Reporters on the Job

• Chasing a Guitarmaker: Staff writer Danna Harman's interview with guns-to-guitarmaker César López didn't get off to good start. After a long wait outside his house, with her photographer Marcelo Salinas, "César showed up with a talkative woman whose daughter had crashed the car he had sold her a week earlier. But the paperwork was still in his name," says Danna.

So, Danna, Marcelo, César, and this woman spent the next hour or so driving around Bogotá taking care of the paperwork. "What does that have to do with war and peace and escopetarras? Nothing, but it's not uncommon for a reporter to end up in a random situation. In this case, it was helpful, because we formed a connection with César, and it was easier to interview him later. And, when we went to his concert, he welcomed us with hugs as if we were old friends."

Did Danna buy one of his guitars? "No, there are only five so far, and [Colombian pop star] Shakira, among others, is ahead of me on the waiting list," she says laughing.

David Clark Scott
World editor