José Bayona was born in Cúcuta, Colombia, on November 30, 1968. His mother being Venezuelan and his father Colombian, he holds both nationalities and feels very proud of the fact, since both countries have contributed immensely to his formation.

His grade school years were spent among various Colombian cities like Cúcuta, Girardot and Bogotá. In 1985, at 17 years old, he joined the National University of Colombia, in Bogotá, to pursued studies in Sociology. However, he was forced to suspend his studies after a month to join the compulsory military service with the Colombian Army. This experience introduced him to the reality of a country that had had been at war for decades and never seems to find its way out.

A year after joining the arm, and having fulfilled his military duty, he resumed his college studies. Not even a year had gone by when, having seen both sides of the coin, he realizes his future at the south american Athens was not very promising, so he decided to immigrate to Venezuela in 1987. Like Ulysses searching for his Ithaca, he started an odyssey shared with other 4 million Colombians that today live outside their motherland for reasons well known.

Venezuela, a wealthy country back in 1987, changes José’s life. There he had the opportunity to occupy himself fulltime on his personal passion: Theatre. With lady luck on his side, he manages to join the cast of the prestigious theatre group called Rajatabla, where he worked in the areas of acting and production. Nevertheless, interpreting theatrical characters was not the lesson learned from this group, instead it was the opportunity of working with Carlos Giménez, founder of Rajatabla, from whom he learned the solid basis of what it means to be an artist and the ethics that have directed him in his profession and life itself.

Imagination, talent, work, perseverance and discipline are five life constants that José applies daily to each and every one of his projects, and are the only and most precious legacy from Giménez, who died suddenly in 1993, in the midst of his climax as artist and human being.

Facing the death of the master and friend; in a country that four years before lived one of many social turmoil due to the economical measures imposed by the government in power and international organizations leading to the death of hundreds; in the face of two coup intents a year before, by a group of soldiers that reflected the needs of the people to find representation; in the need for better growth opportunities to continue on the path of the creative arts, José decides to immigrate to New York in December 1995. It is the common story of the little Latino American man, as Hemmingway puts it. It is the story that repeats itself day after day for any inhabitant south of El Rio Grande to La Patagonia.

Once again starting from scratch, like any other Latin American that comes to feed to great Anglo-Saxon machinery, José decides to start his film studies at New York University. In those years of adjustment to a new culture and language, many internal changes take place to live in accord to the new world that was created after September 11.

Presently José lives in the Big Apple, where he works as freelance reporter for the Spanish publication Hora Hispana of the Daily News, New York, and other magazines, thanks to the support of his good friend and journalist Albor Ruíz. He has also worked in various theater and film projects after finishing the film certificate program at NYU. He is also the President of Paper Children USA, a support organization for Niños de Papel an organization based in Bucaramanga and Cartagena, Colombia, working with socially displaced children. Through this work, he would like to contribute to the improvement of the life expectancy of a very small sector of the Latin-American population.

“Writing, directing, supporting social projects, no matter the field or activity, the most important thing is expressing yourself to the world through it. I just want to contribute with a small stone to the building of a better future, so that the next generations can find a better and more peaceful place where to live.”


Photos: Federico Rodríguez.