a love letter to cartagena

cartagena,

i dream of you. some of my favorite memories are yours. i constantly think about the shades of blue that surround you, lapping gently at the shore, the white bubbles racing to caress the space between us.

i imagine climbing the fortress of the walled city; the wind recklessly dancing in my hair, the sun crashing behind me a over city draped in your colors. i love that about you too. every single vibrant shade of orange, every lush green, every screaming pink holds onto me mercilessly. i never want them to let go.

i wish i could hold you again, cartagena. i wish i could be serenaded as i paraded down the street. i wish i could speak to the taxi drivers about their favorite spots, or listen to the banter of the women with heads full of plastic fruit. i wish i could run my hands over the murals on your walls, every paint-filled divot telling a story of a time where the sun wasn't as bright.

i wish i could stand in the back of la cathedral and feel the cool breeze run across my face gracefully, whispering psalms in my ear.

the cartagena feeling

december 2019

cartagena,

you are a city that breathes music.

you are a city of skyscrapers.

you are a city where it rains guaro.

you are a city of "remember when's".

you are a city in a white suit that drinks decadence.

you are a city of stars.

i miss them the most, the cartagena stars. i miss the speckled sky winking at me repeatedly, every second producing another star. i wish i could lay on the roof and reach up to them, the blanket of forgotten supernovas singing me to sleep, and hold them up against the chatter of the city adamant on being heard and the fireworks competing with their brilliance.

my father and i.

cartagena through embrace.

new year's day, 2020

cartagena,

you are a neon freckle in a galaxy of grey giants. you are the sun incarnate. you are a full moon on new years day. you are electricity and antiquity.

and in the little time i spent with you, i learned to love you completely.

cartagena, te amo.

---

with all these days spent at home, i escape to the places i've been.

i will be writing a love letter of sorts to each of my favorite cities.

my sister took the cover image in 2019.

cartagena's coordinates:

10.3932° N, 75.4832° W