Mark Rickards and The Flying Colombians
Honorary Professor Mark Rickards previews his next programme The Flying Colombians.
I’m often asked about how an idea gets commissioned by BBC radio and I’m delighted to be able to report that Stirling University can play its part in the process. Discussing ideas with students and staff has always proved rewarding, and on a recent visit I took the chance to talk to Research Fellow Maria Velez-Serna from Colombia.
Colombia is a country which has a difficult history of civil war and violence associated with the drugs trade, yet much has changed in recent years. I wanted to know what Maria felt was under-reported from the country, and we discussed the mountainous terrain of Colombia. She explained that the one thing that had united the different regions was a love of cycling, and a race which passed through the Andes called the ‘Vuelta a Colombia’. The first race took place in 1951, when many regions were dangerous to visit. So the event had a political purpose. ‘They started to think about how to put together the broken pieces of a country by pedalling’ to prove that it was still possible to travel through it.
The BBC World Service thought this was an excellent proposal – it combines an opportunity to look back at Colombian history through a new and unexpected lens: a cycle race. It also shows more a positive aspect to a country which has previously been defined only by the news agenda. I spent a week on the race as it toured the Andes and as one interviewee I met put it, “At such a polarised moment for the country, cycling brings the country together”.
You can listen to The Flying Colombians at 11.30am on Wednesday 13th September on BBC World Service.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csvnyk
Presented by Matt Rendell
Produced by Mark Rickards
Mark Rickards is a Senior Producer with BBC Radio, and is an Honorary Professor in Communications, Media & Culture.
Maria Velez-Serna is Research Fellow with Communications, Media & Culture.