As a boy, Diego Chara devoured VHS tapes, filled with some of the United States’ most famous exports: Disney cartoons. The young Chara was partial to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, although he loved each of the characters in their own way. They constantly filled the TV screen of his childhood living room in Cali, Colombia, and his young imagination with visions of the far-off land where the cartoons were created.



Fast forward several years, and while Chara hasn’t been a player in the United States’ top flight forever, it certainly feels like it. The Colombian is as much of a fixture in Portland as craft breweries and a certain touristy donut shop that locals love to hate. It’s been just a shade under a decade since Chara arrived, these days it’s hard to picture him in anything but the Timbers’ dark green. More than that, he’s fostered a culture that has made players like him transition seamlessly, connecting an unlikely string of dots...