Why a Booktrail?
1993: A fun and wacky ride on board the The Train of Ice and Fire (expresso de Hielo) which was the mode of transport for Mano Negra’s 1993 tour on Colombia’s decrepit railway.
The Train of Ice and Fire
What you need to know before your trail
Colombia, November 1993
One hundred musicians, acrobats, and artists are travelling on a ramshackle train decorated with butterflies through a country known and feared for its violence. But the artists have a dream – to travel the country and put on free shows for the people at as many locations and train stations as they can.
Leading this train of travellers is Manu Chao with his band Mano Negra. Ramn Chao, his father, is on board to chronicle the journey. As the train climbs 1,000 kilometers from Santa Marta on the Caribbean Coast to Bogota in the Altiplano, he chronicles the adventures of the train’s eccentric cargo, and the physical and social landscape which is changing outside.
Travel Guide
The scene inside the train is a interesting as it is on the outside -not just for the wild and wacky performers on board but the atmosphere and banter that goes with them. Not to mention what they are doing and their mission to spread music and joy to all the people they can. there’s some fun characters on board and you feel that you are right on the train with them rattling around the mountains and to imagine that one of Columbia’s most famous music artists is part of it is both surreal and weirdly exciting. What a great idea for a booktrail! A book written about the journey he takes. Great!
Outside the train, the landscape rattles past a wide range of landscapes which show a lot of the country in all its forms – the FARC controlled areas, the rural communities who live near the train stations they visit, the land owned by drug lords
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Train of Ice and Fire
Author/Guide: Ramon Chao Destination: Colombia Departure Time: 1993
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