"Globalización en la buena"

I am writing from Mendoza –Argentina, home of great wines, the “Sage of the Andes” known as Silo, the famous outlaw-out-of-love Vairoleto, and my father Ulises Manuel Rinaudo. I have been here for three weeks, but my journey began far before that, 37 years ago, when my father was forced into exile by the cruel military dictatorship. Born and raised in Colombia, after 32 tropical years and crossing 436.000 Km, I have come back to my father´s homeland, the Austral South, to encounter a long forgotten half.

It was only when I was preparing this trip that I came into the realization that my father, as a defensive mechanism from pain, never spoke of home except to amuse me -“Bigfish” style- with fantastic stories that most likely never happened. Because my father never spoke of home I didn’t really had an idea of what kind of place Mendoza was. I didn’t do any research either; if it had been a sort of mystery for over 32 years, I did not want to ruin the surprise by googling it. Sometimes it is better that way, to travel into the unknown, blindfold, and be surprised by new cultures at unexpected geographies.

Mendoza is located in the middle west of Argentina, bordering Chile, at the Andes. The Andes in this part of the Continent is completely different to the Andes of Colombia. In contrast with the exuberant explosion of green that I am familiar with, the mountains here are austere in their flora, covered only with a thin layer of plants that give way to multicolor rocks in their turn to lay the hue of the landscape. The view from below is a titanic mass of ochre magnificence. I have not climbed it yet, but the great Aconcagua is calling.

This journey has been a succession of random seemingly unconnected events, serendipity in action that ultimately have led me to deep reflections, the consolidation of my endeavor, and to discover new paths of self-awareness. It has also brought about difficulties as if to remind me humbleness; that there is still much to learn, think, feel. I feel the guiding hand of my father leading the way, making of this journey one full of purpose and meaning, and for that I profoundly thank him.