‘Toothless Cindy’ raps on buses in Colombia to make ends meet
BOGOTA, Colombia — With her pink cardigan and thick glasses, “ToothlessCindy” is becoming amusical sensation on Colombian public transport.
Whenthe music starts blasting fromher portable speaker, the 69-yearold turns into a prolific rapper, whose rhymes crack up commuters on theTransmilenio, Bogota’s crowded and crime-ridden public bus system. Marlene Alfonso’s nickname—“Cindy sin Dientes” — comes fromthe fact that she is missing most of her teeth, and shesays she can’t afford false ones.
“I’m trying tomake something ofmyself,” she singswhile riding on a bus packed with commuters heading into downtown. “If you can’t giveme money, giveme a kiss, that will fixmy crooked neck.”
Marlene Alfonso, who calls herself “Toothless Cindy,” or “Cindy sin Dientes” in Spanish, is one of dozens ofVenezuelan migrantswhowork on Bogota’s public bus system every day, selling items like pens or performing for tips.
Her advanced age, comical lyrics and unusual attire for a rapper have helped her to stand out. She has becomean inspirationfor a group of migrants that has been mostlywelcomed in Colombia, but has also suffered recently from discrimination and xenophobic attacks.
“It’s tough tomake a living here,” saysHaileen Volcan, 32, aVenezuelan with five children, who sells puzzles for kids on Bogota’s buses. “But if she can hop on buses and work, a youngwomanlike myself can sell things too.”
More than 1.7million Venezuelans live in
Colombia, where they havemoved to escape their nation’s economic and humanitarian crisis. According to immigration officials, only 720,000 have a residence permit, which forcesmanymigrants towork for less than the minimumwage ormake a living as buskers or street vendors.
Alfonso says that she was already performing for tips in her hometown of Caracas, long before she arrived in Bogota. She worked mostly on subway cars, where her shows earned her an invitation to a local television program.
Two years ago, she moved toColombia because rapping inVenezuela’s subways no longer helped her tomake ends meet. Alfonso says she can make about $8 a day from tips on Bogota’sTransmilenio. It’s enough to pay rent and send somemoney home to her daughter.
“I’m showing people howto not feel defeated,” Alfonso said after finishing a set of songs. “Our hearts have no wrinkles in them. I’m 69, and there’s still a
lot of juice to squeeze from this orange.”
But beingastreet rapper isn’t easy. Alfonso suffers fromglaucoma and cannot see out of her left eye. She doesn’t have enough money to go to a specialist andmoves around with a stick to avoid falling.
The grandmother can’t see the buttons on her speaker’s remote control properly, so she asks commuters for help to play the right tracks.
“Weworry about her,” saidVolcan, who frequently runs into Alfonso on theTransmilenio. “She lives up a steep hill, andwe’re trying to find her a place to rent that is closer to the bus stop.”
Alfonso presses on despite the obstacles and delivers her routine in which she encourages commuters to laugh because “humor is for free.”
Some take selfies with the toothless grandmother, and others have posted videos of her singing on buses that have gone viral onTwitter.