At 7:34 a.m. on Aug. 10, José Orlando Giraldo Yepes was not at his business. He was on his way to Big Bang Piñatas y Regalos in Cali’s Alameda neighborhood when he decided to stop briefly at a stall to buy some arepas de huevo and empanadas.
He was in a hurry. A meeting with his employees was scheduled for 8 a.m. to prepare for the change of seasonal inventory. The “Love and Friendship” season was approaching, followed by Halloween — bringing costumes, balloons, surprise gifts, decorations, and everything else that had made his business a local landmark for families over the past two decades.
But that meeting never took place. Thirty-six minutes earlier, the earth had begun to shake.
Since the staff hadn’t arrived yet, no one was inside the shop when part of the façade collapsed. The masonry gave way, spilling merchandise out onto the street.
Giraldo received a call as he continued on his way. He was told that people were trying to make off with the products that were now exposed.
They arrived in time to salvage some of what remained. Then came the silence that follows tragedies — once the shaking stops and the tallying of losses begins.
Inside, the scene was different: dust-covered shelves, damaged merchandise, ruined walls, and a structure that — while its columns held and it remained stable — required the reconstruction of the façade and the demolition of much of the masonry.
For the past two weeks, Giraldo and a small team of workers have been tearing down walls. At times, it seems as though 20 years of history have turned to dust.
Big Bang was more than just a store
Big Bang was the business Giraldo built from scratch alongside his wife. It was where they worked to provide for their children and secure their family’s livelihood. It was a place where generations of neighbors grew up coming in search of a piñata, a toy, a costume, or a party favor.
“It’s all we have,” he says.
Giraldo had to send his employees home. Only four people remain to help him clean up, move merchandise, and protect what is left. There are no sales.
Not all the workers can come in, and the savings they had were barely enough to cover the first pay period following the earthquake.
How do they move forward?
The loss of merchandise accounts for a huge part of the blow. Many products were ruined or covered in dust; others simply became unsellable.
That is why Giraldo is waiting for the damage assessments to arrive and for authorities to offer alternatives — such as tax exemptions, interest-free loans, or mechanisms to help recover lost stock and rebuild.
For now, he says, help has not yet arrived. But one thing remains intact: The determination to reopen.
Giraldo estimates that, if he can secure the necessary resources, he could try to get his business back up and running in 15 to 20 days. He isn’t talking about giving up; he is talking about rebuilding.
Solidarity in Tampa
And while Giraldo faces the task of rebuilding walls in Cali, thousands of miles away in Tampa, his sister Blanca Castaño is experiencing the earthquake from a different perspective: one defined by distance and a sense of helplessness. Castaño is a member of the Tampa Solidarity for Colombia Committee, a grassroots movement that has organized two rounds of humanitarian aid collection for those affected in Colombia.
Hundreds of people from Tampa, Brandon and Clearwater mobilized to send food and supplies. But for Castaño, the emergency had a familiar face. Her brother’s.
“He is in a very low place,” she said. Giraldo is going through a difficult emotional time and will receive psychological support. His family is trying to hold him up as he comes to terms with what happened.
Because Giraldo didn’t just lose the physical structure of his business; he lost merchandise he had just received from China. He had unpacked a shipping container full of products intended for the busy season. What was supposed to be a business opportunity turned into a financial loss.
And while he tries to figure out how to start over, his family has decided to do what many families do in the face of tragedy: close ranks.
Blanca says that everyone has supported him financially and that they haven’t left him alone. This time, the help didn’t arrive in boxes; it arrived in the form of family.
Second phase
In Tampa, América Osorio and more than 160 volunteers were wrapping up three weeks of community work. Warehouses, transport services, sorting teams, logistics providers, companies, foundations, organizations, media outlets, and private citizens all formed part of a chain of solidarity that gathered over 700 boxes — filling three trucks — to be sent to Miami and then on to Colombia.
The Casa 21 bar and restaurant was selected by the Tampa por Colombia Solidarity Committee as the main collection point.
It wasn’t a haphazard operation. It was a community organized around a single idea: helping.
The donations were received, sorted, and organized before reaching the Global Empowerment Mission logistics center in Doral, from where they continued their journey to Colombia.
For Osorio, this second phase marked the end of a chapter, but not the end of the efforts.
The recommendation now is for those who wish to keep helping to do so through organizations like the Colombian Red Cross or the “Colombia, One Heart” (Colombia un solo corazón) initiative promoted by the first lady.
An emergency may shift phases, but pain does not vanish at the same pace. In Cali, Giraldo still has walls to tear down. He has merchandise to clear out, bills to pay, employees waiting, and a shop that needs to reopen.
In Tampa, Castaño will continue to look out for her brother while trying to lift her spirits. And in both places, one certainty remains: the earthquake brought down part of a business, but it failed to bring down the resolve of those determined to get back on their feet.
Giraldo sums it up bluntly: “We have to keep going. We can’t give up.”
How to help
If any individual, foundation, or organization wishes to assist in Castaño’s recovery, they can do so by contacting him via WhatsApp at +57 320 612 6623 or by making a direct deposit to the Bancolombia checking account number 750-000024-23, held by Big Bang Piñatas y Regalos SAS.
See a video of the devastation from José Orlando Giraldo’s Cali’s Alameda neighborhood in Colombia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPyCWjW5Spk