Paisa Perspective: Fernando Jaramillo
His novel, “Summer Wine” (originally titled “Euforia”), will be published this year and launched during the Bogotá book fair (Filbo) in April. As part of his prize, Fernando received $10,000 and a book tour, among other benefits.
He can be contacted at juanjaramillo26@hotmail.com
Favorite Restaurants
Parmessano, in Ciudad del Río, is delicious; they have great pasta. In general the restaurant scene in Ciudad del Río is great.
Also, restaurants on Avenida Jardín in Laureles. I like Avenida Jardin because it has variety. I also spend time in Café Revolución. I really enjoy it.
In Envigado I like the fast food that is right next to all the bars and nightclubs because it makes going out simple: you eat and then you go have a drink.
Nightlife
I like to spend nights sitting down somewhere to have a drink, especially on the street. I don’t enjoy Parque del Poblado as much, but I think it’s a perfect place to meet up and start your night. Parque Lleras is great but it can be a bit too heavy for some nights. It gets pretty busy.
I love bars in the center. There’s a bar at Hotel Nutibara called “Nutibar.” It’s really cool, has great variety. They play whatever music you like.
Hobbies
I love film. I go to a lot of movies. I highly recommend Procinal movie theatre at Las Américas because they always have great independent films. Also, Cine Colombia in Vizcaya (Poblado), they do a mix of commercial and independent movies.
Fernando’s Reads
I enjoy reading Colombian authors. Fernando Molano is my favorite.
He published three novels and I have so many editions that I have a total of about ten of his books. He hasn’t been translated to English yet, but I have considered translating him as my thesis. I also read a lot by Félix Ángel.
Paisa Culture
What makes paisa culture so special and unique is something I mention in my novel.
In Medellín the union between people plays quite a role. Everything is so personal, people are warm and they invite you to share experiences. I’m not saying other places aren’t like that, but I feel that this really is what sticks out when you look at paisas.
They break the ice quickly, which can make some people uncomfortable, but in the end it’s what makes us different.
The City
Medellín is a city that, sadly, doesn’t believe in memory. So let’s say, a silver lining of that is that Medellín loves to build new things, to be innovative.
Medellín works in areas: these people hangout there, other people like another place, etc. That’s why I think downtown is so particular. It is so small but it is still fragmented.
People that go to Parque del Periodista are different than by Centro Colombo Americano, even if it is a block away. All these people will be different than those that hang out in Parque Berrío, and so on.
Barrios Altos
Foreigners sometimes miss out on neighborhoods like Santo Domingo, Popular, Robledo, because they stay in very “pop” areas.
The Mirador of Santo Domingo is a perfect place to visit, lately I’ve seen more foreigners go. The parks and libraries in all these places that are automatically defined as “dangerous” can really surprise visitors. There are dangerous places out there, I can’t say there aren’t, but the beautiful places in Medellin aren’t always just the ones we believe are trendy.
About the Award
The award has a great public following. There have been more than 300 manuscripts sent for a single contest and that number is unbelievable. For the Chamber of Commerce writing contest there are usually about 200.
I think that this is what makes for great stories for children and teens. We have better stories for children and young people that inspire them to read more and hopefully to write for young people to keep this as a cycle.
This award says that Colombian society is taking a second look at how they go about literature in schools and how to teach our children to be creative.
[Publicado por MedellínLiving, Ximena Restrepo]
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