In the Footsteps of Bolívar, A Meditation on Nature’s Superhuman Power
A new film retraces the Liberator’s difficult campaign across the Colombian Andes, revealing the natural world’s final victory over mankind.
This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on the 2024 U.S. presidential election and its impact on Latin America In 1819, at the height of his military campaign against Spanish colonial rule, Simón Bolívar crossed a stretch of high-altitude grassland in Colombia known as the páramo. His troops, utterly unprepared for the frigid temperatures and rough terrain, barely made it through. Most of his men (and their horses) froze to death and were thrown into a lagoon, where they have lain buried ever since. This gorgeous if inhospitable landscape serves as the backdrop for...
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