Since I started to travel, many people have asked me why I choose South America.
I studied Spanish at the University, did a 3 months student exchange in the North of Spain and then lived one year in Valencia. I have a fascination for this country and go back whenever I can. At the same time, I learned a lot about South America, which destiny is closely linked to that of Iberic Peninsula, and read some of the continent’s authors. I got intrigued by the Latin American identity, the mix of cultures between Natives, Europeans and Africans, and how they try to find the right balance between all these influences. Latin Americans are conscious of the influence the Occident has on them, and have suffered them a lot. Nevertheless, and despite many dictatorships and remaining contrasts and contradictions, my feeling is that they are trying to build something different. I think of Che Guevara, Salvador Allende, Evita Perrón, Hugo Chavez,… Not everything they did was perfect. Far from that. But I wanted to experience the reality of this continent for myself.
As said in the song of the band Calle 13, “Latino America”, “Aquí se respira lucha”. South America has a fighting spirit.
Saartje's Melting Pot 