Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have begun the third day of their 'royal style' tour by visiting a Saturday morning drumming school in Colombia amid more tight security. The couple arrived at the event, held in a barn-style building, yards from the Caribbean Sea in a suburb of the port city of Cartagena. Meghan wore a black dress and carried a cream coloured handbag, while Harry donned a blue linen shirt, sunglasses and beige chinos.
Students from the school, called Escuela Taller Tambores de Cabildo de la Boquilla, which preserves the art-form of traditional African drumming, performed for them amid tight security. The security detail included heavily armed soldiers, police officers and sharp-suited private security guards. A van containing a chemical biological nuclear response unit joined the massive cavalcade of vehicles that arrived alongside the couple as well as a helicopter and drones while snipers were stationed on a roof.
Image: Colombian VP Office) Colombian VP Office) On arrival, Harry and Meghan were greeted by the booming sounds of drums and the school's founder Rafael Ramos. After the opening performance, the Sussexes and Colombia's Vice President Francia Marquez listened to local community members that included children, teenagers, parents, and elders, about the importance of preserving the culture of Cartagena, and specifically it's Afro-Colombian roots. Cartegena is an area specifically being impacted by gentrification and a booming tourism industry.
Harry and Meghan were gifted a small handcrafted wooden boat from a student, an ode to the beautiful coastal town and its beaches, before joining in with a drum lesson led by the students, followed by a performance from some of the locals which brought both the Vice President and Meghan to their feet. Rafael Ramos was ecstatic to see the duchess's reaction to the performances throughout the morning, saying in Spanish: "I love seeing Meghan's big, big smile — I can tell she's excited!" Following..
..
