Villavicencio is a rural town in Colombia and a place associated with left-wing guerilla movement FARC, but it is also the home of the annual Cowgirl World Championships.

The colorful competition is part of an effort to re-brand the area as a tourist destination and comes the same week that FARC released a 22 year-old soldier to the town. The BBC’s Vanessa Buschschluter was in town for both events. She’s joins us now from Washington DC.