The Corrigan Cast

Wrong Way's "love" for Colombia, while not unconditional, has been obvious these last few years. Colombian officialdom is now severely testing the "relationship".    Read the text of the blog entry at https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/10/colombias-tough-love.html or https://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/10/21/colombias-tough-love/ .

Migración Colombia appears to be struggling to deal with a backlog of cases after resuming services that had been suspended due to the pandemic. Extending the grace period seems like the best option, but will the government agency go that route?   Read the text of this blog at https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/10/colombias-migracion-mess.html .

While most Colombian media have focused on the high-profile case of influencer Dominic Wolf failing to get residency (see https://youtu.be/AxIikBVyZKA ), many foreigners are in similar situations, minus the public outcry.  Here visa consultant Camilo Trujillo explains the options available to those who find themselves between visas, have had residency deemed inadmissible or are looking to ext...

The customer service of rent-a-car company Localiza Colombia left a lot to be desired for one recent client.   Read the text of this audio blog at https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/10/caveat-emptor-with-localiza.html . Image from Facebook.

Having failed in his bid for residency, influencer Dominic Wolf is now taking on Colombia's La Cancillería, the country's Foreign Affairs office. With the apparent backing of the masses, he'll probably win.   Read the text of this audio blog here https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/10/beware-of-dominic-wolf-warrior.html .

Adventure travel operator and ray of positivity, Laura Vega, joins us to tell us how she's been getting through the pandemic as her business, like practically all others in the industry, remains on hold indefinitely. True to her character, we learn how Laura's been anything but inactive. The only real difference now in these coronavirus times is that her active lifestyle is taking place indoors mo...

The ability to say 'no' when needs be is very useful. Alas, not everybody can actually say it, especially in Colombia.    To read the text of this audio blog, visit https://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/09/30/no-and-behold/ . 

Getting an independent work visa in Colombia used to be a rather straightforward affair. It's not quite as simple these days. Wrong Way does his best to point out the pitfalls so other applicants can avoid them. Read the text of this audio blog at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/09/23/colombias-independent-work-visa-vale-la-pena/ . 

When we're too focused on the short term, what might seem like helpful practices today could actually be doing more harm than good.   Read the text of this audio blog at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/09/15/helpful-today-harmful-tomorrow/ .

Javier Ordóñez's death due to police brutality in Bogotá has sparked widespread protests in the Colombian capital. Is what many consider as long-overdue and much-needed police reform now on the cards? One wouldn't want to put much faith into that happening, however.   Click on the following link to read the text of this audio blog: https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/09/will-javier-ordonezs-...

Just a few months ago it seemed highly unlikely that Donald Trump could win re-election. Now the momentum appears behind his campaign. Here's our take on it.   The text of this audio blog is available at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/ .    Image from the Donald J. Trump Facebook page.

Café Plus owner Simon Ford joins us to tell us what makes his brand different to the rest. One of those differences is the company's commitment to give 50 per cent of its profits to community projects for vulnerable people in Colombia and elsewhere. Another hat Simon wears is that of UK Honorary Consul for Cali. Through that role, he has met with some of those most affected by Colombia's conflict....

Do religious believers find it easier to end their own lives compared to atheists? In some ways, you would think so ...   Read the text of this blog story at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/09/02/god-may-be-dead-but-i-want-to-live-for-now/ .   

There's a risk that some of the biosecurity protocols currently in place to control the spread of coronavirus will be here to stay. So are we sanitising ourselves to death?  Read the text of this blog story at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/08/26/sanitising-to-death-our-future-generations/ .  

As it is for many businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector , the coronavirus pandemic has put an end — if only temporarily — to Laura Márquez Botero's travel company. However, rather than sit tight and wait for the restrictions to pass, Laura used her first-hand experience of Japanese culture to exploit a gap in the Bogotá market. Here she talks about her new start-up aimed at brightening...

Colombians have plenty of reasons to be annoyed at the country's state of affairs. However, they don't seem too bothered to do anything about it.  Read the text of this blog story at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/08/19/carry-on-regardless-colombia/ .  

It's fair to assume that for women from developed countries, Colombia wouldn't be top of the list as regards places they'd choose when having their first child. However, for California native Melissa Fábregas, Bogotá is where her newborn Millie entered the world. Here she shares her experiences of pregnancy and giving birth in a foreign country, one in which she has no family ties, imparting some...

Has today's cyberwar shown us the limits of liberal, open societies and given authoritarian regimes a shot in the arm?  Read the text of this blog story at http://blogs.eltiempo.com/wrong-way-corrigan/2020/08/11/its-war-alright-but-not-as-we-know-it/ .  *Photo by Andri from pexels.com.

Through his volunteer work at Casa Taller, a community project in the impoverished San Luis area of Bogotá, the late Sam Ling Gibson helped to improve the lives of dozens of vulnerable children. Here, one of his good friends, Harry Tittensor, talks about the indelible mark Sam has left on that part of the city, his incredible devotion towards the project and the steps being taken to ensure his leg...

In normal times, applying for or renewing a Colombian visa can be a bit of a headache. In these coronavirus pandemic days, it's potentially even more tedious as the relevant offices are closed, meaning no in-person applications can take place — it's online only. Joining us to clear up a few common queries is independent visa consultant, Camilo Trujillo. He also gives us a general overview of the t...

Historian, author and political activist Daniel Raisbeck joins us to chat about Colombian independence, why the state needs to do more to recognise individual property rights, how its current policies create oligopolies and monopolies and why he still has faith in free-market capitalism. ******* Outro music: Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution lice...

Get Up and Go Colombia is an NGO that promotes tourism in some of the regions that have been most affected by the country's armed conflict. Its co-founder Luisa Romero joins us to chat about the organisation's various projects, how it has adapted to the challenges posed by coronavirus and her concerns that the ongoing crisis may undo some of the progress made in remote areas in recent years. She a...

Renowned historian and author Professor Niall Ferguson joins us to talk about the 'dithering' approach of some countries in tackling coronavirus, Colombia's limitations in implementing an effective response and why there's no real reason the country couldn't make much better use of contact tracing and testing in the future. In a wide-ranging interview, he highlights the importance of Colombia ensu...

As Colombia tentatively eases coronavirus-imposed restrictions, Medellín-based hostel owner Spyros Mitrakos hits out at what he sees as the government's failure to help small businesses such as his to survive. He also questions the wisdom behind prolonged lockdown measures that he believes are putting the lives of millions in jeopardy in order to save a relatively small number of people. ****** Ou...

Bogotá-based football journalist Carl Worswick chats to us about the prospects of a return to Colombian league games in the coming months, the unlikelihood of South American World Cup qualifiers this year and the many problems facing the women's game in Colombia. He also gives us the background to the "Bogotá bracelet" incident involving England World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore, an unsolved m...