Medellin Reports

[Chesscat]

Good analysis.

I have seen two conflicting reports of where the apartment is located. One shows a photo of the building where primarily gringos stay. The other (video report) shows an apartment across the street. I have stayed in apartments on that street many times. I have never seen a gringo going in or out of the apartment in the video. I think it is the apartment building in the photo. I don't think it is a first floor apartment because the report said the two tried to escape on the roof.

As to what happened, I don't think the age of the girl had any bearing. The report said the gringo was found naked. I think he and the girl had sex, and he was taking a shower afterwards. While he was in the shower, the girl went downstairs and let the guy in. They intended to rob the gringo, but he resisted. There was a struggle and the gringo realized he was in trouble and began screaming. That's when a neighbor called the police. They slashed the gringo's throat and tried to find money, which was probably locked in the room safe. They stayed in the apartment too long and heard the police sirens, so they tried to escape through the roof.

IMO, the fatal mistake was resisting a robbery.

[Fun Luvr]

I have seen two conflicting reports of where the apartment is located. One shows a photo of the building where primarily gringos stay. The other (video report) shows an apartment across the street. I have stayed in apartments on that street many times. I have never seen a gringo going in or out of the apartment in the video. I think it is the apartment building in the photo. I don't think it is a first floor apartment because the report said the two tried to escape on the roof.

As to what happened, I don't think the age of the girl had any bearing. The report said the gringo was found naked. I think he and the girl had sex, and he was taking a shower afterwards. While he was in the shower, the girl went downstairs and let the guy in. They intended to rob the gringo, but he resisted. There was a struggle and the gringo realized he was in trouble and began screaming. That's when a neighbor called the police. They slashed the gringo's throat and tried to find money, which was probably locked in the room safe. They stayed in the apartment too long and heard the police sirens, so they tried to escape through the roof.

IMO, the fatal mistake was resisting a robbery.

[Dickhead]

I think the gringo brought an u n d e r a g e puta back to his apartment, her pimp showed up, they tried a blackmail scheme, the gringo resisted, and they aced him. The moral would be, look at the fucking cédula FIRST, and be sure you know the difference between what 1/12/99 means in the Yew Ess and what it means in LatAm, Europe, etc.

[Blue Touch]

Good job. I appreciate it.

Here's my translation of the article, with notes in parentheses and explained at the bottom:

Un joven de 23 aos fue enviado este lunes a prisin preventiva al ser sealado como el presunto responsable del asesinato, el pasado fin de semana, de un norteamericano dentro de un apartamento en El Poblado.

"A 23 year old (young) man was taken into preventive custody Monday after being identified as the alleged murderer of a North American man inside an apartment in Poblado last weekend."

De acuerdo con el reporte judicial el cadver de la vctima, Johnny Noel Simancas, fue hallado con una arma blanca atravesada en el cuello.

"According to the coroner's report, the victim, Johnny Noel Simancas, was discovered with his throat slashed."

La principal hiptesis de las autoridades es que dentro del inmueble se gener una ria, luego de que el extranjero intentara abusar de una menor de edad de 17 aos. Al parecer la adolescente alert a un amigo para que la rescatara y ah se desencadenaron los hechos violentos..

[Chesscat]

Nice work Dickhead!

So what do you think actually happened?

And what is the moral?

[Dickhead]

Here's my translation of the article, with notes in parentheses and explained at the bottom:

Un joven de 23 años fue enviado este lunes a prisión preventiva al ser señalado como el presunto responsable del asesinato, el pasado fin de semana, de un norteamericano dentro de un apartamento en El Poblado.

"A 23 year old (young) man was taken into preventive custody Monday after being identified as the alleged murderer of a North American man inside an apartment in Poblado last weekend."

De acuerdo con el reporte judicial el cadáver de la víctima, Johnny Noel Simancas, fue hallado con una arma blanca atravesada en el cuello.

"According to the coroner's report, the victim, Johnny Noel Simancas, was discovered with his throat slashed."

La principal hipótesis de las autoridades es que dentro del inmueble se generó una riña, luego de que el extranjero intentara abusar de una menor de edad de 17 años. Al parecer la adolescente alert a un amigo para que la rescatara y ahí se desencadenaron los hechos violentos.

"The authorities' main theory is that there was a fight inside the apartment after the foreigner tried to molest a seventeen-year-old girl. It appears the teenager called a (male) friend to rescue her and that set off a chain of violent events."

Cuando las autoridades acudieron a la escena del crimen, el viernes en la noche, hallaron el cadáver desnudo del extranjero y tres armas: una de fogueo y dos objetos cortopunzantes. Además había huellas de sangre que conducían al tejado por lo que las autoridades iniciaron una persecución por el vecindario que dio con el presunto responsable del crimen.

"When the authorities went to the crime scene Friday night, they discovered the naked body of the foreigner and three weapons: a starter pistol (1) and two sharp objects. Also, there were traces of blood (2) that lead to the roof, which led to a chase through the neighborhood which led to the suspect."

En el apartamento también se hallaron lo documentos de la adolescente que denunció el intento de abuso.

"The teenaged girl who reported the abuse's identification was also found in the apartment."

El joven capturado no aceptó (3) los cargos imputados por el delito de homicidio simple. La menor de edad, por su parte, fue presentada ante un juez de Infancia y Adolescencia.

"The (young) man who was captured denied the charges of simple homicide (4). The teenaged girl, based on her role in the crime, was brought before a Juvenile and Family Court judge."

(1): Could also mean a fake gun, like a replica weapon, or even a cap pistol.

(2): Could also mean bloody footprints (quite likely) or bloody fingerprints.

(3): Could mean "pled not guilty. ".

(3): Could be what would be called second-degree murder or even manslaughter in the US.

[Combo]

Nope. Never. And by that same token I have never heard a person from the United States of America refer to themselves as North American or United Statesian if they have not spent time in South America. In general, people from the United States of America refer to themselves as Americans and people from the United States of Mexico refer to themselves as Mexicans.

The problem is some South American people (eg. my friends that I have been through this issue with) not wanting to realize there can exist more than one meaning of American, just the same as there can exist more than one meaning of gringo. As Dickhead said, the meaning of certain words depend on the context in which they are used.

Well I can't argue that. Back to more important matters!

[YippieKayay]

I thought gringo generally meant foreigner

Extranjero is the word you are looking for. It's officially used at the airports to when you pick the customs line you stand in. Weirdly enough it can also mean 'stranger' or 'strange one. '.

[Mr Enternational]

Have you ever heard of a Mexican refer to themselves as estadounidense? I'm going to guess it's never happened.

Just to make the point further, look up "estadounidense" in a Spanish dictionary.

Nope. Never. And by that same token I have never heard a person from the United States of America refer to themselves as North American or United Statesian if they have not spent time in South America. In general, people from the United States of America refer to themselves as Americans and people from the United States of Mexico refer to themselves as Mexicans.

The problem is some South American people (eg. my friends that I have been through this issue with) not wanting to realize there can exist more than one meaning of American, just the same as there can exist more than one meaning of gringo. As Dickhead said, the meaning of certain words depend on the context in which they are used.

[Combo]

Mxico, officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico

Have you ever heard of a Mexican refer to themselves as estadounidense? I'm going to guess it's never happened.

Just to make the point further, look up "estadounidense" in a Spanish dictionary.

[Boriman]

Interesting translation....

You are absolutely right. I was in a rush since I had to go out. If you can clean it up for me I would greatly appreciate it. You are correct in that it was a female. Also, I didn't focus much on punctuation and if I dropped a word or two it would have made the translation better. This is what happens when one does not focus. Thanks Dickhead for correcting me.

[Dickhead]

'Gringo' is typically used pejoratively, but is not like saying f- your mother or anything like that. It can be used in good fun, depending on the interpersonal relationships involved. There is a lot of disagreement about its etymology and precisely to whom it refers. The most popular explanation is that it is short for 'green go home,' referring to the color of the US military uniforms. That is easily debunked since the term has been in use since before the US military switched from blue. But I have never, ever, heard it applied to (southeast) Asians, who are normally referred to as 'chinos' no matter if they are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, whatever. It is not merely synonymous with foreigner, since a colombiano would never refer to a venezolano or peruano, etc. , as a gringo, nor vice-versa. The guatemalan version of google translates it as someone from the US. But then the Spanish version of Wikipedia says it refers to speakers of European languages that are not understandable to Spanish-speakers. One of the earliest known written usages was basically the opposite, people who could not speak Spanish, or spoke bad Spanish. I believe this came from a Spanish friar named Torre de Pandos or something like that. Late colonial period, maybe late 18th century. I believe this to be a more correct origin, based on the more formal part of my studies. It is also sometimes said to be a corruption of 'griego,' meaning Greek.

'Extranjero' translates as foreigner, and not as stranger (it is a false cognate), which would typically be 'desconocido,' meaning someone you have never met. If someone calls me a gringo and I don't like the context or the way they said it, I will say something like, 'Soy extranjero. Y qué?' If I like the context, I might say 'No soy gringo sino un pinche gringo. ' Of course, 'pinche' means different things in different countries. In Spain it just means the lowest person in the kitchen, a dishwasher or a potato peeler, although many people don't believe me when I tell them that.

[Mr Enternational]

If you are not latino, you are 'gringo' for Colombians, period. They will laugh in your face and call you a gringo even when they know you are not, share a drink with them and talk Spanish. Even if you are Chinese from the mainland, you are still gringo. The article calls the guy 'norteamericano', how polite and sensitive.

I thought gringo generally meant foreigner, unless I have seriously been missing something all these years. Why would they call you a foreigner if they know you are a local? Do you see it as a derogatory term? Because I am a Black North American guy and have been called gringo by loved ones in South America. And what would they be laughing in your face about? Missing your point about needing to be polite and sensitve when describing a foreigner by their nationality.

[JjBee62]

That could just as well mean that you are from the Estados Unidos Mexicanos instead of the Estados Unidos Americanos.

Not to anyone in Colombia, or in Mexico, Venezuela or Argentina. I can't think of any Spanish speaking country that would think estadounidense is a reference to Mexico.

[Questner]

If you are not latino, you are 'gringo' for Colombians, period. They will laugh in your face and call you a gringo even when they know you are not, share a drink with them and talk Spanish. Even if you are Chinese from the mainland, you are still gringo. The article calls the guy 'norteamericano', how polite and sensitive. BTW, read the comments. And I don't believe even a hint of 'abuse' in this case. Very likely the couple is not from estrato 5 or 6, which proves again and again how inherently unsafe is Colombia.