They Told Me I Couldn’t
Tamalyn Dallall c 1997
Book Review
Recommended
This is the riveting, true story of Tamalyns adventures as a belly dancer in Colombia and how it changed her life forever.
The words Belly Dance conjure up images of sequins and glitter. But Tamalyn steps outside the “safe” boundaries set for her by her hostile employer. She ventures out into the real Colombia, living, eating, working and travelling with real people as they go about their everyday lives.
Tamalyn does what few of us would ever dare to do – travel to a foreign country with little more than a duffle bag and dance skills. She dances for a living, and when she’s earned enough she moves on to the next experience.
She compares the world that tourists see with the real deal that she experiences. She rides buses through the jungle, with a chicken sitting on her lap and a cabaret costume tucked inside her duffle bag.
Her vivid descriptions of the people she meets and the places she visits come alive off the pages. She stands up to bribe seeking officials, visits a guerrilla stronghold, and defies the employer who refuses to pay her exit taxes and insists the only way she will leave Colombia is in handcuffs.
There isn’t a single word of “how to” or “history of” or “new age goddess” in this book. It’s a great story of how one woman manages to use Belly Dance to travel the world and experience a glimpse into the lives of the millions of people who live in Third World countries.
It’s also a great book for armchair travelers.