one of my favorite groups.  I complained to Ray that we waited for them at the Old Town School of Music in Chicago, a packed house and they cancelled on us. So he calls one of the lead singers and has him explain how they got stuck in NYC and couldn't get out to Chicago in time.

ChocQuip Town

 

Ray, the lawyer for ChocQuib Town

As I said, "Everybody loves Kidist,

That was fun, but it's late (obviously NOT too late for 'football' soccer or whatever you want to call it) I I just want to go to bed now. Tommorrow we fly to CHOCO! The Black state in Colombia...