The Colombians

Many of my friends here in Argentina are from Colombia. They have a lilting, tell-tale accent and an easy baring that invites conversation. They cross Argentina's lenient borders and come to Buenos Aires to work, to study. None of the Colombians I've met here seem very focused on money. They seem to live on very little. D. goes to culinary school, selling hand-made jewelry at the weekend street fairs. Jhon works in construction and Leo at a coffee chain. Two women move through the Sunday crowds in San Telmo hawking delicious, Colombian empanadas with homemade guacamole. It is not clear what Maury does, besides lean on the iron gates enclosing a church with a beer in his hand, greeting seemingly everyone who passes by.

Of course, my Colombian friends are among countless migrants to this city, attracted by the bohemian lifestyle and the promise of money, albeit only a little.