The river (El río)

The Pamplonita River is the main river of the Colombian city of Cúcuta. It was used to transport cacao, the main form of wealth in the region and a major axis of the economy during the 18th and 19th centuries. It begins 3,000 meters above sea level in the hill of Altogrande near the city of Pamplona and descends by the Valley of the Cariongo, heading northwest toward Chinácota.  When it hits the Valley of Cúcuta it is joined with the Táchira River, connecting to the mighty Zulia river and ending on the Lake of Maracaibo in Venezuela. Nowadays Amigos del Río (River Friends) in Cúcuta work to improve the river’s cleanliness. From my Dad’s book Elementary motherland (Patria elemental).

The river (El río)

The harsh sun of midday finds it

and transforms it into a thread

of shining water.

The breeze comes out in the afternoon.

A fan of refreshing air sweeps the muggy heat

off the streets and avenues.

The slow humming pace of the river

can be perceived at night. Other times

it sounds like a threatening deaf avenue.

But yet it remains there under the trees

just like before: loyal, humble, its banks full of stories,

nostalgic of old river-beds…and under the midday sun

like a travelling thread of light.