Interesting , albeit scathing, review of the Colombia trip

[Camillo]

This was posted on Reddit, its in Spanish so needs to be translated, says exactly what most people have been saying of their 'tours' and this Colombia trip in particular.. This journalist nailed it.

I guess Harpers Bazaar nor People magazine will be reporting what most people REALLY thought of their trip.

https://blogs.elespectador.com/actualidad/pletora/francia-marquez-los-conoci-en-netflix/

A few notable excerpts (google translated)

During their visit, they acted as luxury tourists:

Why did Francia Márquez decide to invite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to do "humanitarian tourism"? The answer seems unlikely, exit from Creole stand-up comedy. At a press conference, the vice president revealed her motivation: "I met Meghan and Harry through the media, but above all I watched the Netflix documentary .

Márquez, as a dazzled fan and a capricious girl, used her power as vice president to meet the media stars that moved her. It's like watching a bad gringa comedy in real life.

Harry and Meghan's visit was, in essence, a spectacle of neo-colonialism

Although the forum had quality experts and panelists, Harry and Meghan's participation contributed the same thing as their visit to the school: nothing.

the children of La Boquilla were reduced to marketing objects to enhance the public image of the dukes,

the dukes, experts in upbringing and culture, offered local parents valuable advice on how to raise their children in the midst of a reality that Harry and Meghan could hardly imagine. WTF!

The visit lasted an hour; it was a "flash", they took longer to come and go.

the dukes acted as white salvationists,

Meghan Markle attended the summit "Women of African descent and Power: Voices of Equity" in Cali, where her interventions were limited to clichés and banalities typical of a self-improvement coach.

This I found very funny...........The couple got married and as is the case in many families, Meghan disliked her husband's grandmother, her in-laws and her brother-in-law, due to her race and temperament incompatible with her brother-in-law's wife,

Without notable skills or professions, they sell their image

The reality is that the only beneficiaries were the dukes,

A very succinct review, I wonder if Harry and Meghan are listening ? Are they reading the room about how their trips are viewed ?

I'll bet the poor people of Columbia are over the moon that 2 wannabes are squandering their country's money to show off their clothes and try to look like they're saviours ... bet they loved it 🤬

So the whole world is now noticing the poundshop royals. So girls we can all be a global success. If our Dad wins the lottery and we marry a Prince. Easy.

No, it’s an Opinion piece (also called an op-ed) in which a journalist expresses their opinion. Meghan has written them herself in the past - one about her miscarriage for the New York Times, for example.

They have considerably more standing than a blog, being written by a writer under a byline on behalf of the newspaper and published by it. So the comparison to a post on Mumsnet is completely inapt.

@Serenster Read the blogs hosted by UK newspapers. The ones that get the most views are controversial opinion pieces.

They are still produced by journalists given a byline and published by the newspaper. Therein lies their status. Anyone can write a blog.

@Serenster I stand corrected. This person is a journalist. Rod Liddle is a journalist as is Jeremy Clarkson.

Yes, I know. Are we naming random journalists now? Okay! How about Peter Fraser and Edward Sterling. They were the two journalists for the Times whose opinion pieces like this earned it the nickname as “The Thunderer” 😀

@Serenster my point is that someone being a journalist does not mean their opinion holds any weight.

Someone hiring a ghostwriter and publishing a memoir of their truth doesn't mean they hold weight either.

@jeffgoldblum you mistake me for a Harry supporter. I never said it did.

Something tells me if the piece had been written by Woodward and Bernstein, you would be doubting their journalistic integrity, because they are saying something you don't like.

It is simply an opinion piece. Many opinion pieces are controversial on purpose to garner views and comments.
I have said go ahead and talk about this opinion. But don't treat it as anything more than that.

Do you think that the Colombia “tour” by the Sussexes was a good idea? Do you think that the journalist‘s opinion is incorrect?

No one said it was anything other than an opinion piece though. I’m not sure what you thought it was supposed to be 🤷‍♀️

eta thanks for being gracious enough to allow discussion 😆

The author seems well qualified to have, and publish, opinions, in any event. From her bio:
Diana Patricia Pinto, social communicator and journalist, master's degree in Business Management and Tourism Organizations. She has been writing since she was a child and has published 21 books throughout her life. Author of story books and novels for children, young people and adults, as well as academic books on tourism, communication and politics. She also writes poetry, self-help and reflections. She currently has thirteen published books for sale of different genres and themes. She is the director of Cartagena Post, an information portal in Cartagena de Indias, and creator of the Plétora podcast. With more than 15 years of experience as a university professor in the areas of communication and tourism at important Colombian universities, she has been responsible for the creation of several innovative academic programs at a public university in her city. She has higher education in Marketing Management, Project Management and University Teaching. In addition, she is an opinion columnist in various Latin American media and portals.

@Serenster I did not say she was not well qualified. Nevertheless opinion pieces are often written to be controversial to garner views and comments. And it has worked. Why else would you post an opinion piece from a foreign newspaper not in English if it was not controversial?

I didn’t. Maybe ask the poster who did?

Regardless of the motives behind posting the opinion piece, and given that you agree opinion pieces are there to provoke discussion, what do you think about the actual piece?

I think it's an interesting piece even if the English translation is not perfect, it very much echos sentiments seen on here.

Since Covid, there seem to be fewer RF tours. This could be related to the death of QEII, KC'S coronation, illness and PA'S accident. I wonder if though if that is a long term aim, the colonial overtimes can be difficult to avoid as H&M have proved here.

Why else would you post an opinion piece from a foreign newspaper not in English if it was not controversial?

I don't think it is controversial at all, It is interesting to read what most Colombians thought about the visit, in fact it is quite factual as she takes each outing and comments on it. I don't think she even mentioned 'the changing of the clothes' which was a big part of the visit for Meghan, she focused on the visit and the purpose.

Its interesting because

1. it is an opinion of a journalist in Colombia, on the ground, in the country they visited.
2. It echos' what a lot of Colombians had to say on SM
3. it echo's the International criticism of the Sussex's visits to 3rd world countries
4. it is not part of the Sussex's PR campaign
5. the Sussex's excluded journalists from the visit to give a biased impression.
6. the Sussex's only allowed a favoured media crew join them to control the narrative of the visit
7. the VP publicly stated she invited them because she saw them on a Netflix show.

So, no I don't view it is a controversial opinion piece at all, (other than the VP publicly stating she invited them because she saw them on Netflix 🤔), the journalist has every right to critique a tour in her own country.

It is even more interesting in the context of the Sussexs and their' efforts at limiting press freedom and censoring journalists, along with censoring staff, guests and school kids with NDAs.

It was a great piece, no matter what language it was written in.

😀😀

They got given a set of drums, though. And a pkayground (I think).

Jack Royston?

An opinion piece printed under the auspices of The Times has the weight of The Times behind it.

So this article carries much more weight than just a blog.

ETA - what do you make of its argument? (And do you thing Meghan is fluent in Spanish? Did the VP nearly deck her? )

@Serenster is correct that the writer of the piece is an academic professor of good credentials with much writing and editorial experience. Many such people provide opinion columns for media around the world.

Generally the google translation is OK although of course it loses some of the nuance and sardonic nature of the vernacular. This is most definitely not a puff piece. It's an anti-puff piece. A "puncture piece", maybe, you could call it?

Just be careful, as I said, about translating "raza".