"The Barrio"

I've been meaning to write a funny, satirical piece on the ridiculousness of my apartment's current energetic situation, been pondering it for the last week, but, today, life in "the barrio" got a tad more complicated.  Wires run-amok, crumbling walls, and astronomic bills seemed to fade into the limelight when, this morning, I stumbled across some tweets detailing a night in "the barrio" where I live. 

It all started when I sleepily dragged myself out of my building this morning, 8AMish, to saunter to the bus stop across the river.  Nothing interesting (just the normal rush of sprinting Peruvians destined towards their consulate) until I turned the corner and found a couple of reporters, news vans and the like recording a live broadcast.  Hmm, ok??  Something fishy must have gone down.  It's odd because, during the day, my neighborhood is totally cool, calm, and full of business people walking crowded-ly, absentmindedly (the Chilean norm) down the tree- and store-lined street.  Very big-city feel.  Of course you can stumble across your random drunk-on-a-bench or bum sleeping in a corner, nothing too scathing for daytime.  BUT- at night, the whole situation changes because turning said corner there is a street packed only with bars and "clubs,", some of which are operating, some of which are abandoned (due to the generally shady history of "the barrio"), but all of which attract a less-than-cuico crowd, and lots of putas dressed in not much more than lingerie.  I keep my distance from such locales but am all too close every Thursday through Saturday night when the bass of the Reggaeton permeates my pathetically insulated walls, forcing me to don earplugs and nearly suffocate myself with pillow-fashioned sound barriers.  Beside the point.  Lets just make it clear that, at night, it's not safe. 

Which I was aware of.  But, during my 6 months of living in my PollyPocket palace, I hadn't heard of anything atrocious besides the occasional pub-brawl-- until today.  It seemed that the sordid past had, well, passed.

Notsomuch.

Regressing to said tweets- I open my computer and head directly to the 140lettered site to see if anything had popped up.  Nothing, nothing, nothing... Then around 9:30-10ish El Mercurio and Publimetro release the following Tweets (respectively):

Atropello en barrio Suecia dejó un muerto y tres heridos: El vehículo impactó a los jóvenes a gran velocidad y lue... Hit and Run in Barrio Suecia leaves one dead and three wonded: The vehicle hit the young men at at high velocity...

Una persona muerta y tres heridas deja atropello en barrio Suecia... One person dead and three wounded after a hit and run in barrio Suecia...

It turns out that three young guys were crossing the street and another guy driving a car drove at them at a flying speed, purposly hitting them and sending them flying up to 10 meters across the street.  He drove away at the same racing pace and the Police have yet to catch him or release any further information on the case or his identity.  On my corner.  Across the street.  In my "barrio." 

Besides facts and stipulations, there is not much else that can be said.  I could lament, vent about the threat to my personal safety living in this "barrio."  Complain about the lack of humanity that floats in the smoggy Chilean air.  I could go on a tirade and name every little piece of shit that bothers me about my living situation at the moment.  But considering the fact that a family just lost a son, a brother, a cousin, a nephew, I'll let it all go.  Again, there is not much else that can be said. 

Today it will be a 3 minute blub on the news. 
And tomorrow?
Just another Saturday in el capital.