La Norteamericana

I spent almost five years in Colombia working as a nurse.  During my first year, I worked in a small town named Sucre on the Mojana River, a very isolated town, accessible only by boat or canoe. The principal means of livelihood was ranching. On Sundays, the rancheros would come to town to socialize and, after too many drinks, they would often gallop up and down the main street, shooting their pistols in the air.

I was the first American to visit, much less live, in Sucre; thus, I was quite the curiosity. Fortunately, I was befriended by a lovely local family who took me under their wings. I spent most evenings playing cards with them, having long talks, just sitting with them in rocking chairs outside their front door. 

I worked at the town’s hospital, but my main work was traveling up and down the river with one of the physicians and several rural health promoters to provide basic health services to isolated communities. I also helped distribute food with the Red Cross and Civil Defense during periods of severe flooding.

Once a year Sucre celebrated its patron saint, Santa Catalina, with a festival. Through his connections, the mayor attracted Alfredo Gutierrez and his band to perform at the evening festival. For this special occasion, the town built a makeshift outdoor venue large enough to hold the entire population. The festival grounds included a stage, tables and chairs for the audience, a dance floor, and a bar.

Alfredo Gutierrez was a Colombian singer famous for his vallenato, a kind of folk music originating in Colombia along the Caribbean coast. Gutierrez can be considered the Johnny Cash of the vallenato. He is still admired today throughout Latin America.

As his band played during the evening Santa Catalina fiesta, Alfredo Gutierrez spotted me, the only gringa (slang for American woman) in the crowd. He asked to dance with me numerous times during his breaks, and he promised me that he was going to compose a song for me. I knew Alfredo had had way too much to drink, but later in the evening, to my surprise (and everyone else’s) Gutierrez belted out his first rendition of  La Norteamericana—composed on the spot, especially for me. Later, Gutierrez polished the song and put it on his next album. For months the song was popular on the radio and I became a celebrity all over the Colombian Caribbean Coast.

I have donated the album to the Peace Corps Museum. You may read (in Spanish) a brief biography of Alfredo HERE. Enjoy!