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Music • Travel • Cultural Diplomacy
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Freedom of Movement

Flying back from Bogota to Medellín, I gazed down at the winding mountain roads below me. Bogota – Medellín (roughly 160 miles) by plane takes 30 minutes, while a bus ride lasts 8-9 hours (not including any rain/mudslide delays). Most of the transportation infrastructure in Colombia consists of these windy roads that criscross the 3 mountain ranges that span through the majority of the country.

Proximity has obviously been a huge element in the shaping of Colombian history, namely the difficulty in reaching and governing over the 440+ square miles of the countryside from the department capitals, let along the national capital in Bogota. Bogotanos talk about the time before the tunnel connecting them to Villavicencio was constructed, taking 4-6 hours to reach the town only 50 miles away on dangerous mountain roads, now the trip only takes 90 minutes. Tunnels have been talk of the town here in Medellín, especially with the torrential rains and mudslides that have battered the country since last November.

A proposed tunnel linking Medellín to its international airport purposes to change the driving time from 1 hour to only 20 minutes. Tunnels’ successes can be viewed towards the establishment of Santa Fe de Antioquia as a rising tourist attraction; while not much different than other colonial towns in Antioquia, it is the most easily accessed from Medellín because of the Tunel de Occidente. Perhaps most shocking of all is to learn that in ALL of Colombia, there are less than 300 kilometers of two-lane, two-way roads. While this might seem an explication for the road traveling woes facing the country, I believe is presents an opportunity to provide better transportation infrastructure within the country.

After all, freedem of movement is one of the most important freedoms out there. Where would the US be if throughout our history, there hadn’t been the possibility of “packing up and headed out West,” or even the great American road trip or loading up the family and driving to the next state for Thanksgiving. This freedom has only recently been bestowed on the Republic of Colombia, due to its ability to secure the roads rom guerilla and paramilitary groups. Every person in Medellín I know has a story about not being able to visit their relatives or head to their farm fifteen years ago because the roads were not safe. While the roads are safe from the dangers of armed groups, deterioration, mudslides and dangerous routes still affect the ability of most Colombians to travel long distances by road conveniently. I think a combination of foreign investment and well managed infrastructure development might make Colombia an easier country by ground.

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AOC Years

The Roxy, West LA '08
The Roxy, West LA '08
Promo Card
Promo Card
@ The Roxy on MTV2 '07
@ The Roxy on MTV2 '07
Coors Ampitheater, San Diego
Coors Ampitheater, San Diego
Crowd @ Coors Ampitheater, San Diego
Crowd @ Coors Ampitheater, San Diego
House of Blues, Sunset, '08
House of Blues, Sunset, '08
@ Forbidden Radio Show
@ Forbidden Radio Show
The Troubadour, '08
The Troubadour, '08
Winner, Best Hard Rock Band '08
Winner, Best Hard Rock Band '08
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Chain Reaction, Anaheim '07
Chain Reaction, Anaheim '07
@ LA Music Awards
@ LA Music Awards
New Years Eve, '06
New Years Eve, '06
promo shoot
promo shoot
w/ Gerard from My Chemical Romance
w/ Gerard from My Chemical Romance
feeling the love
feeling the love
The Roxy, '07
The Roxy, '07
promo shoot
promo shoot
promo shoot
promo shoot
Backstage w/ Linkin Park
Backstage w/ Linkin Park
merch table
merch table
putting in work in Dallas
putting in work in Dallas
merch table
merch table
First album
First album
Superfan Stacy
Superfan Stacy
Merch Table Projekt Rev
Merch Table Projekt Rev
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Promo Shoot
Promo Shoot
Crowd @ Shoreline Ampitheater '07
Crowd @ Shoreline Ampitheater '07
The Troubadour, 2008
The Troubadour, 2008
Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, '07
Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, '07
Chain Reaction, Anaheim '08
Chain Reaction, Anaheim '08
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
Chain Reaction, Anaheim
The Viper Room, LA
The Viper Room, LA
Merch Table, Projekt Revolution
Merch Table, Projekt Revolution
San Antonio, '07
San Antonio, '07
@ Projekt Revolution
@ Projekt Revolution
The BLACK Party, 2009
The BLACK Party, 2009
W/ Mindless Self Indulgence
W/ Mindless Self Indulgence
W/ Saosin, 2007
W/ Saosin, 2007
Cricket Ampitheater, Houston, TX
Cricket Ampitheater, Houston, TX
Chain Reaction, '08
Chain Reaction, '08
Superfan Sam
Superfan Sam
The Roxy, West Hollywood
The Roxy, West Hollywood
The Troubadour, '07
The Troubadour, '07
Projekt Revolution '07
Projekt Revolution '07

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