At 67, Miryam found an unusual way to make money in Armenia, Colombia. She sells gossip.
Neighbors come to her when they want to know what is happening around the community. According to Miryam, a small piece of information might cost 5,000 or 10,000 Colombian pesos, while more sensitive secrets can be worth considerably more.
She even keeps track of what she knows. During an interview with Colombian content creator Lady Daniella in 2024, Miryam showed a board covered with photographs, which she said helped her remember relationships, affairs and other neighborhood stories.
But her business works both ways.
Miryam said people don't only pay her to talk. Sometimes they pay her to stay quiet. She recalled receiving 700,000 Colombian pesos, around 160 USD at the time, to keep information about an alleged infidelity to herself.
After years of listening, remembering and selling what she knew, Miryam said the income had helped her buy two houses.
There are no publicly available financial or property records confirming that gossip alone paid for those homes, but Miryam's interview was real, and so was the little neighborhood business she described.
At 67, she had somehow turned the oldest currency in the neighborhood into an actual source of income: knowing everybody else's business.
Neighbors come to her when they want to know what is happening around the community. According to Miryam, a small piece of information might cost 5,000 or 10,000 Colombian pesos, while more sensitive secrets can be worth considerably more.
She even keeps track of what she knows. During an interview with Colombian content creator Lady Daniella in 2024, Miryam showed a board covered with photographs, which she said helped her remember relationships, affairs and other neighborhood stories.
But her business works both ways.
Miryam said people don't only pay her to talk. Sometimes they pay her to stay quiet. She recalled receiving 700,000 Colombian pesos, around 160 USD at the time, to keep information about an alleged infidelity to herself.
After years of listening, remembering and selling what she knew, Miryam said the income had helped her buy two houses.
There are no publicly available financial or property records confirming that gossip alone paid for those homes, but Miryam's interview was real, and so was the little neighborhood business she described.
At 67, she had somehow turned the oldest currency in the neighborhood into an actual source of income: knowing everybody else's business.