Willy learned to play guitar mostly by himself, but he soon discovered the importance of having people to share his passion with. Then he talks about how New York changed his musical tastes.

Luis reads Federico Garcia Lorca's poem "Night of Insomniac Love." Garcia Lorca is one of the most famous Spanish poets from the 20th Century and his poetry still remains relevant.

In this video, Luis reads Federico Garcia Lorca's poem "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias."

Enjoy a live performance by Alberto Barros and other famous salsa singers. They display amazing energy and good vibes interpreting the tribute song "Cargamento Colombiano".

Colombian musician Alberto Barros, better known as Salsa's Titan, offers us, along his band, one of the most famous salsa songs: "Cali pachangero".

Colombia's Aterciopelados ("The Velvety Ones") delivers another smooth song with a political message. This time, the band questions immigration policies and asks who has the right to dream of a better life.

From the mouth of lead vocalist Liliana "Li" Saumet, salt water sounds like "agua salá" or "agua sala'a". The Caribbean accent is just part of the smooth rounded sound from Colombia known as Bomba Estéreo, a band that blends traditional cumbia with other musical influences.

Rock'n'roll has Cleveland; Country music has Nashville and Salsa has Cali, Colombia. Grammy nominee, Alberto Barros, brings us a mano a mano between three Salsa Divas representing the Salsa Capital of the World.

The pouring rain doesn’t stop Aterciopelados from rocking the park in Bogotá. “Rock al parque” is probably the biggest open-air (free!) rock festival in Latin America, held annually in Colombia’s capital. Listen in as Aterciopelados sings out a tribute to this fun festival and to fellow bands performing there. (How many of them have you heard?)

Stop thief! A stranger with a foreign accent and talk of riches has come in and taken all the native gold, leaving poverty in his wake. Colombia’s talented ChocQuibTown manage to sing about serious geopolitical exploitation in a way that’s fun to listen to (and danceable, too).

ChocQuibTown is the most important Colombian hip-hop band of the moment and they have been pretty busy exporting their music around the world. From Argentina to Texas, people are dancing to their rhythms. But even as the band travel, ChocQuibTown hasn’t forgotten where they all come from. On the contrary, they are inspired by their Colombian roots.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Fonseca is known for his letras pegajosas (sticky lyrical hooks) and happy rhythms. Fonseca became a sensation after attending Berklee School of Music in Boston—a move that he claims gave him the ability to stand out among his musical peers.

In Bogotá’s flea market, children help out in their parents’ businesses. We stop at a stall of handcrafted wood figures and chat with the artisan’s daughter.

After all the bean sorting, cleaning, grinding and toasting we witnessed in our previous segments of Una Historia de Café, it’s finally time to boil up some water and do a little tasting, or “cupping,” as it’s known in laboratory circles. You might want to fire up your percolator; we have a feeling you’ll be craving some caffeine any moment now!

We’ve already seen some interesting, fabulous and downright curious things in the “mercado de pulgas” (flea market). But what about the people in there? They’re as colorful, amusing and charming as the goods in any stall.