Hello websurfers! Thank you for your interest in knowing something about me. That is ἀλήθεια. However, I prefer you know me through what I write. It is my full-time passion. Fortunately, I was born in 1970 in Colombia. That two particular facts are very important for me, because: First, I was born in the Technology Revolution that gives me the opportunity to write and write and write (I can't think myself in front to a typewriter... though I wrote my first thesis in one.) And second, I was born in Colombia and that is just great, I can tell you. And even more: in Medellín. And even more, in a Comuna. That means Realismo Mágico and Andrés Caicedo, Fernando González and Fernando Vallejo, Debora Arango and Juanes, Café de Colombia and more and more things that fill my Latin American mind.

I will tell you some names and they can draw my face (plus the ones up) and what is in my mind: Karl Sagan, Martin Heidegger, John Paul II, Herman Hess, Jorge Luis Borges, Tomás Carrasquilla, Fernando Pessoa, Julio Verne, Umberto Eco, Jesus of Nazaret, John Bosco, Buddha, Mahomette, Gandhi, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Carlos Gardel, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Albert Einsten, Socrates...

I like to write in the dear language of my mother, Spanish. But I think that few Spanish-speakers have written in English throughout the history. I want to contribute a little making the English world to know what is in the mind of million of million of Spanish-speakers.

That's all for now. Just put Albeiro Rodas in Google search hahaha 24,000 results by 10th October 2009!

A short history of my Colombia Passport Online Magazine

As a child of the technological revolution (I was 21 in 1991), I began this blog in 2005 with the idea of promoting Colombia and Latin America in English, especially in Asia. This blog has a Spanish language version, though it is different in conception.

In English I inspire myself with websites and magazines like América Economía, The Economist, The Easter Review, the National Geographic, the Colombian Portafolio, etc. My dream is to have a magazine in English about Latin America and Asia. However, I still alone in the idea. Now I associated with colombiareports.com of my friend Adriaan Alsema.

Other sites

I have other sites related with Cambodia and other subjects:

• Camboya en español.
• Cambodia from Inside.
• Muchachos en depresión.

Don Bosco Webhouse

With my friend Pietro Hublitz I created the Webhouse for my dear students of social communication. Currently we are working in the following sites using Joomla:

• Don Bosco Technical School.
• Don Bosco Cambodia.
• ColombiaInfo.

And other projects that I will make public soon!

Reinaldo Albeiro, the meaning of the names

Well, as I am Spanish I have two names and two surnames. My two names were given by my grandmother: Reinaldo as my father (Reinaldo Rodas Rua) and Albeiro as my uncle (Jorge Albeiro Torres Parra). Both names are not so common in Spanish as well, especially Albeiro. Most Albeiros come from the west part of Colombia. Both names have Germanic origin.

Reinaldo: It is from the old German RAGIN WUALD, meaning He who governs by council. One of the cavalliers of Charlemagne had this name. Other celebrities with this name were the Venezuelan/German musician Reinaldo Hahn, the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, the Uruguayean politician Reinaldo Gargano, the Argentinian soccer player Reinaldo Andrés Alderete, the Venezolean singer Reinaldo Armas, the Argentinian sportman Reinaldo Gorno, the French cavallier Reinaldo de Chátillon and many other more.

The name in other languages:

• In Portuguese: RONALDO.
• In French: RENAUD.
• In Italian: RINALDO.

Albeiro: This name is less common in Spanish. I never have known a Non-Colombian Albeiro. Even in several regions of Colombia, nobody is named Albeiro, only from Cali to Antioquia. The most famous Albeiro is the soccer player ALBEIRO USURRIAGA. The EI of the name makes that many people think that the name is Portuguese. I prefer this name, because is very original, actually. It is also a Germanic name. It comes from the Scandinavian ALF E RICH. It is an Elf. It comes to be in old Saxon ALDERICO, that translated is Powerful Lord. In Italian it came to be ALBERICO. Historical Albeiros were Saint Alberic Crescitelli. This Alberic, a Catholic missionary, came to China. Other Albeiro I like is the French Albeirico delle Tre Fontane. I do not know when or how the name came to Spanish as Albeiro. But so far, the only Albeiros I know are in Colombia. Some people confuse it with ALBERTO, Albert. But it is not true.

Rodas Torres, my surnames

We Spanish people use two surnames. The first is the house of the father and the second the house of the mother. I hope our Spanish culture will not change it never, because I find it beautiful and gives honor to our mothers. My two surnames are Spanish 100 percent. But they have a long history and meanings.

Rodas: We Rodas are not so common in Colombia. We are found exclusively in the north of the Antioquia state. The Spaniard conqueror of Antioquia was Don Gaspar de Rodas (17th century). There are plenty of Rodas in Mexico, Central America and Argentina. In English it is Rodhes (Rodhes Island in New York). The Argentinian and US Rodhes are mostly Jews, because they came to America from the Greek Rodhe Island, the geographical origin of our name. But the Rodas from Mexico to Central America and Antioquia came from Extramadura, Spain. It is understood that the Extremedian Rodas took the name from the cavalliers of the Crusades that defend the Rodhe Island from the Turkish.

Rodhe is a Greek island. The name in Greek language means Rose. In Latin it is Rhodus. There is a long list of personalities with this surname in different languistic versions. Some places have also the name, like Rodas in Cuba. Here you can see the seal of the house of my father.

Torres: This surname is, different to Rodas, more extensive. There are thousand of Torres in Spain, Portugal and the Americas. Scholars say that it is a very old surname from the 14th century in Spain. It was originated in Castilla. It means, of course, TOWERS. Many other Spanish surnames are derived from it, like Torresalba, Torreda, etc. (Here you can see the seat, but turn off the sound, cause the website is a little noisy...) It is also said that the surname was used extensively by the conversed Jews in the 15th century. For this reason is also considered a Jew surname... If we join the suspect Jew origin of Rodas and Torres... hahaha. Too many Torres I have known. For this reason, I use Rodas-Torres as a single surname since now.