Sandra Escayón: Hello everyone, my name is Sandra Escayón, a Colombian journalist, and today from New York, we’ll be speaking with Adriana Aristizábal. She was a war correspondent in Colombia and came to the United States to start a new life, leaving her profession and family behind.
Adriana Aristizabal: My role as a war correspondent in Colombia was extremely important because it was… the first job I ever did as a journalist in Colombia. And that’s why, a couple of years ago, I wrote a book called “In Crossfire: Memoirs of a War Correspondent,” which recounts 20 chapters of the history of war in Colombia and is a tribute to the journalists and colleagues who were killed during the conflict. It was a time and a period of rebirth.
It was difficult because I had a well-respected job in Colombia; I was on television, I had a brilliant career in journalism, and I had to give that up, leave my family, I had to leave my son. In the end, I was at the consulate for about nine years.
Once I retired from the consulate, I founded a communications agency called iVoice Communications, focused on helping companies and organizations reach the Hispanic market. Through that agency, I work as a consultant and spokesperson for the New York City Tourism and Convention Corporation, the city’s tourism promotion office. My work with them consists of conveying the city’s tourism message to our Hispanic community.
My work has focused on reminding people of everything this city has to offer. Well, the new phase I’m in right now is boosting my communications agency, iVoice Communications. We have very new perspectives and new opportunities in the market to help other organizations reach the Hispanic market.
I just finished a screenplay for a movie, which I wrote with Michael Wemberger, and we hope that project will come to fruition very soon.
