Destroyed Muisca heritage

By Valentina Moreno López (Economics)

Facatativá is one of the towns of Cundinamarca with the most indigenous heritage but the most important place is without doubt the “Stones of the Tunjo”. This is an archaeological park located in the centre of the town and is full of inscriptions of the Chibcha community that previously inhabited this place.

There are some legends about the name of the park but the most common is that of the priest who sold his soul to the devil.

According to the legend, when the priests were building the church of San Francisco de Quito they lacked a lot of stones to finish the building. So one of the priests decided to invoke the devil to ask for help and the devil agreed to bring the stones in exchange for the soul of the priest. The devil began to look for the stones and finally found them in Tunja and with the help of his army began to move the stones at night so that people wouldn’t be astonished to see flying stones. Halfway there, he stopped at Facatativá to rest and learned that the priest had changed his mind about the deal. The devil was so angry that he ordered his army to leave the stones there.

Then the Muiscas came to town and the stones were the place where they lived.

The “Stones of the Tunjo” has been one of the greatest prides of the townsfolk since the 1930s when it was declared a cultural heritage site. From that moment, it has been an object of study of this ancient civilisation and a place to discover a little more about their culture.

Also, it is the only archaeological park located in an urban center, but people don't take care of it. In recent years, this family meeting place has suffered a lot of damage thanks to the lack of care of the people who visit it.

Many families go to the park and have barbeques in the centre of it, and this smoke damages the surface of the rocks. In addition, the Chibcha inscriptions are covered with a layer of graffiti hearts with the names of lovers who think that it is very romantic to damage these historical engravings.
As if it wasn’t enough, the pond that is at the entrance of the park has received the dirty water from the neighborhood that is right next to it for many years.

But solving all these problems would be a huge expense that none of the administrations so far have wanted to assume. However, in my opinion this park is a treasure that we should all take care of.

NORMALIZING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE: AN AWFUL TRUTH

By Laura Daniela Cortés (FIGRI, The World in English elective)

However, we are still a considerable minority since we only represent 10% of the world’s population, which means people, in general, do not even notice how we are being discriminated against. Sadly, we live in a world almost full of right-handed people that invent stuff designed for the right-handed. No, I am not talking about unusual and uncommon tools. I am referring to stuff we use on a daily basis. Stuff like scissors, can openers, pens, spiral notebooks, keyboards, and more. 

According to experts, the word “left” is associated with bad things in many languages: the Anglo-Saxon "lyft" means broken, the German "linkisch" translates to awkward, the Russian "levja" is related to untrustworthiness, and some synonyms for the Mandarin word are incorrect, wrong, and weird. In addition, scientific studies have revealed that lefties have worse performance at school and have a bigger risk of suffering from mental problems, breast cancer and sleep problems.

Despite all these awful statements, the most iconic personalities of all time are left-handed and have specialized in different fields. Musicians such as Paul McCartney, politicians such as Barack Obama, scientists such as Marie Curie, sports people like Pelé and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci are some of the greatest, smartest and most talented people of all time. 

Even though we have managed to adapt to this world, this is not the way things should be. Discrimination is a silent disease and nobody cares about it. How is it possible that scissors for lefties cost 5 dollars more than “normal” scissors? How is it possible that when I go to class some classrooms do not even have a desk for me?

Once, I was reading some random facts on the Internet and I found that a man was turned down from a job at an ice cream shop because ice cream scoops were designed for right-handed people. Unbelievable. Moreover, I was checking some twitter account called “RightsInfo” and they were doing a survey of the ways left-handed people are being discriminated against but some people were not even aware that “left-handed discrimination” was a thing.

Am I being too dramatic? Maybe, but I do not think so. Just because I do not get my hand tied up like they used to do with my grandmother, does not mean I should ignore that in India or China those kinds of things are still happening. We just cannot allow this anymore.

ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE

By Natalia Neira Melendez (FIGRI, The World in English elective)

Many events have allowed English to place itself as a world reference language; the expansion of the British Empire was one of the first events that helped English become really important in the world. Another is connected with the United States and the decades after World War II. Since the end of the war, the American country played an essential role in the reconstruction of Western Europe, but it was not only about bricks and cement: that reconstruction went further, reaching cultural levels in each nation. In a short time, not only European countries but a large number of states around the world accepted the increasing American influence in many fields. From business to films, TV, music, and many other areas, American content became more popular over time, which generated a new way to understand the world.

Throughout history, humanity has sought to improve its way of communicating. The first communities developed diverse methods that evolved over time until they became large populations’ official languages. That was the origin of countless languages and dialects all over the world. Over the years, the interaction between different languages’ populations caused a need that extended across territories: a “common language.” With the rise of great empires, some languages took that role.

Another factor that was critical in strengthening English as the universal language is related with significant advances in global communications. If English was becoming very popular before the arrival of the internet and the influential development of computing science, these advances allowed people from every corner of the world to obtain content in this language with an ease and a speed never seen before, due to the increasing popularity of electronic devices in international markets.

At present, it is possible to see the dominance of the English language in many fields at a global level. For example, a very important part of the financial sector’s biographical information is in English. In addition, most worldwide financial operations are mainly carried out in English. Another case is related to technology, especially with software development. Most parts of programming languages are based on English and most parts of computing field advances are produced in English-speaking countries or are published in that language with the goal of reaching a larger public.

In conclusion, given the ease of communication currently available and, given that a large number of fields of study worldwide are based on English, that language is still showing that it is the “global language” and the language that humanity has been seeking since its beginnings.

Ways of taking care of the environment

By Valentina Escarraga (FIGRI)

In recent years, we have seen an increase of awareness about the environment. For this reason, many non-profit organizations have been created that seek to improve this situation. 

There are even already some careers related to ecology, and there are more people who prefer recycled products and seek to buy items with the least amount of pollutants. Recycling is more and more received both by young people and by adults.

So, let’s look at some advice to be more careful and to protect the environment:

1. Take advantage of natural light. With some changes to your schedule, this will help you to use less energy.

2. Save more water! Things like washing the car with a bucket of water instead of using a hose will help us to reduce this consumption.

3. Disconnect your electrical devices when you are not using them. This will help by not consuming any electricity at all.

4. Choose batteries that are recharged by solar power.

5. Try to avoid using your car. Traveling by bicycle or public transport instead of the car will turn you into a healthier person and you create less pollution.

6. Choose paper bags or fabric ones when you go shopping. The regular plastic ones create a lot of pollution, since they take more time to decompose.

7. Plant trees, perhaps in your garden, or in some park or reforested area. That helps to improve the city’s air also helps our lungs.

8. Organic waste can be useful. You can help plants by burying this on the soil instead of throwing it into the garbage.

9. Use natural products on the plants instead of pesticides. This is a much more organic way to grow your plants.

The 80s: the greatest decade of all time

By Natalia Rodríguez (FIGRI)

Striking colors, tangled hair and a lot of rock and roll were some of the trends that characterized the eighties. Also, it was a time of many changes in music, cinema and the fashion world.

In 1985, one of the best bands ever appeared to revolutionize the music world: “Guns ‘N’ Roses,” they were called. Their album "Appetite for Destruction" sold more than 33 million records and that showed their success as a rock band. Similar to Guns ‘N’ Roses, a lot of bands and singers started their careers in the eighties. Some of the most famous were Michael Jackson, Prince, Queen, Aerosmith, Van Halen and Bon Jovi. In Latin America, rock/pop was the most popular style of music but various orchestras also took part in festivities like Los Hispanos, Los Graduados, Los Ocho de Colombia among others.

In the fashion industry there were quite a few changes too. Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were some of the most famous singers that influenced the fashion world with their clothing and their look. For example, in Cyndi Lauper’s musical video “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, she wore a colorful dress and so many accessories, and immediately women began to imitate this trend by buying similar dresses, which was called a “balloon fashion”. The same thing happened with men who wore black jackets and used to apply too much gel in their hair, a style from the film “Grease” which debuted in the late 1970s.

During the eighties, the big screen underwent a radical transformation with the advent of such important films that would mark a before and an after in the history of cinema. Some of them were Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, E.T., Indiana Jones, Rambo, Karate Kid, Terminator, Batman and of course the classic horror film The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Although the 80s was amazing, for Colombia it was very hard time because unfortunately some tragic events occurred like the takeover of the Palace of Justice by members of the M19 in 1985, the Armero tragedy during the same year and the murder of Luis Carlos Galán in 1989. However, these fatal events couldn’t stop the spirit of the eighties in Colombia. In fact, during the 80s in Colombia “Coca Colas” were very common. These were wonderful parties where teenagers danced and sang all night with scofflaw hairdos, glowing dresses, black jackets and just a big screen to look at the sky.

The Power of your Mind

By Sofía Rojas Segura (FIGRI)

Many people complain about not being able to achieve their goals and what they want in life, and keep saying that this is the reason why they aren’t happy. But the truth is that believing in yourself, your powers and abilities is important: in fact, what you think is what really matters. The strength of the mind is the key to being successful and living an enjoyable life: if you use it well, everything is possible.

Firstly, “self-confidence” is the starting point. Some people are born with it, some must work hard for it, and others do not know how to get it. Indeed, being confident isn’t easy, and to achieve it, it’s necessary to surround yourself with friends, trust, positivism, love and patience. For example, the main reason why people fail in job interviews is that they don’t believe in themselves or don’t believe that they have the skills and qualities needed for it. According to Charlie Chaplin, “you have to believe in yourself. Without absolute confidence in yourself, you are doomed to failure.” People who believe in themselves are mostly successful, like the presidents of big companies, singers, the founders of new businesses, and so on. This type of person tries to avoid thinking bad things about themselves because those thoughts damage their self-confidence, and consequently the way to achieve their goals.

Secondly, as I said before, thoughts make powerful changes in how the world works. It is important to know what you want in life and in that way, no negative thoughts or doubts should cross your mind. For example, haven’t you thought since you woke up that it was going to be a bad hair day, and that was how it was? Well, the thoughts that you often think tend to come true. According to scientific studies, the basic building blocks of our Universe are either particles or waves. Each scientist obtained different results whenever the experiment was performed, and it was discovered that those fundamental building blocks became waves or particles depending on the expectations of the scientist doing the experiment. Needless to say, if you want to achieve your goals positively, you need to be full of positive expectations and thoughts.

Thirdly, affirmations are another useful mental tool for achieving success. What someone affirms becomes part of their subconscious mind, and consequently affects their behaviour and actions. The subconscious is an extraordinary thing, and it surrounds affirmations and visualisations of you achieving your goals. For example, the actor Jim Carrey said in an interview that in the early 1990s he was an unknown actor struggling to get by, so to stay motivated, he wrote himself a cheque for ten million dollars for “acting services rendered”, dating it for 1994. Then he put the cheque into his wallet as daily inspiration. Amazingly, he earned ten million dollars in 1994 for his role in “Dumb and Dumber”. This means that the affirmations you have in your brain produce actions in the future. So, if you think and act like something is going to happen, sooner or later, you will achieve your goal.

In conclusion, there are some steps you must follow to use the power of your mind well and achieve your goals in life. Everything starts with the construction of good self-confidence, and the next step is to only have positive thoughts about your life. Finally, the last step is to train your mind. Act every day as if you have achieved your goal, and avoid negative thoughts, even if you are going through a hard time. Just remember that you are capable of getting whatever you want with the power of your mind.

“EL TIGRE” ROARS AGAIN or "FALCAO'S COMEBACK"

By Miguel Goenaga Martinez (FIGRI)

It seems like yesterday when I was a child and everyone on the sports news started to talk about a kid who played for River Plate in Argentina and at less than 20 years old amazed the world: every European Team wanted him. This kid was Radamel Falcao Garcia. He amazed River Plate fans with his goals until 2009, when good news came. 

The summer of 2009 brought Falcao, the Colombian promise, a 23-year-old kid, the opportunity to achieve what every kid who dreams about being a football player wanted: to play in Europe.  Thousands of children dream about it but only a few achieve it. The city of Porto was his destiny, and with FC Porto, he won everything. He played and left the club as an idol. Madrid was his next city. Falcao arrived like a star and Diego “El Cholo” Simeone (manager of “Atletico de Madrid”) received him with open arms. 

With “Los Colchoneros” he became the best, and he shone around the world. During the 2012 season he was part of the FIFA XI (the team of players who were the best of the year in each position). Imagine that: the best forward in the world was born in Colombia. “El Tigre” chose another path; he became Colombia’s top scorer and was the star of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

He went to A.S. Monaco despite everyone believing that it was the right time for Falcao to sign for a big club. In France, he had the worst experience that a football player could have: on January 22nd of 2014 he left the field with an injury to his left knee. The fear of every Colombian football fan was that Falcao would not be able to make it to the 2014 World Cup in the summer. He couldn’t, and not only that, but the next 2 years were disappointing, even though he went to England, one of the best tournaments in the world and played for one of the best teams in the country. However, injuries didn’t allow Falcao to show his talent because there was a lot of pressure coming from his environment. Even the Colombian Journalist Ivan Mejia called him an “ex-football player.” With this total lack of respect, these were tough times for Falcao. 

Back in Monaco in 2016, “El Tigre” had time to recover and shone again. He won Ligue 1 and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. The current season is no different; he is the top scorer and the MVP of August in the French League. He hasn’t been a regular in the national team since his injury in 2014, but in 2017 as a result of his effort, his discipline, and his desire to never give up, he has made a magnificent comeback, and we can see the joy on his face of returning to glory when he scored the equalizer against Brazil. Falcao teaches us that dreams come true with hard work and discipline. Falcao deserves to play in the World Cup, and the World Cup deserves to have Falcao for the joy of everyone who admires heroes like him who make football the most beautiful sport.