From England but Colombian at heart. This is how it is defined Matt Rendell, one of the great writers invited to the 17th edition of There’s the Cartagena Festival, which starts this Thursday and runs through Sunday.

British musician, translator and journalist is a Colombian cycling expert. He is the author of eight books in between mountain king, which went on sale in 2004 and in it tells the story of the sport’s biggest figures at the national level.

In the first visit to Colombia fell in love with its enchanting scenery and warm people, but also with cycling.

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His spirit was born more than two decades ago when he jazz musician

At a concert in his city he met the bassist of Bogota Chucho Pedagang Merchant and was so impressed with her talent that on several occasions she attended music classes with him.

In 1997 he worked as a translator for a television channel in England and he received a foreign language video interview for coverage of the Tour de France.

received an interview from Gonzalez ‘Chepe’, a runner at the time. The fact that he was a farmer and that in all his statements he mentioned God, aroused great interest in Rendell.

After resigning from teaching university in Europe, traveled to Latin America to pedal from Tierra del Fuego to Colombia. He arrived in April of the same year and lived in the center of Bogotá.

Interacting with people from the media, he arrived in his homeland pretending to be a journalist to broadcaster Marco Tulio Ipuerto, in two hours explaining the history of cycling and its functions. good reference.