Sound

When I signed up for the Peace Corps, I prepared myself for lots of “hardships.” Things like cold showers, living out of a backpack, having close to no income, gastric difficulties, etc. My situation in Barranquilla promises most, if not all of these things. What I certainly did not expect, however, was the issue of crazy, ridiculous sound.

All throughout the city, my barrio included, corner stores of all different types play music at huge decibels, often competing with stores directly across from them who are playing some other music. (My personal favorite is the stores who offer phones on which you can pay to make international calls. They chain these phones to tables…which are stationed DIRECTLY in front of blaring speakers. Needless to say, I’ve never seen anyone actually using them). I’ve seen mothers drinking a beer while breastfeeding small children next to these speakers on the weekends (So for any scientists out there, might be a great case study of nature versus nurture…?). But anyway. This music is usually a source of amusement, or at least bemusement, especially on weekends. 

However, on a fairly regular basis we get the mobile speaker treatment.

I checked and there is no special word for these people in Spanish (besides idiotas, or other such names,) but in this city there are some people here whose favorite pastime is to outfit cars with the most powerful sound systems I’ve ever seen/heard up close. We’re talking, they fill an entire car trunk with speaker equipment, and then cruise the neighborhoods with the music turned up, literally setting off car alarms in their wake. 

One night this week a car pulled up on our block and parked. Keeping to the norm of the city humor here, the car was labeled “Policia.” The occupants proceeded to play on repeat some song whose reverberating bass and high pitched electronic squeals made the corner store speakers seem entirely reasonable—discreet, if you will. Meanwhile, the dishes were rattling on the shelves and the entire house vibrated!

In keeping with true grandparent style, my abuela proceeded to call the police, during which conversation my favorite line included “Es una scandalosa horrible!!”

Of course, the best part is that the police can’t actually do anything about this. If they come, they can simply ask the people to move…no citations, fines, etc. So without exception the people stay, in our case playing this song for TWO HOURS STRAIGHT. During the second hour of this Yo Me Llama came on (the show reminiscent of American Idol), which, though still fuming about the outside noise situation, my host-grandparents eagerly watched…at full volume…

Needless to say, my head was rattling by the time I retired for the night.