How a secret message in a Colombian song gave hostages hope

With its catchy chorus and almighty lyrics, the popular opus Better Days deed the airwaves successful Colombia successful the summertime of 2010. But the opus contained a hidden connection that its creators could lone uncover erstwhile the top-secret files astir its existent meaning were declassified.

"Malaria was an issue. Ticks were everywhere. When you sat down oregon tried to slumber ants would beryllium crawling connected you," says retired Maj Gen Luis Herlindo Mendieta Ovalle, who was held captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) from 1998-2010.

"Then determination was the fungus," helium says, "because of the humidity, fungus would turn connected your intimate parts, and we had nary medications to dainty it."

During Colombia's 50-year bitter equipped conflict, atrocities were committed connected some sides. In the aboriginal 2000s kidnapping had go a cardinal strategy for the Farc to money itself. Colombia's transitional justness tribunal estimates that 21,396 radical were kidnapped during the conflict.

Army soldiers and constabulary officers were often the main targets. Chained successful concealed camps successful the Colombian jungle, the conditions endured by the hostages were capable to marque immoderate idiosyncratic suffer hope.

Rescue missions were unsafe owed to the mountainous terrain and, similar Gen Mendieta, immoderate information forces hostages had spent respective years successful captivity.

At the time, Col José Espejo, past a Colombian service communications officer, knew however important morale among troops was to the occurrence of a rescue operation.

"We desperately wanted to springiness the subject hostages thing that they could clasp connected to, a connection of anticipation that would support their tone and strength, truthful they could see the anticipation of flight if the accidental presented itself," helium says.

In bid to present this connection helium decided to propulsion retired the regularisation publication and alternatively turned to Juan Carlos Ortíz, the CEO of an advertizing agency. Mr Ortíz's government-funded anti-drug run had won an grant for innovation, but had besides attracted the attraction of the Farc, for whom the cocaine commercialized was a lucrative root of income.

Mr Ortíz received decease threats from the guerrillas and had to fly to the US with his household to statesman a caller beingness there. But helium and his squad decided to instrumentality up the situation to travel up with a mode of getting a connection of anticipation to the hostages.

A gathering with service representatives sparked an idea.

"They told america that Colombian soldiers successful their basal grooming are trained [in] Morse code," helium says. "We thought, 'Right, however tin we pass with them via Morse code?' It was a existent airy bulb moment."

With hostages kept heavy successful the jungle and connection from the extracurricular satellite adjacent impossible, originative director, Alfonso Díaz, says they realised they would lone beryllium capable to get done to them via radio.

"During this era, a writer called Herbin Hoyos - who did a batch for each of the hostages - created a programme called 'Voices of the Kidnapped'," helium says, "to assistance trim their feelings of isolation by broadcasting messages from their loved ones to those successful captivity."

Mr Hoyos, who had besides been a erstwhile hostage of the Farc, died of coronavirus successful 2021. His programme was a lifeline for galore during the years it aired and seemed similar the cleanable spot to archetypal broadcast the message.

Mr Díaz says they thought astir including the Morse codification successful a joke, with the beeps seemingly covering up curse words, but this didn't look appropriate. Then helium had the thought for a song.

Audio shaper Carlos Portela says they initially thought of utilizing "a cheerful vallenato oregon a salsa", but realised this mightiness origin "the listener's caput to wander". So they decided alternatively connected a sentimental opus with affectional lyrics to assistance the hostages marque the nexus betwixt the opus and the Morse codification hidden wrong it.

"The lyrics to Better Days talk of the heart, of the resilience and the spot that the hostages indispensable person to beryllium capable to determination guardant and not to despair erstwhile they are alone," says Mr Díaz, who co-wrote the lyrics with Mr Portela.

They enlisted the assistance of stone vocalist Angelo, who had travel up done the ranks of Colombia's mentation of the X Factor, and vocalist and histrion Natalia Gutiérrez.

Mr Portela, on with composer, shaper and dependable technologist Amaury Hernández, carried retired a batch of probe into Morse Code, including however galore words per infinitesimal a idiosyncratic could decipher. They decided to usage a synthesizer successful the way to assistance camouflage the message.

The codification was inserted successful 3 antithetic places wrong the opus and the squad decided to transmit 1 elemental message: "19 radical rescued. You're next. Don't suffer hope."

After 8 months, the opus was acceptable for its archetypal broadcast successful 2010 connected Mr Hoyos's programme and by-passed the commercialized stations to play connected much than 130 agrarian stations crossed Colombia.

"There are galore millions of radical who person listened to the opus Better Days, but that wasn't our goal," says Mr Ortíz. "Success for america was to beryllium recovered successful small, circumstantial numbers. It was successful the chosen fewer proceeding it and knowing it."

Gen Mendieta, who had been rescued successful the aforesaid year, helped the ngo by appearing connected unrecorded TV and asking the rebels to springiness the hostages entree to the vigor for company.

"Someone erstwhile said, 'Whoever has a publication is not alone," helium says, "and successful our case, it was, 'Whoever has a vigor is not alone.'"

But with airplay besides came the hazard that the Farc would decode the hidden message.

"When you see that the hostages were faced with the anticipation of dying successful the jungle, acold from their families, to instrumentality a hazard successful the country of communications was some valid and important," says Col Espejo.

It was not until hostages started to beryllium released implicit the adjacent fewer months and years that quality astir the occurrence of the opus came back. Col Espejo says 1 rescued hostage spoke of proceeding the Morse codification connection successful his intelligence valuation and had passed connected its meaning to his chap captives.

"When the quality arrived that the opus had worked, I walked down the thoroughfare with specified a feeling of joyousness that I couldn't halt myself from smiling," says Mr Portela.

Many of the accumulation squad kept their engagement successful the opus quiescent until precise recently.

"Can you judge that my household didn't know?" says Ms Gutiérrez. " I ne'er said thing to them for years astir it due to the fact that of the confidentiality clause."

The opus besides won its originative squad a prestigious plan award: The Golden Lion from Cannes.

The governmental scenery has importantly changed successful Colombia since Better Days received its archetypal vigor play. In 2016, the Farc signed a landmark bid woody with the Colombian authorities and thousands of erstwhile rebels person demilitarised. But the state inactive grapples with unit from different equipped groups and wide cause trafficking.

Colombia inactive has a agelong mode to spell to look galore of the atrocities committed during the equipped conflict, including those by the army.

So the opus for Col Espejo, present retired, is bittersweet.

Better Days, though rooted successful the past, remains an anthem for the aboriginal too.