Whenever we heard a gunshot in our neighborhood, and it happened often despite living in a good neighborhood, my mom wouldn’t let us look out our fourth-floor window.
She would always admonish us in the same way, “Cuidado con una bala perdida.” (Be careful with a stray bullet.)
‘Bala perdida’ was a concept we learned growing up in Colombia and exemplifies not only that life is precious but also that you can lose it at any moment.
Sure, all countries have a version of this “Life is not guaranteed” mantra.
But in most areas of the US, it means that you can be in a car accident, or slip on a bar of soap, or you may only be able to afford to fly on Spirit, or you had a brain aneurysm trying to understand why anyone like the five-time-Oscar-winning film Anora.
But in Colombia, it means all that and the chance of getting caught in a crossfire, getting mugged, being close to a bombing, or getting kidnapped.
It only makes sense that in an environment like that, you have an entire population with a dark sense of humor. It is a protective, maybe maladaptive, defense mechanism.
It also makes sense that Colombia has a day like “Dia de los Inocentes.” (Innocents’ Day) celebrated on December 28th.
Originally a Catholic holiday celebrated in Spain and many Latin American Countries, in Colombia, it turned into a day to play dark pranks on your family and friends.
People would call around their relatives and tell them they had a terminal illness or inform them someone they loved had died. Once people got over the initial reaction, they would laugh. It’s so twisted.
One of my favorite ones to play was running into my mom’s room and telling her my grandpa had died of a heart attack.
It didn’t matter how often I did it; I always got her the following year.
My grandpa is now 95. It might be time for me to revive that joke next December 28th.
When I told my friends I was leaving Colombia, no one believed me because when they asked me when I was leaving, I told them December 28th.
My friends said goodbye to me, but there was always a shade over my alleged departure as if they didn’t believe I was going to leave.
Sometimes, I wonder if any of my friends wished they would’ve said goodbye to me or even said it more sincerely.
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Author: Carlos Garbiras
Karen O’Blivious – Senior political correspondent who insists she’s neutral but only interviews people who agree with her.