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Except for a little palm leaves roof hut, there were no lights on in the town. The yellow bulb lit up the five couples seated around the concrete roofed circle where all of them were dancing at the same time, or just one of them, depending on the rhythm of the song. There was a speaker that could be heard three houses far away, and a group of ladies next to two men from Holland and two from Coquí. This little village of Nuquí, in the North of the Colombian Pacific coast is an oasis to escape from the wildness of the city, even though people may think it is wilder. There are just 120 people living there, and the electricity works just 10 hours a day, when working. The town´s electrical generator was broken that night, so Mama Cruz had to use her own, for the party to go on. It was the farewell of the two Holland men therefore dancing was a must, before they leave. Coquí is recognized by a small social group because of its gastronomy. For others it´s important because of the biodiversity gifted, its location between the rainy forest, the mangroves and the sea. But if I had to choose the main reason why I fell in love with this place, I would absolutely choose the people, their stories, the dance, the laughs and the “viche”, a sugar cane distillated, that is not just an alcoholic beverage, but a cultural symbol of Afro populations in the Pacific. The first time I went to Coquí, I felt in love with flavors. There was Lila, a Matron who mixed a guava paste until 1:00 am, so her dessert would not be ruined for the festival. Then we danced until 4:00 am drinking “viche”, because in Coquí you get “ENVICHADO” (drunk with VICHE beverage). It was Siembra Negra Pacífico, a gastronomic festival in which women from the town cook together with best national chefs to show their flavors to more than 500 people that come the very last day to do a taste menu. Coquí recipes are delicate, but at the same time, complex. Ferments, smoked fish, tropical fruits, herbs, dance, whales, dolphins and sea turtles. You get enraptured by what Coquí offers you. You don´t even have time to think about all the great things you find there. The second time I visited Coquí, a little bit calmer, I approached to the little kids, to their naivety and the freedom that the sea gives them. They do not have a hospital in town, but they own the sky, the river and the nature that provides them all they need. We fished in the morning and cooked that snapper with plantains of their own garden for lunch. The end of the night, as always, ended up with a house party where dancing with local families was a way to show you appreciate them. It is their way to tell you are welcomed, it is the place where men and women are equal, competing in the track. Last time it was different. I had time to be with myself, time that I actually needed while stuck in Bogotá, the traffic and the stress. Last time I sat down next to Mama Cruz, one of the most important matrons, and she told me about the love of her life, we talked about maternity and violence in the country. I sat down next to Kevin, a young guy, and he told me he came back from the city because he was not disposed to change time for money. That time, when they turned on the electricity generator to dance in the middle of the dark village I felt in love even more about this amazing place, not because of the party, but because I gave myself time to understand a way of life, a philosophy that goes beyond people see from outside “laziness”, in which people open the doors of their houses and their hearts to let you be in a town in which you are allowed to be the owner of your own life, because nature gives you all you need just to be.