David Martinez was four years old, the day his father gave him a surprising present.

It was December 22, 1997, right before Christmas, in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Dad came home from work.

I remember that he called me and told me that I was already enough to have my own money.

He opened his wallet and gave me a ticket.

David received this bill from his dad as if it were a great treasure, his first allowance.

He stared in awe at the picture on it.

The man in the wallet was a man with a mustache on his face, just like the mustache he had.

The man seemed very important to me and with time, I was going to get that man, Francisco de Paula Santander.

As is common, the picture on the bill showed a hero from the country's independence.

I could not believe it.

I did not know much about money in that time.

I did not know that some of the wallet is worth more than others.

I thought that with a wallet I could buy everything I wanted.

So I imagined it was a millionaire.

Soon David would be on a journey with his family through dangerous territory,

and the gift his parents gave him would end up being as valuable as he had imagined.

Bienvenidos and welcome to the Duolingo Spanish podcast.

I'm Martina Castro.

Every episode we bring you fascinating, true stories to help you improve your Spanish listening

and to gain new perspectives on the world.

The storyteller will be using intermediate Spanish, and I'll be chiming in for context in English.

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