Richard McColl
Richard McColl was born and raised in London, England, with a short but cherished stint in Princeton, NJ, but now makes his home in South America where he has been for the past eighteen years. He is a foreign correspondent for the international press, reporting for newspapers, magazines, news channels, and radio shows about events in his adopted homeland of Colombia. Prior to this, he worked in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Ecuadorian Amazon in socially aware community projects and also as a jungle and high-altitude mountain guide in Peru and Bolivia before settling in Colombia.
He graduated with a BA in the humanities and modern languages from the University of Exeter, UK, and he holds an MA in International Journalism from City University, London; an MA in Conflict Resolution from the Pontificia Javeriana University in Bogotá; and is currently writing his PhD thesis in Social and Human Sciences focusing on the historical issues of gentrification in downtown Bogotá.
When he is not dreaming of far-off lands to visit he can be found at his desk in Bogotá where he lives with his wife Alba; their son, James; and their overactive Weimaraner, Monty; or running his small hotel La Casa Amarilla in the garciamarquian lands of Mompós in the Colombian Caribbean region. His weekly podcast Colombia Calling is considered the “English voice in Colombia” and is widely downloaded.
Ten Things I Can’t Do Without
- Coffee and more coffee, preferably Colombian
- A fine single malt at the end of the day
- Anything written by Douglas Coupland
- Newspapers! Print may be dying out, but not in the McColl homestead
- I’m a long-suffering fan of Watford Football Club, so any victory is euphoric
- A good sofa upon which to take siestas
- Great podcasts
- Walks to the park with my son
- 1970s British punk music
- Snack of choice whilst writing: cashew nuts