Orlando once lived in the region of Huila but was displaced by the construction of the El Quimbo dam built by a Spanish company named Emgesa.

 

When I met Orlando, he was protesting his family's displacement in the Plaza de Bolivar, a central square in Bogotá frequented both by tourists and residents. Orlando's family was one of many that has been displaced from their land and their livelihood as a result of the dam.

 

Before he came to Bogotá to protest, Orlando tied himself to the biggest tree, the "Seiba", in the main square of the town of Gigante. When the mayor did not respond to his claims, he traveled to Bogotá to continue his protest in hopes of gaining a larger audience.

 

When we met, he had been protesting every day for three months using the same chains with which he had tied himself to the Seiba.