Hot Take: Melissa Ortiz, Former Footballer for the Colombian Women's National Team
In this interview Brenda Elsey is joined by Melissa Ortiz, Olympian, analyst, former professional footballer and member of the Colombian Women's National Team. They discuss the importance of athletes speaking out against recent police violence against protesters in Colombia and the reality of the women's professional league in Colombia, contrary to a viral advertisement. Melissa also talks about her new role as an analyst for Fubo TV and coffee company called Kickoff Coffee Co.
This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network.
Transcript
Brenda: I am so excited today to catch up with Melissa Ortiz, the former Olympian and professional footballer, also, representative of the national team for Colombia and now an analyst for Fubo's coverage of the eliminatorias, CONMEBOL’s qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. We're also going to talk to her about her exciting new project, Kickoff Coffee. Melissa, thank you so much for joining us and welcome to Burn It All Down.
Melissa: Thank you, Brenda. Super pumped to be part of this program and dive into different topics, maybe controversial, but always great to chat about.
Brenda: That’s our forte here. That's sort of the name of the game! So, we invite any controversy here. Celebrate it. So, obviously the last couple of weeks we've seen massive protests in Colombia. It's very distressing. For our listeners that don't know much about the situation, do you think you could just give them a basic primer?
Melissa: Yeah. So, the current president of Colombia is named President Duque, Duque is his last name. He’s been in office as of more recent…And this isn't the first go around of protests and mass protests. But as of two weeks ago, the end of April, he tried to do a tax reform in the midst of a pandemic, in the midst of not only a pandemic but like one of the hardest economic situations the country has been in a very long time. And so there are mass protests, marches as well, which are a mix in between peaceful, but also have turned to violent, because also there has been news that these things, these protests that turn violent are because the police have used police brutality against the protesters and have been shooting, you know? Whether it's bullets or rubber bullets or anything of that such. I've heard of acid being sprayed. I've heard of different, crazy things, which is really sad.
So, there's been over 20 deaths, unfortunately, within just a very short time, within a few days. And also there are over a hundred people missing. So, it's very unfortunate, the current situation in Colombia. It's very saddening as well. The protests have gone global – there’s marches in New York City, there's marches all over the US, and Miami. But also I've seen pictures like in Paris and different things. So it definitely has hit home for sure, being that my family is from Colombia. I lived in Colombia, although I was born in the USA. It's still a country, a home close to my heart. It's my second home. So yeah, it's a very rough situation at the moment.
Brenda: How has the soccer or the football community or sports more generally responded? Have athletes made statements? Have they come out about this, given opinions?
Melissa: No, surprisingly…Not surprisingly, actually. The men players on the national team didn't really like voice out their concerns or anything up until literally things turned really bad just a few days ago. So, I believe they received a lot of backlash. For instance, James, he finally posted something on his Instagram saying, you know, no against violence, no against all that. Like, yes, peaceful protests, but like, I think he also did it out of defense because his family was getting threatened. And so that is also unfortunate too, and that should not happen, but you know, our athletes have to be more vocal. They’re always, especially our male athletes that have such a large voice for our country, they’re very standoffish. They don't speak out at all. And it's just going to continue to be like that.
And for our women's team, I mean, I think since day one I started posting in my Instagram stories and then a bunch of my other teammates also posted, whether it was on Twitter, on Instagram and everything. Some of our female players actually also went to some of the marches. I know a few went to some in Spain. I mean, a ton of them went to them in their specific cities and within Colombia. I think as part of the soccer community, as athletes and I guess soccer voices and celebrities, you have to use your voice. And I'm proud that our women's team continues to use their voice no matter what, whereas the men's team just seems like they don't as much, unless it's something that they at some point in time say, okay, I probably should post something, you know?
Brenda: Yeah. It struck me, the difference between for example our torchbearer out the week this week was Yoreli Rincón for her really forthright posting on this, and it was surprising to me…I guess maybe it shouldn't be, but I have this question and I wonder if you do too, which is their situation is so much more precarious. It's so much more difficult for them to get sponsorships that in some way it seems like even though they're more vulnerable, they're more willing to speak out? Or do you think there's different pressures on the men? What feels different there to you?
Melissa: Well, I think you hit on a spot, like, it's different pressures, right? But also, look, Yoreli, I grew up playing with Yoreli. She must be late twenties at this point. At this point in time I think, you know, if we didn't have these mass sponsors, it's like, what's really going to change largely in the next upcoming years in Colombia? Although women's soccer is growing tremendously globally and sponsors are finally hopping on the bus. I feel like a lot of these brands are going to start being more authentic. So, it's best to be yourself and best to be authentic and voice what you believe is right, and not care based on what you think is right whether it's going to affect potential brand sponsorships.
So, I feel like if someone like James, Falcao, or another male player is sponsored by Adidas or whomever, I don't think those brands would even say anything against this, you know? So looking at it from a marketing perspective, I think that's just dumb to even think that's at risk. But a lot of them just don't like to get involved in politics. At the end of the day, this is a political thing – unfortunately, because for me it is a political thing, but it's also a human rights thing and it's lives that are dying. It's not even political anymore. They're innocent lives. But that's how they see it. That's how a lot of the Colombians see it. A lot of the Colombians are still in that mindset where athletes shouldn't get involved in politics, athletes shouldn't talk about this.
I just watch a documentary on J Balvin actually on Netflix, which is amazing. And literally his own mentors were saying, don't get involved in politics, don't don't speak up or share your thoughts on this. When in reality, his agent finally was like, I think you need to be yourself and speak what you want to say. So, I feel like that was the best way to say or be in that scenario, if you were like a political figure, celebrity, or athlete.
Brenda: Yeah. I said to students that I was teaching – we were right in the section on culture and politics in Latin America and this class – and I said, you know, if you want to know the tides look at what Shakira has posted and look at what J Balvin has posted. [laughs] They’ll probably keep you as up to date as anybody. So, it's remarkable because Colombia, since Gabriel Garcia Marquez has had a history of cultural producers that are really important in interpreting the political moment.
Melissa: You know what’s crazy, Brenda, like we're talking about artists and singers…Puerto Rico has crazy artists in the Latin American music, you know, or Caribbean music scene. You have a lot of reggaeton artists, Bad Bunny, you have Nicky Jam, you have Residente who is also known as Calle 13 who is very outspoken. And these Puerto Rican singers, artists, reggaetoneros, they're speaking more about Colombia’s problems than actual Colombian artists are, and that's a problem, right? Like, that's such a problem. And that's the point. It's like, Puerto Rico being such a small island, but they still voice their rights very loud and proud. They do it for the Colombian society, whereas this is what we need for Colombians to do.
Brenda: Yeah. I saw Bad Bunny repost or re-up J Balvin, and that was the first time I had seen sort of live footage that was happening at the moment. It's kind of fascinating that that's where it's coming from. I mean, it's a really good point. So in terms of those male allies, right? So we're looking at Falcao, who I know people were looking for a statement that didn't really come, or James, some people were disappointed that it felt tepid and not specific, at least compared to like J Balvin or Shakira or something like that. It also seems like the male allyship for the women's players and their professional league, it’s just been years of their grassroots organizing. We've covered it a lot on this show. It's amazing what they've been able to do, but unfortunate how much work they have to do. You know, they can't just play football. They have to be a PR person, they have to in activist. Has the male allies, have they shown up for the Colombian women in this most recent push to keep the professional game in the COVID moment?
Melissa: No, absolutely not. I mean, not to my knowledge, no. I mean, I haven't even seen a big Colombian athlete share a highlight of the women's league, like, share like, “wow, this is amazing,” you know? So I'm saying to my knowledge – maybe I missed it. Maybe I didn’t. But it's unfortunate because this is something that you would expect our male players to be proud of, for women in Colombia to be able to compete professionally. But again, I think it all comes down to politics. Like, there's so much politics involved in Colombian professional soccer as well, whether it's between Dimayor or whether it's between the Federation, and thenof course like el ministerio del deporte, which is like the sports ministry of Colombia, also got involved as well to try to support. But again, there's no really public support of our men really rooting on for our women's league nor national team.
Brenda: We're still waiting. It seems like a very long wait at this point. So, recently there was a video that did get a lot of attention, not necessarily from Colombian men, but I saw several other men's players tweeting it out, saying how amazing it was. Can you describe to us kind of what's been going on with the Colombian women? Why this video?
Melissa: Yeah, so. As of recent there was a video that went viral about Aguila, which is a beer brand in Colombia. I believe it's owned by Anheuser-Busch global. But it went viral out of nowhere, and it depicted a scene that, you know, Colombian women's soccer in general was going down like, hardcore. It was in the midst of our professional women's soccer league collapsing. It was also in the midst of when Isabella Echeverri and I started this movement and denounced the Federation for all the unjust or unfair treatment. They utilized scenes or videos and real footage from our press conference that we did against the Federation. They used footage from different parts of the league from 2019 with some of the clubs like Junior, and their campaign, it was a marketing campaign that they did where they took half of the crest of their logo on the soccer jersey and they cut it in half. The players would wear this half-crested logo which made a huge impact because their whole idea behind it was…It was about fans, and they called it half fans, you know, you're only full when you support men's and women's teams.
And so it was trying…And I applaud them for doing this, like, it had the goal to unite the fans to support both men's and women's team, that it's the same sport, it's the same passion, and it's the same logo and team and club that you're supporting. But the problem was that they depicted a very inaccurate reality of women's soccer in Colombia, you know? In 2019, the footage that they got, yes, that was obviously true. There were, I don't know, 27,000 fans in the stands for like the final and more in other games as well. But that's just a very small I guess scene of what the reality is. So what they made it look as if, you know, they were the Jesus Christ figure or they were the savior of the women's pro league and like women's soccer in general in Colombia. And it pretty much ended as if like, wow, Colombian women's soccer is amazing right now.
Whereas when I saw this ad I was like, first off, wow, what a video! I mean, this is a heck of an ad. If I worked for this marketing agency or publicity agency, like kudos, you know? But then at the same time I was like, this is actually bullshit, because this is something that we worked for so long. You know, me being as a player it was something that we had to go through day to day, but then now me not being a player and alongside my teammates, literally through our own passion, our own time, we give to helping build the league with zero compensation, with no interest whatsoever. We do it out of pure love and passion. And for them to act as the savior in this instance, to paint a picture that's not true, is very saddening. I'm really disappointed as well.
You know, it's crazy because in 2017 the league only lasted four months. In 2018, three months. 2019, I believe it was two months and two weeks. And then last year was two months. And at this given point in time, we don't even know if the women's professional league in Colombia is going to happen next year. Right now I believe it's only 11% of players have current contracts at this moment. That's a very low percentage. So anyway, throwing out these stats is just to show that that video was very inaccurate. So, we actually spoke to the brand directly. We were thinking about doing a statement, but we were like, okay, let's go to them directly and see, because at the end of the day they could be a really great ally for us too. So it's a sensitive subject matter.
What happened was that that was a video that they had been building since 2019. The thing is is that they're not promoting a certain product. They were just promoting the campaign, which I think is just…I don't know, I have different thoughts about this is. The whole thing behind it was to submit this into an award, like a publicity award, premio de publicidad it's called.
Brenda: It’s like the best advertisement, right? Or they’re awards for advertising.
Melissa: Yeah. So, they're elected as for that campaign as being like a really great publicity initiative, which it is, but at the same time, it's inaccurate.
Brenda: I have to tell you, when I saw it I was moved. And then I thought, what have I missed? Because I follow really closely, I do events with the Colombian women's players all the time, Burn It All Down tries to stay really on top of these things. And I was like, wait a minute, because I was just talking about how their contracts are never more than two to three months. I was just talking about how their season wasn't scheduled. And then I watched this triumphant thing, which felt great because that's what you want to see. It's like aspirational. It kind of makes me feel both sad and happy to hear you say that because I didn't retweet it. My instinct was like, there's something off. This just does it feel at all right. But then again, who wants to, you know, pour cold water on this.
Melissa: Yeah. And just like you said, you didn't retweet it, nor did I, nor did any of my teammates retweet it, but what's sad is like anybody that just sees that doesn't really know Colombia women's football. Also, because there's not a lot of press coverage. And I understand that because at the same time it's like, if you look at different leads around the world, yeah, am I going to really know what's going on in another league? Like, no. You know,? So, I understand. There was some big figures that retweeted that, like Lucy Bronze retweeted it and applauded it. And like, this thing just went viral. But the thing is it's not even viral in Colombia whatsoever. It's only global because they did it in English.
So, our conversations with the brand and the agency, it was very professional. You know, they were really grateful that we went to that first because we were thinking about doing a statement against it, but we look at more of it like, okay, what could we do together to, one, either make this a reality, or two, fix this and do something together to make it known that this is not the reality, that the brand has to play a role in making it a reality. But you know, I'm still thinking about what we're going to say. [laughter] It's a delicate subject matter when you want these allies, but you also want your voice to be heard.
Brenda: I do just want to say, for listeners that haven't followed so much of the Colombian national women's team, which has had a lot of success in 2015, and in other moments in its history, that this Federation in the last four years have faced criminal charges for sexual harassment and assault, including of minors. So, it's not something that an ad agency within or outside of Colombia should be allowed to take lightly. This has been real serious. So, it's not just like, oh yeah, they get neglected like all South American women's teams. It's no, there's been real stuff, serious misconduct on the part of some officials who have been allowed to stay in the Federation for years, even following…Not anymore, you know, but they were. We’ve seen presidents of clubs say that women's football is a petri dish for lesbianism – as if that's a bad thing. And the homophobia and the sexism, and it intersects with racism, has been real serious. I know you know all this, Melissa, but I just want to kind of…I don't know how you feel when I say that, like if you agree, but I feel like it's extra…It has to be treated with extra care.
Melissa: Absolutely. It has to be treated that extra care and respect and just like you said, and that's a point that we brought up in the meetings too. It's not just about women's soccer and like the battle of women's soccer, it's everything that's happened behind it. Even since like the 60s, 70s, before we were born, you know, there's been so much. And then all of a sudden for this brand to come up on this pedestal and be like, WE saved the league. It's been a shock to me over the past week to see this thing blow up on social media. Or we're like waiting to see, what do we do? What do we do about this? We're still in like the mixed things of what our next steps and what's the right or wrong thing to do.
Brenda: Well, definitely for our listeners out there: follow the women's players to figure out what to get excited about and what to support and what to retweet as often as you can, because as we've discussed, I mean, they've been out there and very vocal and very active. They're not hard to find. Melissa has been named an analyst for Fubo's coverage of this year's eliminatorias for CONMEBOL, which is the most competitive and interesting qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup that the men will have. How do you feel about this?
Melissa: I was super excited, honestly.
Brenda: Me too! [laughter]
Melissa: This is like my first big shot on live TV. I've done live stream, like digital stuff, but not on TV. I feel like it's everything that I've worked for, honestly, because since I stopped playing…And this is a huge difference between men and women's players, or even Latin American players compared to former US women's national team players. We don't have it easy at all. When a former male player retires, you know, the agent comes, hey, let's put you into Fox Sports. Hey, let's put you here. Let's get you a six figure deals, seven figure, deal, whatever.
Brenda: You can coach Real Madrid! [laughs]
Melissa: Yeah. Or work at the Academy and get paid a lot of money. And it's like, as soon as us women retire, it's like, we're swimming and we're like trying to figure out what the heck to do. So for me personally, as soon as I stopped playing, I grabbed my digital camera. I started filming videos of me in an apartment in West Palm Beach, like, and literally a studio apartment with scarves in the background and just talking about women's soccer, or the Premier League or La Liga or whatever, just to start getting those reps and seeing like, could I do this? And it's been in the making for like, gosh, what, like three years? And of course I've had other job experiences that have been amazing and covering soccer and on-camera, but this is my first live TV broadcast. So I'm super humbled, super excited, pumped, nervous. All of the above.
Brenda: What's the scariest thing about it for you?
Melissa: I don't know yet. [laughter] I don't know. I feel like because we'll obviously get enough time to prep and study all the stats and stuff like that, I feel like in a year, like this past year, 2021, 2020, where there's been so many pauses and breaks and like so many different things, there has to be a huge recap of what this eliminatorias is. And so, yeah, I just had to study really well, know stats, and I feel like it's just another moment to prove myself. But I hope it just makes a great impact for like former players or like Latinas wanting to get into this space because it's not easy. You get that one shot and it's your opportunity. So it's like a soccer game – you get your opportunity and you just gotta perform well.
Brenda: So, we're probably safe to guess that Brazil's going to be in. I mean, I don't think we have to spend a lot of time there. I would actually say I feel safe about Argentina too. Like yeah, probably that's a no brainer, but it might not be! I mean, they've got a couple points different. But then it really opens up.
Melissa: It totally opens up.
Brenda: Do you have any…I don't know, any predictions about the best games to watch this June? Just for people who don't know, the qualifiers were also supposed to take place in March. They were canceled. So, there's a lot of anticipation about these games in the first week of June.
Melissa: Yeah, no, I think that for Colombia in general, it's going to be an uphill battle, an uphill road, because it did not perform well in the fall of 2020. Lost some big key games. But they have a new coach now, Reinaldo Rueda. And so with this new coach, they're hoping a new source of energy, a new source of leadership, maybe bringing in some new players, perhaps you'll see some new and young ones that have performing well in the league, in Dimayor. So, I'm excited to see what will happen with Colombia. Obviously no matter the circumstance, no matter what, I'll always root for Colombia. It's hard because sometimes I'm like, [groans] you know? Like just have that grudge. But then at the same time, it's like, of course I'm going to root for my country to go to the World Cup at the end of the day. Another interesting part has been Ecuador – and I'm thinking about things off the top of my head. I haven't studied all this–
Brenda: Yeah, we're getting the first take here, the first framing on Burn It All Down. This is so exciting. [laughs]
Melissa: Yeah. Ecuador has definitely performed and been like the dark horse, I feel. And Chile will be also interesting, and Uruguay. You have Cavani and Suárez’s potential last World Cup goes. So yeah, I think it’s…Oh gosh, for me, CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers are always the hardest, always the most competitive in the world by far.
Brenda: Absolutely. I mean, Chile has underperformed, but then you still have, if you have a young and healthy Arturo Vidal with Alexi Sánchez, and then you've got Cavani and Suárez that may be older, that may be the last team to use two strikers in the world. I mean, I don't know another one. And you've still got Tabárez, right? Who's been a coach since before I was born, and that's a long time. And so, yeah, that's so exciting.
Melissa: Keep in mind, the last time that these teams competed, like, these games were supposed to be played in March and were postponed. So, last time these national teams really got together for these World Cup qualifiers was in the fall of 2020. And they're squeezing it all in this summer between eliminatorias and Copa América, so it's definitely a packed schedule. I think these games will definitely affect Copa América, but obviously eliminatorias are more important.
Brenda: I mean, in the Copa América, I wanna ask you about this. It's scheduled to be in Colombia and Argentina, I mean, should these even happen?
Melissa: Yeah. So, that's a great question and great point, because like I mentioned before, Colombia at the moment is in turmoil, like massive protests and innocent people dying and everything. But on top of that COVID cases are through the roof. at this given point. Sadly it's like the third country in South America with the highest death rate because of coronavirus. So, the third most in South America. And on top of that, what I hear from my family as well, and my brother who was just there in Colombia, was like the ICU rooms are packed, full capacity. So there's a lot of issues going on between pandemic, between social injustice, between police brutality and the marches and the protests and the violence and the kidnappings, all this stuff.
So, a lot is going on, a lot to swallow, but I don't think that the Copa América should be in Colombia, but that's me personally. That's my opinion. And like I tweeted it earlier today and I think I'm even going to pull up this poll that I did, if people think that it should. Because today, actually trending on Twitter, is hashtag #NoALaCopaAmerica in Colombia. So it's a lot to say because the people are saying there's more important things to think about right now and to resolve. Whereas the president is saying football unites people and it will bring the nation together. Yes, football can do that, but at the same time when people are dying, it's like, what are you comparing human lives to? To a sporting event.
So it’s crazy, like, too many issues going on right now. And on top of that, you know, when there's a sporting event, such as Copa América, people are going to gather together, and vaccinations are like…I think, what, maybe 2%? I don't know the exact percentage, but not a lot of people are vaccinated in Colombia.
Brenda: That's low. And I guess we're waiting to hear about fan capacity, but we know that the watching parties will happen anyways. So, you know, even if the fans aren't there, it seems like a perfect storm right now. Well, before we let you go, I want to ask about Kickoff Coffee. Can you tell us about this project, this exciting new entrepreneurial venture?
Melissa: Yes, of course. So, during 2020, in June, July of 2020, my brother and I and his fiancée came up with this idea of a coffee brand around soccer. It was actually my brother's idea, and when he told it to me I invited myself on this journey. I was like, I'm in! I fell in love with it from the moment that he said it to me. It only made sense because one, we're Colombian, and coffee is a huge part of our love, our culture, our family, since we were little. But also because coffee and soccer go so hand in hand. [Brenda laughs] You know, you wake up in the morning and if you're watching NWSL, if you're watching Premier League, if you're watching whatever in Europe, you're waking up if you're in the west coast at 4:00 AM, 5:00 AM, 6:00 AM and the east coast, you know, we get to sleep in a little bit more, but you know, you could watch a game at 7:00 AM even. And so we've realized that there was a lot of engagement and content around coffee and soccer, yet there wasn't a brand tagged along.
Brenda: They're even called Cafeteras, right? I mean, don't they call the women's team…
Melissa: Somos las Cafeteras, yeah. Or los Cafeteros.
Brenda: Right! So it's, you know, literally the coffee-ers.
Melissa: The men's team los Cafeteros, and we were also known or are still known as las Cafeteras, like if we play in a World Cup and stuff. So yeah, it only made sense. And then we fused our two passions together of coffee and football and created a brand. The really cool thing about our brand is from each region that or each bag that we really focus our coffee bag around, we find a foundation and donate 10% of those coffee sales to that foundation. So with our Colombian coffee bag we made a partnership with Tiempo de Juego, which is a foundation in Colombia, and we donate 10%. And then for the Forza Italian roast, well, Italy doesn't produce coffee beans, but it's a blend. So we actually partnered though with a foundation in Italy that helps immigrants, refugees all of these programs through football. So at the end of the day, we're using our coffee sale donations to partnerwith foundations and organizations that utilize soccer as a tool for social development. So our next bag we'll be partnering with the foundation out of Atlanta. So yeah, it's something in the making. It’s been growing. We've been receiving a lot of cool attention. And it's strictly right now e-commerce but something that is continuing to grow and we're like super excited about the way it has been received by the public.
Brenda: Where can people go to buy it?
Melissa: At kickoffcoffeeco.com, and then on Instagram, it's @kickoffcoffeeco.
Brenda: Okay. You heard it here. I’m so excited for you. There's so much going on! Okay. Last question: who was your favorite player to play against?
Melissa: Against? Marta, hands down.
Brenda: [laughs] Okay. Why, why, why?
Melissa: So, the first time I played against her was in 2011 or 2012 and she's just so fast. She was so fast and so technical, so witty and smart, like, she was just everything. She's literally everything a woman's soccer player wants to be to this day, you know? Not only was she like technical and such a badass on the field, just the vibe that she gave off, you know, full of confidence. It's just so great. It was an amazing experience the first time I actually played against her, I was like, wow, this is crazy. It was really cool. And Brazil and Colombia used to always be the top two countries in South America competing against each other, so it was always really hardcore games. Now of course things have changed and other South American countries have really stepped up their playing and really received more support at least, you know? You have Chile in the mix, you have Argentina in the mix, but at the end of the day, Marta. Hands down.
Brenda: You know, every time I ask a player that so far, I think it's been five or six times, that has been the answer every time. Except from Sissi, who wasn't playing at the same time. [laughs] So you're not alone. You're not alone.
Melissa: I must say though, I don't think I have played against Crystal Dunn. So I feel like if I were to play against Crystal Dunn, then I would be like, Crystal Dunn! Because she's just so crafty and so versatile and so speedy. She is the most underrated player, but should be so high valued, honestly.
Brenda: Oh, she's incredible. Actually, it's so interesting because she was on the show a few months ago and I asked her about feeling undervalued and she said something that I think you'll find absolutely in keeping with her personality. She said, well, on the one hand, sometimes I think to myself, you know, that's not so great. And she's like, but then I think, oh, I'm really motivated. They're going to put this in the paper tomorrow. Like, this is going to…Like, now watch them try to ignore this! And I thought, that's why you're you! And I'm me. [laughs]
Melissa: I love that. I seriously love that.
Brenda: I did too. Well, Melissa Ortiz, thank you so much for being with us at Burn It All Down. We so appreciate your time and are so excited to follow both Kickoff Coffee, and also to see you on Fubo in the eliminatorias. We send all of our love and solidarity to Colombians who are struggling in this time.
Melissa: Thank you. Thank you, Brenda. Thanks so much.