David Gonzalez - THRASHER Magazine Skater of the Year 2012

Congratulations to our own David Gonzalez from Medellin who just won the 2012 Thrasher Magazine Skater of the Year award.


The announcement was made on December 4th, 2012 on the Thrasher website.

David beat out a tough field, including Guy Mariano, to get the prestigious award, but in the end what put him on top was his excellent POSSESSED TO SKATE video part, where he 50-50 grinded down the enormous double-kinked McInteer rail.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL "POSSESSED TO SKATE" VIDEO PART ON THE THRASHER WEBSITE.

Congratulations David!

Ruben Lenten Kitesurfing in Lago Calima, Colombia

Red Bull Under My Wing: Ruben Lenten 2011 a Kitesurfing video by keltron


Ruben Lenten, the king of the mega loop was in Lago Calima in Colombia for the Red Bull Under My Wings event.  View video above.

Lago Calima is the second windiest lake in the world.  In other words, it gets over 360 days of wind per year.

Born in Noorwijk in The Netherlands on March 30th, 1988, Ruben Lenten is world-renowned for his daring and incredibly acrobatic kiteboarding. He is known as the "King of the Megaloop".

View video below to see what a Megaloop means.  Basically, you are looping the kite at the apex of the jump.  Doesn't sound all that complicated or dangerous, but believe me, it is one of the hardest kite tricks to master and it can be very dangerous.


Megaloop:

Colombian Windsurfer Profile: Camilo Galeano

Camilo Galeano is a Colombian windsurfer from Cartagena, Colombia.
Most notably he has greatly promoted windsurfing in Colombia through Windsurfing into the Unknown film project which showcased different Colombian windsurfing spots.

Camilo, along with Phyl Soltysiak and Michael Rossmeier, sailed in Cartagena, Puerto Velero, Cabo de la Vela, and Islas del Rosario.

Here are some other statistics:

Sail Number: C64
Nationality: Colombia
Favorite Spots: Lobitos-Peru, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Cabo de La Vela
Weight: 64kg
Discipline: Freestyle, Wave
Favorite Move: Air Chacho
Sponsors: Starboard, Etniko Surf Shop

Studies: Bachelor's of Science in Information Technology, University of Miami
Goal:   Promote windsurfing in Colombia and increase my technical knowledge to share it around the country, so that one day a Colombian can become world chapion.

Email: anidiv@anidiv.com
Website: http://www.anidiv.com/colombiasixtyfour/

Surfing the Pacific, Colombia - Nuqui

The beautiful waves of the Colombian Pacific are on display again.
Here is a great video of the "Pico de Loro" surf break near Nuqui, Colombia.

Memo Gomez of EL CANTIL ECOLODGE and friends shown here enjoying the waves:


 
Surf en El Cantil Nuquí, Colombia-Mayo 2012 from elcantil on Vimeo.

El Chorro surf break, Colombian pacific

Ricardo Leccese - Colombian Kitesurfer Profile

Ricardo Leccese is a Colombian kitesurfer who is now 2nd overall in the PKRA World Course Racing tour.
His favorite place to kite is in his local spot of San Andres Islands, and his goal is to promote kitesurfing course racing.

Here is a PKRA profile video on Ricardo:



Oh what a life he leads kiteing in Colombia's best beach spots like San Andres and Cartagena:

 
Colombia kite from rikki Leccese on Vimeo.

Tayrona Surfing Championship, Santa Marta Colombia

In the beautiful Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta, Colombia, on July 20th to 22nd, 2012 was held the first Tayrona Surfing National Championship.

The waves of Casa Grande beach were on full display, with the swell having arrived 2 days before the contest window.

Below are two short videos of the event, as well as the results.





Trailer del Primer Campeonato Nacional de Surf, Organizado por Club Tayrona Surf from Tayrona Surf 

Club on Vimeo.
Spot 2 Campeonato Nacional Tayrona Surf Club 2012 - 20-21-22 de Julio en Casa Grande from Tayrona Surf Club on Vimeo.



RESULTS:


Open Category:

1st Place:       Marcos Vicioso            (Santa Marta)

2nd Place:      Campo Rincon             (Barraquilla)

3rd Place:      Filipok Ospina            (Cartagena)



Bodyboard:

1st Place:       Stephen Meyer            (Barraquilla)

2nd Place:      Nacho Uribe               (Medellin)

3rd Place:       Freddy Acosta             (Barraquilla)



Amateur:

1st Place:       Santiago Gil                (Sta. Marta)

2nd Place:      Issa Lamas                 (Barraquilla)

3rd Place:       Juan Carlos Pelaez    (Santa Marta)



LongBoard:

1st Place:       Loreley Guetty             (Argentina)

2nd Place:      Diego Chaparro         (Bogotá)

3rd Place:       Jorge Estrada             (Santa Marta)



Women's Category:

1st Place:       Loreley Guetty           (Argentina)

2nd Place:      Alyssa                         (Australia)

3rd Place:       Abbey                          (Australia)

House Hunters International - Bogota

Here is the House Hunters International episode filmed in Bogota, Colombia.





If interested in buying or renting in Bogota, contact New Horizons Real Estate

Tiga 275 Slalom Pictures

Liters: 115

Length: I think 275 translates to 9 ft.

Year: 1992

Sail Size : any small sail up to around 7.5

Foot Straps: not included

Fin: Power Box

Surfing Villa Alcatraz, Barranquilla & Puerto Colombia Surfers

This is a video of surfing in Villa Alcatraz beaches in Salgar with surfers from Barranquilla and Puerto Colombia.


 

Windsurfing Colombia: Playa Salgar Barranquilla

This is a short video of windsurfing wavesailing in playa Salgar near Barranquilla, Colombia filmed by the Hot Sails Maui Colombia crew in 2011:



Salgar 2011!!! from Hot Sails Maui Colombia on Vimeo.

FUN COLOMBIA Full Promo Skateboarding Video

Here is the FUN COLOMBIA 2011 Promo Video of all the skaters that ride for the team.
This is the full 20 minute version of the video.

100% pure Colombian skateboarding.
Incredible how high the level of Colombian skateboarding talent is getting.

Standout parts by Jean Carlos Arias, Wilfer Arcila, Felipe Vasquez and Camilo Melo:



Fun Promo 2011 "Full Version" Skateboarding Colombiano from Fun Colombia on Vimeo.

The Medellin Office: Celestial Bucket

I really like this new page called THE MEDELLIN OFFICE published by Dutch journalists Jeroen Kuiper and photographer Ronald de Hommel.   They describe it as "a journalistic multimedia production bureau focusing on Latin America and based in Medellin, Colombia".  They publish stories in English, Dutch, German and Spanish.

I especially like their motion photography picture called THE CELESTIAL BUCKET.  Below is a screenshot of the picture, but to truly enjoy it click on the above link to view the impressive motion photography, and the rest of the site.

House Hunters International Medellin, Colombia

The very popular HGTV channel show House Hunters International finally made a show in Medellin, Colombia

Check out the episode here:

Part 1:

Part 2: Part 3: Part 4:

Time Magazine Interview President of Colombia

This is an April 2nd, 2012 Time Magazine Interview with the President of Colombia, Francisco Santos:

By the way, President Santos was on the April 23rd, 2012 cover of TIME Magazine:

Paul McCartney Plays in Bogota

This is a video of Paul McCartney, ex-Beatle, playing in Bogota, Colombia on April 19th, 2012. The concert in El Campin soccer stadium. I wish I was there:

Also view the best photos of the concert here:

http://bogota.vive.in

Brad Pitt Narrates Bogota Documentary

This is an excellent PBS documentary, narrated by Brad Pitt, about Bogota and how Enrique Peñalosa (ex-mayor of Bogota) helped to transform the city in a short span of years:

Watch Bogota: Building a Sustainable City on PBS. See more from e2.

Skateboarding Colombia: Camilo Melo

This is little Camilo Melo, the future of Colombian skateboarding.

He rides for the Colombian skate company FUN COLOMBIA
Check out this video of his stylish riding:



Camilo Melo, Fun Promo 2011 Skateboarding from Fun Colombia on Vimeo.

Bogota Eats + Drinks Blog

BOGOTA EATS + DRINKS is one of my new favorite blogs about Colombia.

Diana Holguin's award-winning blog takes you through a culinary journey of some of the best restaurants and eating joints in Bogota.

The culinary scene in Bogota is booming and cosmopolitan.  It seems like a new restaurant opens every week.

I'm salivating just seeing the pictures of the Colombian food.

Rammstein Plays in Bogota, Colombia

The crazy German band Rammstein played in Bogota:

AXL Rose Walking in Bogota, Colombia

AXL Rose of Gun's N Roses was in Bogota, Colombia walking around, shopping in Centro Andino in the Zona Rosa neighborhood:

 


 Later that night he gave a concert at Parque Jaime Duque: View the video here:

Coldplay Concert in Bogota, Colombia

Coldplay gave a great concert in Parque Simon Bolivar in Bogota:

Red Hot Chili Peppers Concert Bogota, Colombia

The Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Bogota, Colombia