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.
In November 2008 I was invited to participate in GlobalPost.com.
I have also a regular contact with Colombia en London.
Finally, on 8th June, 2009, Colombia Passport as an online Magazine and Colombia Report as a news provider online, began a common project, keeping their original ideas, but working together. This is a honor for me and I think both projects have much in common, doing journalism in English about Colombia, trying to show events from a more concise point of view, around a philosophy of optimism in the country. The project is... in development.
That means that other authors, artists and designers will participate in the blog and I am very glad to share it with them. Little by little their credits will appear on Colombia Passport, a blog associated to Colombia Report.
Career
I studied social communication and journalism Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) of Medellín, Colombia between 1989 and 1995.
In 17th September 2008 I was honored by the directive council of my University with the Social Merit Award 2008 "Mgr. Felix Henao Botero", during the 72nd Anniversary of the foundation of the University. It was for my work in the education of poor youth in Cambodia and the promotion of Colombia abroad. I want to thank Mgr. Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez and the board of trust of the University for this recognition of my work, a recognition that is dedicated to my dear Colombian, Latin American and Cambodian people.
Since January 2009 the artist and journalist Luis Haro Domínguez of Uruguay is working with me in this blog and it is a real honor for me. He is the first great professionals who have believed in my work.
The work
Since 2006 I am reporting about news related to economics, society and culture of Colombia and its region. Being in Asia gives me a kind of objectivity to report all those news that come to be on the international media and that information that can be known only by a native of the place. I can say I know my people, our history and culture. Colombia can be a difficult issue to follow and objectivity is not easy in a country where most of the people and institutions take position and opposition.
The other problem in reporting Colombia is the dilemma between showing a very beautiful and colorful country with amazing places from tropical beaches to snow mountains and kind people, to the gloomy realities of violence and poverty. Again, you can find yourself in one side and against the other. As Colombia has nothing to envy other countries in tourism and as Colombia has a real political problem, I chose to report both sides and invite foreigners to visit Colombia.
However, the decision to visit Colombia is not easy for many after so much information of violent acts, guerrillas, paramilitary, mafia and kidnapped people.
How can we promote a country like that?
This is the issue: I am not working for any tourist agency at all. But I have a conviction: the best we can do to understand Colombia, to help it in the overcoming of its difficulties and having a more complete image, is knowing it well.
This is my goal: To generate as much information a visitor would need to have an idea of Colombia.
The ideal of the blog is create an objective space for persons interested in Colombia. Promoting the Colombian talents, especially of children and youth. Being concern about Colombians living abroad.
About rights of author
You can use my material and writings with the following conditions:
1. Tell me (albeiror24@gmail.com), because it is my work and I want to know where it is reported. If you link it to my blog, I will get the link back, so you do not need to tell me. But if you are not going to link it, please email me.
2. Please mention the blog or its author. I like to write and I like writing about Colombia, Latin America, Asia, economics and cultures. If you want to invite me to write for you, surely you will find a positive answer, because that is my passion. I would like to listen about your proposal. I can help you too in translations. I did something in this link to that regard.
3. When I use material of other sites or authors (very often I translate documents from Spanish that I consider of a high importance), I mention the source. If you will use it in your site, please mention the original source as well.
Support my work
I invite you to support my work as well. I have known many writers selling their works on the net or working with great information agencies. You can read my articles by free. But just think, it took me time and investigation. If you send me for that a dollar, it is okay and I will thank you. That would be kind. Here you can find the ways to support my work and my people.
Any contact: passport@colombiareports.com - H.P. (+855) 97 96 75 042
P.O. Box 9406, Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Other sites
I have other sites related with Cambodia and other subjects:
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:
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.