Chandra. Your incredible patience, availability and support have been the cornerstone of this project. I am deeply grateful to you. I want to thank my dearest sister Laura and my brother Brendan for their incredible support during the past years in this beautiful city. To my parents Nancy and Luis, and to all my family in Colombia. This is also your achievement, and I will be forever grateful to you. I want to thank Mrs. Ana Juliana Villa for the conversations and the invaluable help with figures and maps construction. To Dr. Sara Moron Polanco for her incredible support and for the coffee delights during the "darkest hours". To Dr. Nathan Butterworth for his guidance during the early stages of this work. Also, to Mr. Michael Chin and Mr. Danial Azam for their technical support, and to my Madsen mate, coffee enthusiast and salsa guru: Julian Giordani. This building was (literally) empty when you were not around.