El sonido de las calles

They say that life seen through someone else’s eyes is never the same, and in this case, life heard through someone else’s ears is different in every way. Working downtown selling shoes is not the same as working in a retail chain, an office, or a library.

Life, in each particular case, is a different novel…

The distinct sounds you hear in the downtown area are unique: “At your service, what were you looking for?”, “Looking for branded jeans?”, “Get your avocados! Two for a thousand!”, “Golden honey pineapple for 2,000!” Add to that the honking of the thousands of cars passing through, the music blasting from every shop, the voices coming from the loudspeakers of vendors who believe they’re radio hosts, and the voices of the thousands of daily visitors.

A walk through its streets is fascinating, as long as you enjoy walking, crowds, and listening to all kinds of sounds at full volume; it feels as if they multiply with every step you take.

Riding a bus that crosses the city is an adventure you definitely have to experience. Música carrilera, vallenato, and reggaetón are usually in charge of setting the mood, since passengers tend to be calm, each lost in their own world… Ahhh, but that’s only when it’s not rush hour.

Many times, this melody shifts to livelier, more urban notes, or simply to live sound. Young people and adults of all ages go out every day to share their talent in exchange for a bit of income. The youngest, for example, use verses to express their lives, thoughts, and community struggles to the rhythm of rap.

Traveling by private vehicle is a whole different story… The honking from people who think that by honking their car will sprout wings and fly to their destination, the motorcycles that behave like ants squeezing through any gap, the engines of those immense and expressive trucks, all of them shape the city’s auditory landscape. And, of course, there’s always the ambulance siren no one knows where it’s headed, but that we all instinctively look for so we can clear the way.