Thanks Ms. Antigua and Ms. Vicenty-Rolon!

On March 25th, Timber Creek High School teacher Ms. Antigua became the first teacher to let me present to her class "Beyond the Wall". She enjoyed my presentation so much that she emailed Ms. Vicenty-Rolon about it. Ms. Vicenty-Rolon quickly contacted me that same day so I could present to her classes as well. Both teachers have great ideas to help the residents of El Talon, Colombia. Ms. Antigua is also working on a project of her own: to increase Autism awareness in Timber Creek High School. I will help and support Ms. Antigua in whatever she needs. Here is a link to the Autism Awareness website for more information: http://www.autismawarenessonline.com/.

Thanks Ms. Antigua and Ms. Vicenty-Rolon for all your help!

"Beyond the Wall" video and presentation being shown in various classes of Timber Creek High School - Orlando, FL

I began presenting my video "Beyond the Wall" to various classes of Timber Creek High School on March 25th. My presentations went well and received positive feedback. I will continue presenting in many different classes around my school in order to complete my mission to help the residents of El Talon, Colombia. The purpose of these presentations is to get students aware of "Beyond the Wall Campaign" and begin receiving donations very soon pending approval from school administrators.

Here are some still images from the video, which should be uploaded on YouTube very soon:


As a final note, I would like to thank Timber Creek High School junior Madeline Cueva, Mr. Morris, Timber Creek's TV Production students, Wendy Doromal, and my family in Colombia for helping me with this video and project.

Service Learning Conference in Nashville, Tennessee

I travelled with Mrs. Doromal and classmate Mary Barahona to the 2009 Service Learning Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Along with Ms. Bohn and students from Evans High School, we presented a workshop on Homelessness and Poverty. I presented my documentary "Beyond the Wall". Fortunately, the workshop was a success!

Beyond the Wall

Cartagena de Indias is located in the Northern Carribean coast of Colombia. It was founded in 1533 by Pedro de Heredia and was an important center for Spanish settlement in South America. It was a commerce and transportation hub in the late viceroyalty era. It was also a slave port; only two cities were authorized to deal with Africans: Cartagena and Veracruz, Mexico. Today, Cartagena is Colombia's most important tourist destination. It has many beautiful beaches, hotels, cultural events, and has conserved the Colonial town, which is called the Walled City. Cartagena is a beautiful city definitely worth visiting.

Images of Cartagena


However, there is something very wrong with the city that needs to be addressed: poverty. Since Cartagena is a touristic city, the government for some reason feels it is more important to please the tourists and not the people of Cartagena. The government invests a lot of money to improve the city but usually only where the tourists go. My questions are: what about the people of Cartagena and its suburbs? Why is it that when you go beyond the walled city, it is poor? Cartagena has a poverty rate of around 80% and there are about 1,200,000 people. It is incredible that almost the whole population is under the poverty line.

Images of my trip to Colombia in December 2008


With my Mother and Father in the Orlando International Airport, before flying to Colombia



Images of my family, where I helped out, and the home I stayed in.

My mother is from Turbaco, Colombia. It is about thirty minutes away from Cartagena's Walled City and in 2004, I began travelling there every year. I always noticed this economic inequality but now I feel I must do something about it. In December 2008, I travelled to Cartagena and Turbaco to film the contrast between the rich and the poor. I filmed many beautiful places like the Walled City and Boca Grande. I also filmed El Talon, one of Turbaco's poorest part of town. I interviewed many people and I promised I would return in Summer 2009 with donations, mainly coming from my school, Timber Creek High in Orlando, FL. The Service Learning Academy, ran by Wendy Doromal, is sponsoring this campaign. If you would like to help, email me: beyondthewallcolombia@yahoo.com.