[HN Gopher] The Traffic Mimes of Bogota
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       The Traffic Mimes of Bogota
        
       Author : IgorPartola
       Score  : 80 points
       Date   : 2026-02-05 02:58 UTC (4 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | jp191919 wrote:
       | >blistering Colombian sun.
       | 
       | I'm pretty sure the sun is never "blistering" in Bogota.
        
         | sophacles wrote:
         | It's at an altitude of 8500+ ft - UV is much stronger and the
         | sunburns can be bad if you're not prepared.
        
         | ciroduran wrote:
         | Bogota is 4 degrees north of the equator. Its climate is a bit
         | temperate due to being in a high altitude plateau. But you
         | better wear sunscreen anyway under tropical sun.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | Why are you so sure? What information do you have that leads
         | you to be that sure?
        
         | xyos wrote:
         | As a Colombian now living in the north, every time I return to
         | Bogota, the UV index is between 9 and 11, and I get sunburned.
         | My skin has become accustomed to the 1-2 levels typical of
         | Northern Europe.
        
         | dgiovan wrote:
         | Um actually it's more "blistering" than in So Calif (where I
         | also lived most of my life) due to the altitude.
        
         | qwertox wrote:
         | Bogota is at 2640 m, so there is more unfiltered radiation.
         | Like 20-25% more UV. And it's cooler so you don't notice it as
         | much as you should. You can get sunburns even with clouds at
         | that altitude.
        
       | shanekandy wrote:
       | I have enjoyed Atlas Obscura for 15 years probably, but the site
       | is now unusable on my phone unless I'm at home on the pi-hole. I
       | can't get halfway through an article without the page reloading,
       | shifting boxes, and various other things that make it literally
       | impossible to finish reading. What is the point
        
       | chasil wrote:
       | I have photographs from the Poblado district of Medellin,
       | Colombia of a man who had strung a tightrope between two
       | lightpoles of a side street, and tightwalked them carrying hoops
       | and bowling pins that he juggled while cars passed below.
       | 
       | Anyone trying this in the U.S. would be arrested, so it was
       | surprising to see. I wonder how the insurance works.
        
         | xyos wrote:
         | Insurance is not a term we use a lot in Colombia
        
           | donkey_brains wrote:
           | Too true. I remember when I visited it took me a while to get
           | used to this. I would ask my friend questions like "what
           | happens if I fall off this campero/get bitten by one of these
           | street dogs/clock somebody in the head playing rana/twist my
           | ankle on this busted-out sidewalk? Who has the liability
           | here?" and he would say "we don't really have that here man".
           | Honestly it was a great time.
        
       | smusamashah wrote:
       | Found this video https://youtu.be/6YcK05z--n8 wish there were
       | more and as interesting as the pictures in this article
        
         | xyos wrote:
         | This is another video
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqPfW62aqzk
         | 
         | Mockus was the best mayor Bogota ever had. Cultura ciudadana,
         | or "Citizen Culture," was the most transformative policy we
         | ever implemented.
        
         | ZeWaka wrote:
         | The photos in the article seemingly are of Brazilian traffic
         | mimes.
        
       | Gualdrapo wrote:
       | Been living here in Bogota all my life and in all my years of
       | commuting (walking, bus and now almost exclusively cycling) and
       | have never seen one of them.
       | 
       | Though I wish there were more of them. Traffic here (in general
       | terms) is a complete nightmare but it is too civic culture.
        
         | xyos wrote:
         | This happened 20 years ago, Bogota was chaotic at that time, no
         | cars stopped at traffic lights
        
           | mrbluecoat wrote:
           | Really wish I had a time machine to go back to that board
           | room decision and witness the moment when desperation led
           | someone to shout "Let's use mimes!"
        
         | leephillips wrote:
         | From the article:
         | 
         | '"The people who designed it understood that in a 7-million-
         | person city like Bogota, a very small percentage would actually
         | see the mime artists," says Felipe Cala Buendia, the author of
         | Cultural Producers and Social Change in Latin America. However,
         | Mockus believed in the power of word of mouth.'
        
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       (page generated 2026-02-09 23:00 UTC)