Since the first days spent in Villa de Leyva, we were curious about the frenetic activity of some masons who, in open countryside, were building a house of unusual aspect, perhaps not particularly nice, but above all burning it. Now we discover that what seemed a game it’s in reality a project of bioarchitecture developed by Octavio Mendoza, a boyacense architect. The concept is very simple: the argillaceous soil, found in large amount directly in the construction place, is used as unique material to model the building. Piece after piece it’s given shape to the structure, that at last is burnt in order to confer it mechanical resistance. The result is a low-cost house of adobe, eco-sostenible, with optimal thermo-regulation properties, of minimal environment impact and antiseismic. The plan seems so brilliant that it has received attention in Europe too, for the moment in Spain and France. The idea is suggested by the example of the indigenous population, in particular the Andean one, that used adobe (a mixture of mud and straw) in order to construct its own buildings for thousands of years.

Coming from the North, Bogotá appears like an enormous and shapeless strip of lights and skyscrapers, colorful in the customary wealth and extreme poor islands. In the traffic of the evening we recognize the frenzy that characterizes all the big capitals, but what hits us is the massive presence of soldiers: at every crossing stops a group of young men in uniform that control people, appealing terrible weapons as they were toys… with the distracted habit of who is born with the violence in the eyes. They remember us that Colombia is a country suffocated by a bloody war, begun so many years ago that many people seem resigned to live with it.

Bogotá do not seduce at first sight, but it is for sure a dynamic modern city, vibrant and cosmopolitan, extremely careful about culture (from 2007 Bogotá will be the World Book Capital) and about art, maybe less interested in the poorest part of its population, abandoned here as in all the Latin American countries to a very difficult existence. In the Candelaria, the historical heart of the city, the roads leave their geometric distribution and in the maze of colorful houses takes shape the artistic inspiration which belongs to the Colombian young people. Bars, cultural centers and theaters are attended by musicians, painters, artesanos and undergraduates coming from every part of the country. During the weekend and the holidays, the traffic in the streets of the center is blocked in order to leave space to pedestrians and cyclists: Bogotá transforms in an enormous bicycle path, with many stops to assist to concerts and theater exhibitions.

Living in the field, wrapped by the silence and peacefulness, helps to think… and as background of our thoughts an isolated house, a green-pallet grass, a hot sun hidden by the clouds that quickly take shape and dissolve. An impressive landscape delimits our world in this land of silent shepherds, looks consumed by the altitude and the climate. So far to hear the lightest noise, the town of Villa de Leyva hides behind a wooded hill, feeble painting in colonial style, dusty like Latin America. Dearly beloved by the artists, otiose as only the province can be.
Once more the night comes and our world falls asleep, in the silence.

In the porthole of the airplane are condensed all our memories, so much time spent around these hard but green valleys, then suddenly we see again the ocean. Bouncing many times from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic one, we fly over the extended plantations of Nicaragua and Costa Rica; we observe the slow and giant merchant ships going cross the Channel of Panama (Panama Canal), passage for all the goods of the world. Under our feet the white beaches of Colombian Caribbean and finally the impact with the Andes, suave and fertile in this region… now Colombia is so near, crazy and unapproachable: the same vernal climate of Guatemala and the smiles of the children in the street. It’s night when the bus leaves us in Villa de Leyva, our backpack full of projects and many stories to tell, experiences to share and the emotion to meet each others after so much time.

In the last days, the town of La Antigua has been the center of our activities: we loved the spring-like climate, the cultural attractions and the impressive landscape at first sight. A thin thread of nostalgia still alloy us to the world and the people left on the highlands, but now we are ready to put our dreams in a new adventure. As promised to a friend six months ago, we fly to South America, destination Colombia. We feel a little regret for the hundreds of people we are going to leave without a face or a story to tell, along the strip of Central American land. With enthusiasm, we will insist in the attempt of giving a voice to the neglected peoples of this wonderful and damned continent. America…