It was more than shock waves that went through downtown Jersey City in the sixties and early seventies, the Vietnam era. Forty or more people I was familiar with succumbed to alcohol and drugs. No one seemed to give any advice, only do as I say. No hugging, no loving, only surviving. Parents that talk more to themselves than to us. Fear, despair, and insecurities on my mind. Never had thoughts of my future, only to find out years later how things would change... Colombia, South America in the early nineties. Was introduced to Os, who changed much of Colombia, and the reward for the deeds I accomplished were the most beautiful women in the world. Os was a ruthless man, no nonsense, and on a mission to eliminate the drug lords. You will not learn compassion here, no pity, little love I was told, but my biggest mistake was love with a daughter of a right-hand man of Escobar who was called El. The table was always full of profiles of beautiful women. I went through hundreds, sometimes three a day, until she came along. This is not a love story. This is the hardcore truth from the streets to the moto girls killers...

This volume fills a void in language variation and change research. It is the first to provide an empirical, comparative study of Spanish in Colombia and New York City. Remarkable similarities in the linguistic conditioning on language variation in both communities contrast with interesting differences in the effects of social predictors. The book provides a window into the effects of language and dialect contact on change and serves as a model for studies comparing diasporic populations to their home speech communities.