Medellín Spotlight with Samed Kavak (Samed Guitars) featuring Sergio Moreno from Insiders Foundation

My guest is one of the best acoustic guitarists I have had the opportunity to hear live and hang out with in numerous fun activities in Medellín. This is a little about who Samed is as a person, his first ever song recorded, and our filming video in Comuna 13. 

Who is Samed Guitars (Samed Kavak)? 

I know Sam from our first meeting and playing a weekly men's football group at Premium Plaza in Medellin, Colombia. From first meeting him, we struck a good connection and often would joke about life and be very light-hearted. Sam has spent over three years living and traveling on and off again in Medellín and other parts of Colombia. Sam is Turkish-German and has spent most of his life living in Germany. And has traveled to numerous places around the world and enjoys traveling when he goes to an area with excellent waves for surfing. Sam is a digital nomad specializing in websites and search engine optimization (SEO). I have worked with Sam on several projects and can vouch for his expertise and knowledge in this space. 

From meeting in the same football group, we became friends. We often hung out together by playing ping-pong in the park and going for cigars at High Coffee in Medellín. Most recently, helping Sam create a professional acoustic guitar video during his last week in Medellín. 

Since the age of 16, he has had a deep passion for guitars and specializes in playing the acoustic guitar. His website, percussive-guitar.de, is a great place to go for an aspiring guitarist who wants to learn or improve their percussive guitar playing. Sam shares his tips to show you what you can get out of your guitar instead of just pulling chords up and down. His guitar blog has a percussive guitar tutorial, an introductory guitar video, and articles on choosing the right thumbpick to use and the hammer-on technique and percussion. Sam has been in several bands back in German y and carries his guitar with him whenever he travels. The acoustic guitar he played in Comuna 13 is a song he has created from some of his recent travel over the past year and life experiences. I've asked him on numerous occasions, and he doesn't have a name for the song. So at this point, it is nameless, and I hope he has a reputation for this beautiful song that he wrote and plays. 

The last thing about Sam is that he is a big Elmo fan, and you would have noticed in his video either the Elmo logo making an appearance or him having a fanny pack with Elmo on it. On top of that, Sam has an Elmo tattoo, which speaks to Sam's easy-going and funny personality. 

I can recommend Sam to listen numerous times in front of him. His talent is playing the acoustic guitar, and if anyone is thinking about working with Sam, he has my recommendation for the skills he brings with his guitar and also in SEO and websites. 

Who is Sergio Moreno from Comuna 13?

Sergio is a lifelong resident of Comuna 13, and if anyone can explain the last 30 years of what it has been like to live in Comuna 13, he is the man. Sergio owns and operates a tour guide company for Comuna 13, and at the time of writing, his Airbnb Comuna 13 experience has 1,355 reviews with a rating of 4.98! It is the highest-rated tour with the most reviews you can find in Medellín on the Airbnb experiences platform and one of the highest-rated experiences in all of Latin America with that many reviews. Super proud of you, Sergio! I've sent over 20 different people to Sergio in my time living in Medellín. They all loved his tour and appreciated all the history and information he had to share about historic Comuna 13 in the history of Medellín. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SERGIO FOR THE BEST COMUNA 13 TOUR IN MEDELLÍN! And follow him on his social media channels to see the impact he is making in elevating the prosperity and empowerment f his community and see how you can assist in the journey, especially after visiting Comuna 13 and learning about the struggles that exist today for so many of the inhabitants. 

Sergio is the founder of Insiders Foundation. The following text has been taken from the about page on insidersfoundation.org to best explain the aim of the non-profit:

"Insiders Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides social and cultural programs to youth in the territory of Comuna 13, one of the most vulnerable and underserved neighborhoods in Medellin, Colombia. Founded in 2019 by Sergio Moreno, born and raised in Comuna 13, the foundation was inspired by the strength and resilience of the people of Comuna 13, who overcame a violent past and transformed their community into a thriving cultural hub. Tourism over the past 5+years has provided economic stability and opportunities to the people. Insiders Foundation focuses on giving back to the community and helping to create a better future.

The programs offered in the community help inspire and provide confidence to the youth, creating new opportunities for them for a brighter future. The history and transformation of Comuna 13 is a daily reminder of what's possible when we come together.

We provide tours in this area to help raise awareness and generate resources that will be invested in the community. We walk the streets of our beloved neighborhood every day with tourists who leave with knowledge of our history and transformation and feel inspired by our story."

The last thing I want to add is that Sergio is a highly skilled football player, and usually, when he plays on the field in our organized football matches, he is the player that dominates with the ball and will score the most goals. Lucky for me, he will at times provide football tips to help with improving my game. 

Filming in Comuna 13 

A few weeks back, Sam asked me one of the last things he wanted to do before he left Medellín was to film a professional guitar video so he could always show people his acoustic guitar talent. When he asked me, I agreed immediately, and we talked about how to make this project work. After discussing, I shortly realized due to time constraints and needing specific filming equipment, the best person I know that can help with this project is Sergio. After contacting Sergio and meeting with him, we agreed on a date to film in the studio that Sergio has. Side note Sergio has created his studio space for producing several podcast shows out of this space to be able to share with the world conversations on culture, history, and empowerment for Comuna 13 and Colombia. Once we made it to Comuna 13, we had a local menú del día with Sergio at a local tienda. We preceded to get filming set-up and film the video for the next 4 hours before finishing up our accomplishment by enjoying views of the city from a local cafe and having beers that have coffee. Thanks, Sergio, for sharing your time and space to help Sam and me to create a professional acoustic guitar video with great sound and imagery. And Sam, thank you for allowing me to help produce a professional guitar video for yourself. And I hope you can share your beautiful sound with others wherever you go in the world!