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Author: Christopher Burke

Christopher Burke is a freelance writer and cartoonist based in Bogota, Colombia. His cartoons are often in the pages of the Chronicle of Higher Education and are always found at http://www.burkecartoons.com. His observations on daily life in Colombia can be found at http://christopherburkecolombia.wordpress.com.

Trying to make sense of Colombia’s “Strata” economic system

September 9, 2014 Christopher Burke International 5 comments

When I first moved here, the Colombian concept of Strata was one of the most difficult things for me to get my head around.

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Mauricio Mayorga and his Clean Garbage Project

March 14, 2014 Christopher Burke Activism, Environment, International One comment

Mauricio Mayorga, a Colombian artist, loves sand, the beach, the ocean and the sea (all beaches, all oceans and all seas).  Many of his

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How not to upgrade a public bus system: Bogotá, Colombia

May 29, 2013 Christopher Burke Cities, International, Transportation 2 comments

Bogotá, Colombia, has been celebrated and emulated worldwide these past 10 years for its innovative Transmilenio system of articulated buses. Reports regularly appear in

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The piggy banks of Colombia

April 16, 2012 Christopher Burke Business, Economy, International One comment

They sell piggy banks on the streets of Bogotá, and I imagine across Colombia, daily.  Handmade in the red clay of Rolland Garros, these

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A national ID card at work, Colombia-style

May 27, 2011 Christopher Burke Civil Rights, Government, International One comment

Colombia’s government wants to know the color of my underwear. When I went to buy underwear at a store here in Bogotá recently, surprise! 

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Bogota bus bingo: “Penny wars” meet 21st century

April 14, 2011 Christopher Burke International, Transportation 3 comments

Is your city’s bus system really outrageous?  For perspective, you might want to compare what goes on in your area with what happens on the

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