Colombia a comienzos del nuevo milenio

The old colonel goes each Friday to the post office to see if his long-awaited pension has come through. He knows it will not; so does his wife who is still grieving over the death of their son the year before. The colonel has a mission: to elevate the grim routine of poverty and failure to a high mass of defiance. He does that by showing that a heart that has been broken still beats with vengeance.

La mayoría de las tropas colombianas que mandaron a la frontera se perdieron en la selva. Los ejércitos enemigos no se encontraron nunca. Unos refugiados alemanes de la Primera Guerra Mundial, que fundaron Avianca, se pusieron al servicio del gobierno y se fueron a la guerra con sus aviones de papel de aluminio. Uno de ellos cayó en plena selva y las tambochas -hormigas venenosas de cabeza roja-le comieron las piernas: yo lo conocí más tarde, llevando sus condecoraciones en silla de ruedas. Los aviadores alemanes al servicio de Colombia bombardearon con cocos una procesión de Corpus...

"Polemical historical study of the origins of Panamanian secession and the role played by Colombian domestic actors and the US government. The evolution of Colombian-Panamanian relations since 1903, with particular reference to the issue of the Panama Canal is also analyzed. Denounces support of Panamanian separatism and its appropriation of the Canal Zone but also criticizes the behavior of Colombian parties and administrations for generating Panamanian resentment, opening doors to foreign intervention and failing to pay adequate attention to the inter-oceanic canal issue. Interesting...