Latest News

Omaira Sánchez remains a symbol of the Armero tragedy, 40-years after her death. Photo: Archive/FILE

Armero: A Journalist Remembers the Night the Earth Turned to Mud

By Hermogenes Ardila Duran - November 12, 2025

On the night of November 12, 1985, at exactly 10 p.m., the landline rang. “Get ready – the radio car is coming for you,” warned the night controller at the main station of Todelar, the national radio chain where I had been working for about a year and a half. Just a week earlier, we […]

A Landscape of Loss: Forty Years After Armero

By Richard Emblin - November 11, 2025

Forty years after the catastrophe that erased Armero from the map, the landscape where the town once stood has taken on the quiet, uncanny stillness of an eroded manuscript. Vegetation has woven itself into the skeletal remains of walls and foundations, reclaiming what the earth so violently seized on the night of November 13, 1985. […]

Honda: At the timeless heart of Colombia’s Magdalena River

By Richard Emblin - August 2, 2024

Honda’s striking beauty and cultural richness offer a profound and immersive travel experience. So, when planning your next trip to Colombia, be sure to include this town on the Magdalena River in your itinerary, and be prepared to cross bridges.

Seismic activity of Colombia’s Nevado del Ruíz intensifying warns SGC

By Richard Emblin - April 14, 2023

An eruption of the Nevado del Ruíz would affect four departments in Colombia, including Cundinamarca. At least 22 communities in Caldas and Tolima are in a high-risk zone.

Colombia's Nevado del Ruíz volcano has been placed on orange alert for imminent eruption. Photo: SGC

Colombia’s Nevado del Ruíz remains on orange alert for eruption

By The City Paper Staff - April 3, 2023

The Nevado del Ruíz in central Colombia remains on orange alert after the Colombian Geological Service released an “extraordinary bulletin” regarding seismic activity in the interior of the volcano.

Parque Los Nevados

The Children of the Nevado del Ruíz volcano

By Federico Rios - April 2, 2023

For the young residents of PNN Parque Nacional Los Nevados, life is a contrast between stark realities and imposing beauty of the Nevado del Ruíz volcano.

Colombia’s Nevado del Ruíz volcano monitored for “explosive activity”

By The City Paper Staff - November 19, 2021

A unified command post has been established to monitor the Nevado del Ruíz volcano after a week of “unstable behaviour” and “explosive activity.”

Death of Yellow-eared Parrot guardian inspires young Colombian conservationists

By The City Paper Staff - July 25, 2021

The legacy of environmentalist Gonzalo Cardona is inspiring youngsters to continue conservation efforts of the Yellow-eared Parrot.

Promoting Ibagué as a cultural capital worthy of UNESCO’s Creative Cities title

By Tom Mullett - March 10, 2021

Ibagué’s Secretary of Culture, Greis Cifuentes, wants her city to be more than a pit-stop for enjoying lechona and tamales. Colombia’s music capital should be listed by UNESCO

Gonzalo Cardona, guardian of Yellow-eared Parrot murdered in Colombia

By Richard Emblin - January 13, 2021

Gonzalo Cardona is credited for having saved the rare Yellow-eared Parrot from extinction and species whose survival depends on the wax palm.

Ciudad Reptilia: Finding those crocs in Melgar, Tolima

By Jacqueline de Klerk - August 1, 2018

The resort town of Melgar has a population of 400 sharp-toothed reptiles for visitors to appreciate, a conservation initiative that relies on donations from tourists.

Big Picture: A mountain at the heart of art

By The City Paper Staff - May 1, 2018

The majestic stratosphere volcano, Nevado del Tolima, was the source of inspiration for an art exhibition in 1859 called Heart of the Andes by Frederic Edwin Church.

Village votes to ban mega mine of ‘La Colosa’

By Bram Ebus - April 7, 2017

Residents of Cajamarca took a nearly unanimous decision in a popular vote on March 26 to block a massive gold mine, dubbed ‘La Colosa’.

Páramo de letras, Tolima, Photo: Carlos Pineda

Big Picture: The long journey home

By The City Paper Staff - July 28, 2016

A BIG PICTURE from central Colombia and the department of Tolima, by photographer Carlos Pineda.

View of colonial Honda by William Moore.

A weekend adventure in Honda, Tolima

By Alden Pyle - May 15, 2014

Honda on the Magdalena River is an ideal destination for those who enjoy ranch life, negotiating bulls and afternoon cocktails.

Panche artwork

In search of Colombia’s lost Panches

By Gonzalo Guillen - February 14, 2013

Angel Martinéz dedicated more than two decades researching the lost Panche culture which flourished along the banks of the Magdalena valley.