The large number of Colombian eyeballs glued to a new prime-time telenovela about the life and times of Pablo Escobar, highlighted by actor Andrés Parra's bravura performance, shows that the late drug narco still fascinates more than 18 years after he died on a Medellin rooftop in a shoot-out with police.

Enticed by the economic possibilities in the region, Colombia is courting Asia the only way it knows how: Through the art of salsa dancing. By sending pairs of professional dancers shimmering across the Asia Pacific, the Latin American country hopes to forge closer social and cultural ties with a major slice of the region, from Japan to South Korea, China, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

While stereotypes of Colombia remain stuck in the 1990s, that country has moved on. The northern coastal city of Cartagena, long a vacation spot for Colombians, has blossomed over the last five years into a major culinary and cultural destination. Many of its best restaurants have opened in just the past two years, some by chefs fleeing economic collapse in the so-called First World.

The U-20 is Colombia’s biggest-ever international sports event. This time around, the country is embracing the challenge. The games will be played in Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena and five other cities and watched on TV by 500 million people around the world. Spectators will learn about the country’s improved security, booming economy and natural beauty.

Interest in China is a recurrent theme in Latin America...Close ties specifically with the Asian giant are encouraged not only by Colombia’s status as a rising world power, but also by China’s use of “soft power.”

Conductor and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music professor Rodney Winther has been honored by the state of Táchira in Venezuela for his contributions to music there.

Violence is on the rise again in Colombia, especially in cities, even as the military continues its gains against the guerrilla insurgency. Murder rates in Medellín—while still a far cry from their 1990s peak—have tripled in the last three years, largely as the result of narcotrafficking.

US Department of State: "Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith A. McHale will travel to Colombia July 25-28...