This happened 20 years ago, Bogotá was chaotic at that time, no cars stopped at traffic lights

From the article:

‘“The people who designed it understood that in a 7-million-person city like Bogotá, a very small percentage would actually see the mime artists,” says Felipe Cala Buendía, the author of Cultural Producers and Social Change in Latin America. However, Mockus believed in the power of word of mouth.’

Really wish I had a time machine to go back to that board room decision and witness the moment when desperation led someone to shout "Let's use mimes!"

Bogotá is at 2640 m, so there is more unfiltered radiation. Like 20-25% more UV. And it's cooler so you don't notice it as much as you should. You can get sunburns even with clouds at that altitude.

As a Colombian now living in the north, every time I return to Bogotá, the UV index is between 9 and 11, and I get sunburned. My skin has become accustomed to the 1-2 levels typical of Northern Europe.

Bogotá is 4 degrees north of the equator. Its climate is a bit temperate due to being in a high altitude plateau. But you better wear sunscreen anyway under tropical sun.

It's at an altitude of 8500+ ft - UV is much stronger and the sunburns can be bad if you're not prepared.

The photos in the article seemingly are of Brazilian traffic mimes.

This is another video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqPfW62aqzk

Mockus was the best mayor Bogotá ever had. Cultura ciudadana, or "Citizen Culture," was the most transformative policy we ever implemented.

Um actually it's more "blistering" than in So Calif (where I also lived most of my life) due to the altitude.

Why are you so sure? What information do you have that leads you to be that sure?

Insurance is not a term we use a lot in Colombia

Too true. I remember when I visited it took me a while to get used to this. I would ask my friend questions like “what happens if I fall off this campero/get bitten by one of these street dogs/clock somebody in the head playing rana/twist my ankle on this busted-out sidewalk? Who has the liability here?” and he would say “we don’t really have that here man”. Honestly it was a great time.