Mimes directing traffic in Bogotá had surprisingly loud impacts (2025)
atlasobscura.comBeen living here in Bogotá all my life and in all my years of commuting (walking, bus and now almost exclusively cycling) and have never seen one of them.
Though I wish there were more of them. Traffic here (in general terms) is a complete nightmare but it is too civic culture.
From the article:
‘“The people who designed it understood that in a 7-million-person city like Bogotá, a very small percentage would actually see the mime artists,” says Felipe Cala Buendía, the author of Cultural Producers and Social Change in Latin America. However, Mockus believed in the power of word of mouth.’
> mimes … word of mouth
Nice.
This happened 20 years ago, Bogotá was chaotic at that time, no cars stopped at traffic lights
Really wish I had a time machine to go back to that board room decision and witness the moment when desperation led someone to shout "Let's use mimes!"
I have photographs from the Poblado district of Medellín, Colombia of a man who had strung a tightrope between two lightpoles of a side street, and tightwalked them carrying hoops and bowling pins that he juggled while cars passed below.
Anyone trying this in the U.S. would be arrested, so it was surprising to see. I wonder how the insurance works.
Insurance is not a term we use a lot in Colombia
Too true. I remember when I visited it took me a while to get used to this. I would ask my friend questions like “what happens if I fall off this campero/get bitten by one of these street dogs/clock somebody in the head playing rana/twist my ankle on this busted-out sidewalk? Who has the liability here?” and he would say “we don’t really have that here man”. Honestly it was a great time.
What a civilized attitude!
US liability culture is mean, grubby, and boring.
I have enjoyed Atlas Obscura for 15 years probably, but the site is now unusable on my phone unless I’m at home on the pi-hole. I can’t get halfway through an article without the page reloading, shifting boxes, and various other things that make it literally impossible to finish reading. What is the point
> but the site is now unusable on my phone unless I’m at home on the pi-hole
if you can accept the latency, tailscale your phone to your home network
I don’t know if you will see this, but I had to come back and say thank you. This is amazing. It has transformed my phone browsing experience.
No problem, I should probably get to setting it up myself too, lol
thanks! i will look into that
Everyone was laid off last year and the site is being mined for views.
In those 15 years, did you send them any money? I suspect the point is “we don’t make enough money to keep writing cool articles that keep people coming back for 15 years.”
I would think it’s pretty obvious that’s not the question I am asking. What is the point of making a page I can’t even look at to see that ads.
>blistering Colombian sun.
I'm pretty sure the sun is never "blistering" in Bogota.
Bogotá is at 2640 m, so there is more unfiltered radiation. Like 20-25% more UV. And it's cooler so you don't notice it as much as you should. You can get sunburns even with clouds at that altitude.
I did, at any rate, get a sunburn there one November
Bogotá is 4 degrees north of the equator. Its climate is a bit temperate due to being in a high altitude plateau. But you better wear sunscreen anyway under tropical sun.
It's at an altitude of 8500+ ft - UV is much stronger and the sunburns can be bad if you're not prepared.
As a Colombian now living in the north, every time I return to Bogotá, the UV index is between 9 and 11, and I get sunburned. My skin has become accustomed to the 1-2 levels typical of Northern Europe.
Um actually it's more "blistering" than in So Calif (where I also lived most of my life) due to the altitude.
Why are you so sure? What information do you have that leads you to be that sure?
Found this video https://youtu.be/6YcK05z--n8 wish there were more and as interesting as the pictures in this article
This is another video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqPfW62aqzk
Mockus was the best mayor Bogotá ever had. Cultura ciudadana, or "Citizen Culture," was the most transformative policy we ever implemented.
The photos in the article seemingly are of Brazilian traffic mimes.
Learn how to speak!!!