Carlos Ortega Delgado is a Colombian painter who specializes in the art of watercolors. Much of his education was received in Guayaquil, Ecuador, although he currently lives in Bogota. This painter often participates in the most important exhibitions of paintings in Colombia.

Toonari Post (TP): Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career.

Carlos Ortega Delgado (COD): Well, I am from Cali and I’m 37. I studied art at various sites, not only here in my city, but also in the neighboring country of Ecuador where I grew as an artist with many efforts. Due to my immediate needs to live in a foreign country when I was 21 years old, I began to paint in the embankment of the beautiful city of Guayaquil.

Once back to my country, I started to study graphic design at the prestigious Academy of Professional Drawing, where I learned many things, and currently I’m teaching what I learned during almost three years of stay in Ecuador.

TP: How did you find your passion for painting?

COD: Since my childhood, when my parents began to notice my penchant for artwork and manipulating the clay. I made incredible things like Christ paints and religious images. Somewhat surprising for a child of 7 years.

It was at that moment, when my parents decided to give me unconditional support to a successful career.

TP: Which painters have been the greatest influence in your life?

COD: There are several painters, but the most influential have been the great Colombian artist Luis Caballero. Another is the great Spanish artist Joaquin Soroya from the nineteenth-century, and now I have a significant influence from many watercolor artists who are the major figures in watercolor in the world, such as Steve Hanks.

TP: What kind of painting do you prefer?

COD: From watercolor, which is my specialty, I make all kinds of themes such as nudes, portraits, landscapes and so forth.

Commonly, I try to leave a message of reflection about the problems that weigh down our country.

TP: Why do you like the style of watercolors?

COD: Once in the school, I had the opportunity to meet a great teacher who introduced me to this lovely art. He told me that I had a lot of talent to be a great watercolorist. From there, I began to deepen into this technique, then I started to investigate its secrets and its greatest exponents.

TP: How do you know when an artwork is done?

COD: Never a work of art will be completed. Well, personally, no matter how beautiful that I see a painting; I will always have a “but,” and for that reason there will always be something missing to make this come to perfection.

TP: It is well known that Colombia is a country where the activity of artists is undervalued by society. Tell me, how have you developed your profession this type of situation?

COD: Actually, it was not easy. But I’ll tell you; sometimes you have that angel and destiny, even if you are not the best in the guild to achieve transcendence in this profession. But my merit, I think, is not giving up to my job, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Another detail is to know how to look up contacts and sell.

TP: What advice would you give to young people who want to develop their art?

COD: Well, if they feel it in their heart; they need to have perseverance, and never give up for the difficult conditions in our country. Anyway, there is a famous saying that says: “There is no evil that lasts 100 years, there’s no body that can resist it,” and in the future in our country, conditions will change; and those who have managed to stay on the road to their dream of being great artists will achieve the greatest success of all. If it is not to achieve a work of art, it is making their lives art for art’s sake.

Image Courtesy of  http://acuarelasmipasion.blogspot.com

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Colombia is a country with colorful, delicious and interesting food. The Colombian kitchen has a large influence from Spanish, African and Natives. The main ingredients of the dishes are rice, corn, beans, cassava and potatoes.

Similarly, fruits like papaya, guava, maracuyá, coconut, banana and mango are part of the Columbian staple diet. The Andean country is characterized by having so many different regions, each of which has different cultural and geographical characteristics and, therefore, a different cuisine.

There are foods, in which are used similar ingredients, however they are prepared differently in each region, this is the case of the “sancocho” (a soup), soups, tamales, meats, beverages made from corn, pepper, rice, empanadas and arepas (cornbread).

Precisely, arepas are one of the most exquisite foods. In some regions, arepas are made with dried corn dough, which is done through a manual process that involves removing the shell called “pilado.” The corn is then cooked and milled.

According to the Colombian Academy of Gastronomy, “the arepa is part of the cultural heritage and can be regarded as a symbol of national unity gastronomic.” Arepas is the ideal complement to other foods.

One of the most famous dishes is the ajiaco santafereño. Somewhat similar to a chicken broth, this soup is made of celery, corn, guasca (grass), baked potato and chicken breast. This soup is served with capers, vinegar, rice and avocado and milk cream.

Another important food, “bandeja paisa,” is characterized by its variety and abundance. This dish is made up of eggs, beans, fried plantains, arepas, pork, rice and avocado, making it a typical food in the Andean region.

While in northern Colombia, meals are noted for their high vitamin content and aphrodisiac, like casseroles, seafood and coconut rice. Also, there are other dishes like fritters, arepas with eggs, sausage and cheese mote, a soup prepared with cheese coast, yams, garlic, onion and tomato.

Among drinks, “la chicha” is made with a corn sugar mixture. This drink can be consumed in two ways: the first is to take it cool, the second option is to let it ferment and store it in the fridge to cool and then consume as a strong alcoholic beverage. Other traditional drinks are juices made from tropical fruits.

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Following the Venezuelan independence day last Wednesday, US presidential nominee Mitt Romney issued a statement saying that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez “failed to honor the spirit of freedom with which Venezuela was established. Hugo Chávez is promoting ideas in Venezuela and other Latin American countries that run counter to freedom, prevent prosperity and expand tyranny.”

The statement is typical US discourse opposing Chavez, who has long been a hate figure in US media. The populist ideas Chavez is promoting have long been a concern for the US. This was illustrated by a similar statement by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, then reacting to Salvardo Allende’s election in Chile in 1970.

Chile was then on the verge of becoming an independent socialist state rather than a Soviet satellite, a development which, according to Kissinger, “would be far more dangerous… because its ‘model’ effect can be insidious… our main concern is the prospect that [Allende] can consolidate himself and the picture projected to the world will be his success.”

Washington’s greatest fear, far greater than communism or the rise of totalitarianism, is, and always has been, successful independent nationalism. That has currently become a reality across Latin America following the last ten year’s remarkable development known as the “pink tide.” This movement is characterized by the election of leftist governments (with notable examples such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Evo Morales in Bolivia, among others), increased government control over natural resources with new social reforms favoring the poor and former marginalized indigenous populations, and a region-wide opposition to Washington influence stretching from Venezuela to Argentina.

Venezuela has been on the forefront of this socialist movement, initiated by the 1999 election of Hugo Chavez.

Hugo Chavez was elected President following two decades of economic turmoil in Venezuela. Chavez, coming from poor conditions himself, immediately set out to introduce reforms specifically targeting the poor majority – a former invisible group in a Venezuela dominated by a small and wealthy elite with close ties to the US.

Today, Venezuela has free health care and free education, as well as some of the highest literacy rates in the region. In 2002, the disgruntled upper class, rendered powerless under the Chavez government, staged a coup with the help of Washington. The US had been channeling millions of dollars to the coup makers through US Aid and the National Endowment for democracy. Chavez was replaced by Pedro Carmona, a businessman who suspended all members of the Supreme Court, the National Assembly and the National Electoral board and assumed dictatorial powers.

The IMF was not late to jump aboard; during a press briefing the day after the coup, Thomas C. Dawson, Director of the External Relations Department in the IMF, immediately pledged allegiance to the Carmona government, saying that “we stand ready to assist the new administration in whatever manner they find.”

All the while, official US spokesmen backed a phony story about Chavez supporters shooting innocent civilians. However, the poor masses were not going to accept being marginalized once again, and thus emerged with great numbers from the Barrios demanding Chavez reinstatement. As they approached the presidential palace, the army turned against the coup makers and reinstated Chavez, a mere 48 hours after his ousting.

Philip Agee, a former CIA agent operating in Latin America, explains why the US would back a coup overthrowing an elected government and replace it with a dictator: “In the CIA, we didn’t give a hoot about democracy. It was fine if a government was elected and would co-operate with us, but if it didn’t, then democracy didn’t mean a thing to us, and I don’t think it means a thing today.”

Venezuela is home to the largest oil reserves in the world outside of the Middle East, and is thus a country of vital strategic importance to the US. Detrimental to US designs, Chavez is forming close ties with China instead of Washington. Chavez is also cooperating closely with Cuba, Argentina and other South American nations under the premise of achieving a Latin American “grand unity,” in which Washington is not included.

The US often condemns Venezuela and its current form of democracy, while paradoxically praising and supporting the neighboring government of Colombia, a country with one of the worst human rights record in history. According to virtually unreported Latinobarometro polls, Venezuela is annually the highest ranking in all of South America when it comes to trust in democracy, assessment of the current and future economic situations, equality, justice, and education standards.

Venezuela has got its far share of problems, such as mounting inflation and continuous corruption, but compared to the pre-Chavez Venezuela, where the majority of the population were completely marginalized, the democratic development is nothing far from remarkable.

As Latin America is steadily slipping out of US control, Washington is waking up to a new multipolar world in which its powers are no longer taken for granted. The continent has seen a remarkable reversal of detrimental financial and social policies during the last ten years. The region, which contemptuously has been known as Americas “back yard,” is moving towards a future in which a bewildered Washington no longer has a place.

No wonder Mitt Romney is disgruntled.

Image COurtesy of   ¡Que comunismo!

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South America is facing the worst wave of press censorship since the authoritarian military dictatorships of the 1970′s. Several leaders of Latin American countries have introduced mechanisms to censor the freedom of speech and freedom of the press of their citizens.

Journalists working for media organizations are protected under article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.” This is a fundamental right that gives the ability to have opinions and write about them without having to worry about whether journalists will get into trouble for what they believe.

However, some countries are taking a step backward in regard to free speech, especially in Latin America. According to FORO Nacional Internacional, “Repression and open threats have come from national and sub-national governments and even from criminal organizations. Moreover, the persistence of such pressures often results in media self-censorship, as they abstain from disseminating political views that are critical of powerful government or private interests.”

Human Rights Watch published last year how Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez undermined journalistic freedom of speech. Chavez officially removed the licenses of 32 private radio stations and 2 television channels in 2009 for “technical and administrative reasons.”

Nicaragua is the best example of the reasons behind the desire to limit freedom of speech in many Latin American countries. President Daniel Ortega has forced all private media companies to join a guild that is associated with his Sandinista Party, but few media businesses are still resisting Ortega’s proposal. Ortega limits what type of information is received by his citizens.

Freedom of expression is fragile in Colombia because it is threatened by state and non-state factions, such as the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) guerrilla group and the “Black Eagles,” a paramilitary band.

Catalina Botero, special rapporteur for freedom of expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), said to a newspaper in 2010 that “death threats, stigmatization, and spying on journalists by state agencies had led the country to a red alert status.”

Reporters Without Borders (RWB) cited that four journalists have been killed since the start of 2010 in Colombia in connection with their journalistic work. RWB mentioned that, in 2011, the Black Eagles made a campaign threatening the life of five journalists: Hollman Morris (Contravía), Daniel Coronell (Univisión), Marcos Perales (Portada), Claudia Julieta (Radio Nizkor), and Eduardo Márquez, the president of the Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER). These professionals media activities were spied on and hacked by Colombia’s leading intelligence agency and the Administrative Department of Security which involved the Colombian President Álvaro Uribe with this scandal.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries to work as a journalist. Despite the fact that Mexican President Felipe Calderón promised a number of international press monitors in 2010 and a new program to guarantee safety conditions for journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that these measures did not work.

According to the CPJ, seven journalists and one media worker were killed in 2011. A total of 80 journalists have been murdered since 2000, and 14 have disappeared since 2003. Even social media as an alternative for journalists to shed light on democracy is threatened by Mexican cartels. For instance, social media journalist Macías Castro was killed last year for her anonymous story on the drug war through social media.

Cuba does not let any independent press operate outside the control of the state. The official media (one television channel, one radio station and two dailies are the official channels to serve propaganda for the regime with just a few Catholic magazines being tolerated. Many Cuban journalists have been forced to publish from Miami and Spain against the regimen.

In general, by monitoring the media, the South American governments have control over all aspects of their citizens’ lives. Governments are able to stop any reports that show the real facts of politicians and is even capable of getting the media to publish false election results to keep the status quo. Censorship is a tyranny mechanism whose practice limits the freedom of speech instead of promoting a real democracy in Latin America.

Image Courtesy of  The Israel Project

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On April 2, 2012 the Colombian rebel group FARC-EP unilaterally freed the last 10 police and militaries, of the nearly 500 who have been held in captivity for years by the insurgents. With this act the FARC wanted to confirm its intention to end the use of kidnapping as a strategy of war.

One of the people responsible for these liberations was the ex-senator Piedad Cordoba who said “We are happy because we fulfilled the commitment that we made since 2008, reaching, through epistolary dialogue with the FARC, the liberation of all persons in their possession. And we did it without spilling a single drop of blood. ”

The ex-senator who is part of the group ‘Colombians for Peace’ had said that she will continue to work for the missing people and for reunification with their families. Despite of this news, most of the ex-hostages believe that there are still many civilians and soldiers deprived of their liberty. “We don’t know anything about Cape Pena, civilians Carlos Hernandez Hernandez and the Colón brothers, we know that they are hostages at this moment” said Sergeant Luis Moreno, an ex-prisoner.

Also, Sigifredo Lopez, one of the twelve deputies kidnapped by the FARC in 2002, recently said during an interview with a Colombian newspaper that: “These last 10 years served for the FARC to understand that the kidnapping as a strategy for war had failed, until the point that the people that they claim to represent took to the streets to say no more FARC.

They had to rethink their strategies and they set out to make unilateral releases because politically it was best for them, because each time that they kidnap a Colombian, they are earning the rejection from the society and burying their political project.”

“They have left the kidnapping, not for voluntary reasons, not because that they have decided to respect the dignity of human beings, just because they realized that this strategy has failed, because they earned their [poor] reputation by Colombians. It is a political decision, not a concession” explained the ex-deputy.

Meanwhile, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos acknowledged the gesture of the guerrillas to free the 10 soldiers, saying that “this is a step in the right direction” but “insufficient.” No doubt, the recent events reflect a hope for a negotiated solution to Colombia’s internal conflict; a conflict which has been raging for over 50 years. However, for the moment there are radical positions that places distance between the government and the rebel group.

Image Courtesy of   OECD

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Countries across the world are currently experiencing extreme weather and droughts. The largest freshwater lake in China is at its lowest water levels for years thanks to a drought, according to state officials and media. The shrinking lake does not bode well for fishermen who rely on it for their livelihoods and for the local ecology.

The Xinhua news agency stated that Poyang Lake, located in East China’s Jiangxi province, is shrinking quickly and has experienced over a decade-long dry spell. This is due to the Gan River, which is connected to the lake, not receiving enough rain and causing the water levels to hit record lows. “This year’s level is very low,” an anonymous official declared, affirming that the rainfall for the area was 65 percent less than average for December.

Texas is also experiencing its worst drought on record. The year 2011 was the driest ever for the state, says the National Weather Service, and it was the second hottest. Meteorologists do not believe this will improve for the year 2012 and the result will be further restrictions on water and the death of millions of trees. Lake Lavon has shrunk by 12 feet due to North Texas’ lack of rain and record-setting heat. “It is a challenging time, especially to bring awareness to our consumers and businesses how critical our drought has impacted our reservoirs,” stated Denise Hickey, spokesperson for the North Texas Municipal Water District. “As we’re planning to move through this drought period, we’re also planning and initiating additional strategies to bring additional sources online.” The Texas Forest Service believes that so far, the severe drought has killed 500 million trees.

In Latin America, nations have also been dealing with a plethora of problems stemming from the extreme weather, including wildfires, droughts, and floods. Many have wondered if climate change and global warming are responsible for the unusual weather and according to experts, this is most likely the case. Chile experienced an uncharacteristic heat wave, which resulted in rampant burning wildfires, while Northern Mexico has been dealing with its worst drought in 70 years.

On the other hand, Colombia has had two seasons of heavy rain, which has killed 182 people and resulted in about $2 billion in damage. A rose farm in a Colombian town named Chia sustained an estimated $6 million dollars in damages from the April and December floods. Javier Castellanos, the rose farm manager, stated, “Never in the history of this farm- and it’s a business with 30 years in the market- have we ever had any such problem.” Researchers assert that Latin America is at more risk to the extreme weather changes worsening in the future than any other region in the world because of deforestation and its sprawling construction. These elements cause it to be more vulnerable to landslides and flooding.

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Wondering what action movie to see this summer? Consider Colombiana, an action/adventure starring Zoe Saldana as a young woman who witnessed both of her parents murder by the mob when she was nine years old. Similar to Angelina Jolie’s character in Wanted, she grows up to be a “stone-cold” assassin, embarking on a fifteen year journey to hunt down the mobster responsible for her parents murders and achieve vengeance. During this time, she works for her uncle as a hit(wo)man by day, and come nightfall she becomes a rogue killer. Responsible for over 22 deaths within four years, she is getting closer to her target and, typical of Saldana, is looking good while doing it.

As its name indicates, the film is set in Bogota, Colombia, though it is filmed in throughout the United States, Mexico and Paris studios. With a focus on Latin America, many message boards are questioning the stereotypes which may arise due to the setting in Latin American culture. The murder and expected drug use–along with the common misconception that Bogota is located in a tropical jungle when it apparently has a more similar climate to Chicago, rarely reaching above 65 degrees Fahrenheit– has many Colombian natives questioning the authenticity. One blogger wrote, “I just hope to find in this movie at least some slight interest on the true Colombia, and not some pretension of creating a Latin Lara Croft raised in a non-existing and decontextualized Bogota.” With a looped tagline in the trailer of “Never forget where you came from,” will the movie live up to a higher standard?

Directed by Olivier Megaton and produced by Luc Besson, the French pair will take on the challenge. Megaton is best known for Transformers 3 (2008), though some would argue that it was their least favorite installment of the series. In addition, Transformers 3 is his only English-language film to date, making for some speculation amongst movie goers if he will be able to deliver.

However, teamed up with mega-producer Luc Besson the odds are looking quite likely. Besson wrote and directed the 1990 box office hit Nikita, which was focused around a femme fatale assassin. He is also responsible for other action films, such as The Fifth Element and Taken, making him a veteran of putting action and powerful female characters onto the screen.

To add to the hype is Saldana herself, who has become cinema’s “bad ass female” through her roles in the highly acclaimed Avatar and Star Trek. Present in a wave of action heroines, Saldana continues to hold her role as a sexually empowered and machine gun wielding vigilante, prevailing above whoever has done wrong until personal justice is achieved. Will she help make Colombiana a box office hit that stays true to Colombian culture, while asserting her presence as a femme fatale?

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The legalization to consume some drugs in Argentina has generated a great polemic in the country. The Government had to firmly state that: “ There will never be free drugs in Buenos Aires”. The executive of Cristina Fernandez announced to propose a legal change, where the consumer would not be consider a delinquent.

This type of regulations  are really interesting taking in consideration that South America is a continent where the production of drugs is very wide, and it is controlled and handle illegally.

The Argentinean authorities considered that this policy has failed due to the fact that it will equate “the addict with the trafficker”, these were the words that yesterday the Minister of Justice, Aníbal Fernández said. He claimed that it is more important to bring medical attendance to the consumers and chase drug trafficking, rather than expend the State resources into penal processes against the drug addicts.

This is remarkable change of posture for Argentina, since the 1989 ONU convention, it was always possitionated towards the persecusion of drug consume.

The Government’s announcement has generated divisions of opinions among the partidarians that focus on attacking the problem with a  similar angle as some Euroepan countries, such as Spain. Against the others that advert that the measure will provoke the opposite effect, than the one expected.

This is the first time that this kind of drug regulations are being discuss in South America. If we take in consideration the posibility to legalize drugs in South America, rather than having them situated in the black market, and controlled by delincuents, and guerrilleros such as the As Farc in Colombia. It is good to look at the other side of the coin, where offering control and regulation many of this groups would dissolve and the drug consumption would be controlled  in a legal way.

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“This art is fun to look at. While it’s outsider art and folk art, it’s urban, rather than tractors and chickens” (Kathy Silvestri)

The urban art is one of the arts that struggles the most to be discovered since it is difficult for the artists to expose their art on the streets. But now, many of them have gathered together in an event, which has given them the opportunity to exposed, paint in any way and form they can, without any limitations.The adobe walls of a house located in the Historical Old Town of Cuenca, in Ecuador, has become the surface needed for 50 artists coming from diverse parts of the world such as Colombia, Chile, United States and Ecuador to expose their art, by painting the walls with graffiti’s.

The idea at first emerged with the purpose to promote and incentive the citizens to get to know a way of expressing, and communication throughout every color, symbol, and trace, said the Cuencan artist Qué Zhinín. The big house located in the Padre Aguirre street, had been rented by him and some friends, to utilize it as a type of laboratory, and work place to expose their graffiti art. In his case, he painted a scorpion with fuchsia and black colors, leaving the interpretation of it to the people’s imagination.

Among the invited artist, the exposition counts with an American artist whose nickname is Tanna. For her the urban art is her life, and she finds and relates that in Cuenca many things are occurring in the same manner than in her country. “The authorities, do not allow us to paint in the city”, she said. For her the exposition acts like an open door, for the artists to show their art.An Ecuadorian artist from Quito, known as S2, found out about this opportunity to expose the art throughout Internet, and therefore he traveled to Cuenca in order to expose his unique way of painting known as Stencil, which consists inn working with templates.

Overall, the exposition has brought interest to the people and the neighbors. One of the neighbors form the Padre Aguirre street named Ricardo Tapia, commented: “This proposal gives life to the neighborhood, and it is important that this kind of cultural manifestations are generation, since they contribute to the educate people in a fun and artistic way”. Nevertheless, this exposition also counted with paper art creations. The cuencan artist known as Mango exposed the origami figures, with earring and candelabrum forms.

Finishing the last strokes of the silhouette of a skinny woman, the Cuencan Artist Kross, said that: “Through the graffiti’s, the feelings are evoked. It is necessary to have a collectivity support, because it is a creativity exposure. The components of the colonial house, such as pillars, roofs, walls, doors, and windows were converted in art proposals, exposing different techniques and desiring to reach and communicate with the people.

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A new study has recently added environmental destruction to the list of problems associated with cocaine and the drug industry. The research concludes that the cultivation of the coca plant has led to the rise of deforestation in Colombia – home to one of the world’s richest biodiversity hot spots. Additionally, the process of converting coca into cocaine has been proven to have an equally adverse effect on the environment. Most people are aware of the social impact of drug trade worldwide but few realize the environmental side effects related to the process. For Colombia, which has cultivated the coca plant for over 4.000 years as part of their culture, the result of increasing global demand between 1987 and 2000 meant that national coca production exploded to a worrying 74% of the world’s total production.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, highlighted that only a part of the demonstrated deforestation was directly related to the cultivation of coca bushes. What happens is, remote areas attract the coca growers who then create an economic hub, generating lots of associated agricultural activities. Ecologist an co-author of the study, Liliana M. Davalos, explained to National Geographic News “In southern Colombia we found geographically that there is just more probability of losing the forest close to [coca cultivation], [...] And the more coca around you, the more forest you’re likely to lose – the sheer amount of coca in the vicinity has an effect.”

The findings shed a light on the increasing need for legal protection of Colombian forests which is home to many animal species – including harpy eagles, tapirs, golden poison frogs, and spectacled bears – that are at risk of extinction. A case study on Colombian drug trade from 2009 singles out destruction of habitat, soil erosion and the pollution of both air and water as the major environmental problems stemming from coca production. Due to the illegality of coca growth, the farmers place their fields on hillsides to hide their activities but rarely employ soil conservation techniques. The farmers rarely expect to cultivate the area long-term as a consequence of the governments active eradication campaign, but when they have cleared the land, wind and rain strips off the topsoil – leaving the ground infertile to both farmers and the original plant life.

Pollution is also a factor as the farmers use pesticides and heavy fertilizers to grow the coca. The chemicals travel through the soil and contaminates ground water which eventually leads to the rivers and streams, where fish and other aquatic life is smothered. Eventually, the local population is affected when their water supply gets tainted and their fishing destroyed.

The good news is that the new study suggests the total amount of land used for coca production is declining which may correspond with a decrease in demand in the US. The bad news is that farmers are increasingly clearing new plots for cultivation which keeps deforestation itself on the rise. Davalos and her colleagues told National Geographic that their research made one thing clear: “There’s a long chain here connecting everything, and it goes from consumption all the way back to the forest.”

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