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🇮🇳 India /Culture & Society

Colombian Woman Says She Built a Business Selling Neighbourhood Gossip

From Times of India · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Miryam, a 67-year-old woman from Armenia, Colombia, says she turned neighbourhood gossip into a business that helped her buy two houses.
  • She records information in a notebook, checks it with other people and says she keeps photographs and other supporting material.
  • She reportedly charges 5,000 to 10,000 Colombian pesos for ordinary gossip and once received 700,000 pesos to keep an alleged affair confidential.

Miryam says neighbourhood gossip has helped her buy two houses. The 67-year-old from Armenia, in Colombia’s Quindío department, has gone viral after describing herself as a professional “chismosa”, a Spanish word commonly used for someone who gossips.

In an interview shared by content creator Lady Daniella and reported by Gulf Today, Miryam explained that she closely watches what happens around her and writes details in a notebook so she will not forget them. She said she can take part in one conversation while listening to another nearby. “I can be here talking with you, but my little ears are well positioned to listen to what people are saying,” she said.

I can be here talking with you, but my little ears are well positioned to listen to what people are saying.

· MiryamShe described how she listens to conversations while appearing to speak with someone else.

Miryam portrays her work as more than simply spreading rumours. She says she checks information with other people before passing it on, connecting details from different sources. She also reportedly keeps photographs and other material that she says supports some of what she collects.

Gossip is my life; it runs through my blood.

· MiryamShe embraced the unusual profession she says she has built around neighbourhood secrets.

The amount she earns depends on the sensitivity of the information. Gulf Today reported that she charges between 5,000 and 10,000 Colombian pesos for less sensational gossip. More sensitive secrets can cost considerably more. Miryam recalled being paid 700,000 pesos to keep confidential information about a man who allegedly cheated on his wife while she was away.

Despite competition from other gossips, Miryam said she is not worried about the supply of neighbourhood secrets. “Gossip is my life; it runs through my blood,” she said. She added: “Wherever you go, there’s gossip, so it will never end. In every respectable neighbourhood, there’s a gossip, and if you don’t know a gossip, then you are the gossip.”

Wherever you go, there’s gossip, so it will never end. In every respectable neighbourhood, there’s a gossip, and if you don’t know a gossip, then you are the gossip.

· MiryamShe dismissed concerns that competition from other gossips could threaten her business.
About this summary

Originally published by Times of India in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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