Difference of Opinion

There is often a struggle to get people to backtrack and observe what got them to the present point in time...meaning their heritage and history. We're going through this crisis in the US and it's going on here in northern Colombia, for different yet parallel reasons.

I was invited to a conversation among six intellectuals in the area, held in an exquisite house with a tropical garden. Each was a professor at one of the local universities in either architecture, history or the social sciences, and most had the complaint of the resistance met with their investigative projects by citizens of the area, as well as the lack of accurate documents kept for proper reference. 

Already a consideration, is that the humid climate and mold consume everything, and climate control storage for antique documents is a recent development, in this area at least. Therefore, much has been scanned to official websites and the original materials were sent to the capital where resources exist for the safe storage of photographs, documents and historical artifacts.

What was interesting about the 2-hour conversation is that each gentleman had their own foundational knowledge of the various aspects of the area. However, I picked up quickly that most of the developments of the area occurred in the 1970s--not the 1700s when the city was formed; not even the 1950s when the area was awarded autonomous statehood. Only after the 1970s were more roads paved and zoning laws put into use, even if the old ways were already established and not apt to change--ever. This development is disappointing...since this project is all about memories.