Gunnar Wolf

Manizales, Colombia: III EISI

I was invited to Universidad de Manizales Manizales, Colombia, for the Third International Encounter on Computer Security (III Encuentro Internacional de Seguridad Informática), October 7-9 2009. Previous to the encounter, I spent two days in Bogotá with some dear friends.

Megaofrenda UNAM 2009

Every year, for Día de Muertos (November 1 and 2) the Mexican tradition is to set colorful, beautiful offerings for our deceased loved ones. The offerings often have the very vivid orange color of the cempalsúchitl flower, and have pictures, food, and whatever our loved ones used to like.

The offerings are traditionally set up at home and at some offices and public buildings. UNAM, Mexico's largest university, where I am very happy and proud to work, has set a yearly offering for many years already. Every year they select a base theme around which the invited groups base their monuments — For 2009, it was Edgar Allan Poe's 200th anniversary.

By early November, the rainy season has usually finished. This year, however, the rain lasted a bit more – And many structures and altars were sadly damaged. Still, it is a very colorful and worthy visit to share.