El Dorado

El Dorado

Gold is almost worth $2,000 per ounce nowadays, up from $500 five years ago. The confluents have all but dried up and it seems there is no ceiling to the value of the precious metal. The Muiscas did not associate a direct monetary value to gold (Mnya as they called it) as it was a source of sacred energy, used exclusively in religious rituals. Gonzalo Pizarro, the most brutal and vicious conquistador of the day, saw it purely as a shortcut to immense wealth and power. Today’s buyers are driven by a quest for safety in a self-fuylfilling cycle of purchases and appreciation against a limited supply. Does the Muisca curse still follow the streams of gold to their seekers?