Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena

An exhilarating travelogue for a new generation about a journey along Colombia's Magdalena River, exploring life by the banks of a majestic river now at risk, and how a country recovers from conflict.

"Richly observed." --Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review

An American writer of Argentine, Syrian, and Iraqi Jewish descent, Jordan Salama tells the story of the Río Magdalena, nearly one thousand miles long, the heart of Colombia. This is Gabriel García Márquez's territory--rumor has it Macondo was partly inspired by the port town of Mompox--as much as that of the Middle Eastern immigrants who run fabric stores by its banks.

Following the river from its source high in the Andes to its mouth on the Caribbean coast, journeying by boat, bus, and improvised motobalinera, Salama writes against stereotype and toward the rich lives of those he meets. Among them are a canoe builder, biologists who study invasive hippopotamuses, a Queens transplant managing a failing hotel, a jeweler practicing the art of silver filigree, and a traveling librarian whose donkeys, Alfa and Beto, haul books to rural children. Joy, mourning, and humor come together in this astonishing debut, about a country too often seen as only a site of war, and a tale of lively adventure following a legendary river.

ISBN-13: 9781646221615

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Catapult

Publication Date: 11-15-2022

Pages: 224

Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

JORDAN SALAMA'S work has appeared in outlets including The New York Times, National Geographic, and Scientific American. A 2019 graduate of Princeton University, he lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Part 1 Upper Magdalena

1 The Legend of Dona Juana 23

2 Rumors of the Magdalena 32

3 The Mohan 57

4 River of Gold 59

Part 2 Magdalena Medio

5 The Hippopotamuses of Pablo Escobar 81

6 Four Days in Estación Cocorná 98

7 No Name 122

8 Hostage of the Magdalena 126

9 Six Hours by River 142

Part 3 Lower Magdalena

10 The Master Jeweler 169

11 Biblioburro 181

12 Mouths of Ash 197

Acknowledgments 209

Further Reading 213

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