Luscious, sensual, sweet, tart and colourful are adjectives that could easily define the women of Colombia but they are only part of the arsenal of descriptive attributes that can be applied to the fruits of Colombia, one of the most bio diverse countries in the world.
From coast to coast and sea level to mountain peaks you will encounter a wide variety of tropical fruits in all shapes and colours. They are powerful elixirs of life and medicine bringing vitamins, minerals, fluids, proteins and so much more to stimulate and stabilize your life forces.
These fruits not only only tempt your appetite but tantalize your five senses. Touch them ! They may be smooth or rough or prickly. Feel the texture on your tongue. Taste them ! The nispero is a spectacularly sweet fruit that gives you the sensation of eating brown sugar in a small cup. Smell them ! The pungent, acidic smell of the lulo may not appeal to some, yet its medicinal properties may surprise ! See them ! Walk into the local market and be awed by their colours, shape and varieties. Finally – yes even hear them ! The sound of cracking a coconut with a machete. The slurping and sucking of the fruit from the seed of the Zapote.
The sounds even carry further. Every day, in certain neighbours of various towns, the street vendors wind their way through the calles and carreras vending their wares. They may sell bananas or pineapple or lemons or papayas. Often they have a melodic lilt to their proclamation of their fruits of the day. It is memorable. It’s useful and in many cases you can almost set your watch to their passing by your door.
There is truly music in the streets and it led to the inspiration of a series of musical piece titled ”Songs of the Street” or ”Canciones de la Calle”. The embedded video was inspired by the woman whose voice is heard at the beginning of the song. Although the video focuses on people selling their wares in the street it is just one of many that people like the man in the above photo kindled. Everyday I anticipated his arrival at my door. His song varied depending on how he felt at that moment or what he might have to sell that day.
Aguacate – Vendadores from EscapeArtist Colombia on Vimeo.
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