Culture of Colombia
Encyclopedia
Many aspects of Colombian culture can be traced back to the early culture of Spain
of the 16th century and its collision with Colombia's native civilizations (see: Muisca
, Tayrona). The Spanish brought Catholicism
, African slaves, the feudal encomienda
system, and a caste
system that favored European-born whites. After independence from Spain, the criollos
struggled to establish a pluralistic political system between conservative and liberal ideals. The conservatives supported the involvement of the Catholic Church in the state while liberals favored the separation of these. The conservatives managed to outsource public education to the Catholic Church and for many years the church controlled the country's education system. Both parties engaged in multiple civil wars resulting in a slow development of the country and the isolation of regions until the end of the 19th century. Ethno-racial groups maintained their ancestral heritage culture: whites tried to keep themselves, despite the growing number of illegitimate children of mixed African or indigenous ancestry. These people were labeled with any number of descriptive names, derived from the casta
system, such as mulatto
and moreno
. During this time it was normal for white individuals to marry a sibling or close cousin to maintain their inheritance within the family. Blacks and indigenous people of Colombia also mixed to form zambos creating a new ethno-racial group in society. This mix also created a fusion of cultures. Carnivals
for example became an opportunity for all classes and colors to congregate without prejudice. The introduction of the bill of rights of men and the abolishment of slavery (1850) eased the segregationist tensions between the races, but the dominance of the whites prevailed and prevails to some extent to this day.
The industrial revolution arrived relatively late at the beginning of the 20th century with the establishment of the Republic of Colombia. Colombians had a period of almost 50 years of relative peace interrupted only by a short armed conflict
with Peru
over the town of Leticia in 1932.
During the 1940s, Colombia started to develop its tourist industry having as main attraction the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta
and the Magdalena river basin
main towns which also had a flourishing economy and an important flow of immigrants from Europe and the Middle East due to World War II.
With the advancement of the ideas of communism
around the world, Colombian radical liberal politicians and thinkers adopted these ideas and adapted to their political rhetoric. Tensions between the United States and the USSR during the Cold War
revived tension between local Colombian liberals and conservatives, polarizing Colombian society. Radical communist guerrillas surged sponsored by the USSR while the US government aided the Colombian government.
. Nonetheless, many elements of indigenous culture live on in Colombia's cuisine, music, folklore, and language.
, indigenous
, and African cultures. The greatest expression of the mélange is perhaps the Carnival of Barranquilla
, whose rhythm is the cumbia
, and which was proclaimed by UNESCO
in November 2003 as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
. The culture of Spain
is still very dominant in Colombia: the layout of towns, bull fighting, holy week processions, and the "refined" dialect of Bogotá are part of its legacy. Afro-Colombians have historically been marginalized from society. Nonetheless, they have contributed greatly to Colombian culture, including its music, dance and folklore. Cumbia
is said to be derivative of the cumbe dance of Equatorial Guinea
. Small numbers of Roma or "gypsies" are scattered throughout the country. Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews
exist in several of the larger cities; Bogotá has five synagogues. Germans settled in parts of Santander, including Bucaramanga
. They also brought the accordion
to Valledupar
, which would become a key instrument in the very popular vallenato
music genre.
, high above sea level
where climate
s range from temperate
to cool (the highest parts get snow).The treacherousness of the terrain and sheer variety of climates made communication and travel very difficult, and helped foster intense regionalism
which is tropical.
Between the three mountain ranges or cordillera
s are two large valleys whose rivers (Magdalena River
, Cauca River
) link the interior to the coastal ports. These lowlands are thick with rainforests and interspersed rushing tributaries, waterfalls, and steep inclines. The Andes themselves are in parts volcanic, jagged and covered in glaciers. Other parts are more hospitable, such as the tableland of much of Cundinamarca
(including Bogotá) and Boyacá
(called in Spanish the Altiplano Cundiboyacense
), which has a climate similar to the Argentine pampas. Medellín
is in the Aburra valley, on the central mountain range, at a lower altitude than chilly Bogotá, which gives it an "eternal spring"-like climate. The Caribbean coast, Colombia's gateway to the outside world before jet travel, is separated from the Andes by mosquito-filled, marshy wetlands, while the Pacific coast is pock-marked with its own marshes and is one of the wettest places on earth.
Colombia did not receive substantial immigration after the period of Spanish rule. An exception is the Atlantic port city of Barranquilla
. Relatively small groups of Lebanese, Italian, Dutch, German, Catalan, Syrian-Lebanese-Palestinian, French, and Chinese immigrants settled in the city and played a large role in its development. Shakira
, a native of Barranquilla, is of Lebanese and Italian ancestry. Bogotá received some immigrants from Europe in the period following World War II; the eccentric former mayor of Bogotá and semiotics
professor Antanas Mockus
is the son of Lithuania
n immigrants. Most Chinese
in Colombia originally came from Panama
, where they helped in the building of the railways of the Panama Canal
, to help in building the train and road routes between the Pacific port of Buenaventura
and the interior city of Cali
. Today, in the surrounding area of the Cauca Valley, virtually every town has a Chinese restaurant
.http://www.colarte.arts.co/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=7236
A few Japanese
families settled in Colombia, inspired by the bucolic description of the Cauca Valley in Jorge Isaacs
' novel María
. The heads-of-household of Japanese descent would be interred in prisons near Zipaquirá
during World War II.http://www.colarte.arts.co/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=7236
. French architect Gastón Lelarge (1861–1934) designed many of the public edifices in Bogotá as well as the cupola of the church of Saint Peter Claver in Cartagena
.http://www.colarte.arts.co/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=7236
Starting in 20th century, North American culture had increasing influence on the culture of Colombia. Shopping malls and tract housing
in the style of North American suburbs are very popular and are considered status symbol
s. Hollywood films, American fashions, and English-language popular music are also popular. Influences from elsewhere in the Spanish speaking world
are also present, especially in music and television.
In the late 19th Century US and to a lesser amount European businesses started to taken an interest in the northern part of Colombia where they started to grown Bananas on large pieces of land. This had a big influence on local government and the term Banana Republic is also here relevant. The Town of Aracataca (Macondo) was the center of these new undertakings later so well described in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece; One Hundred years of Solitude...
Students usually begin primary at age of six, and finish it at age of ten. Secondary Studies (Básica Secundaria) are not free and consists of six years, from sixth grade to eleventh grade. Classes begin in January and finish in November.During the eleventh grade students apply for the ICFES test, similar to the SAT test, which is needed to apply for superior studies. Public schools in Colombia usually attend only half a day, since there are so many kids and so few schools and teachers, they divide the day in two, having one set of kids attend in the morning from 7 to 12 pm and one set in the afternoon from 1 to 6 pm, like having two schools in the same facility. The government has started a night school program for those students who work during the day, though. Some teachers may work at two or three different schools during the day or at the same school during the whole day.The students can go to classes in the morning, from 7 am to 12 pm, in the afternoon, from 1 pm to 6 pm,or at night from 6:30 to about 10:00( some night schools hours may be shorter).
Most students of public schools are from low income families and cannot afford superior studies. Such students can choose a free course in the SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje) or study in educative corporations (corporaciones educativas) which offer very few titles of universities, and technical degrees. There are only a few public universities where students can get an education for free or very little money.
are close and children rarely move far away from their parents. There is a deep sense of familial responsibility that stretches through many generations.
Traditionally, men were usually the head of the household, in charge of earning most of the family's income while women were responsible for cooking
, housework and raising children. However, as in most cultures around the world, the dawn of the 20th century brought forth a great empowerment for women who were given a right to vote during the 1950s rule of dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
. The Constitution of 1991 gave a wider opportunity for women and today the majority of families (regardless of economic class) have two working parents due to the need of an income to sustain a family.
At a child's baptism
, the parents of the child will choose godparent
s, padrinos. A child's padrinos will play an important role in his life, giving advice, and when needed, financial support.
(1974–1978) approved the civil marriage
that could only be ended after a legal divorce. It was only after the Colombian Constitution of 1991
that Colombian lawmakers admitted divorces for marriages performed by the Catholic Church.
On June 9, 2005 the Colombian congress approved the Express Divorce law in an effort to eliminate paperwork and waits. These previously took an average of 6 weeks, a judge and lawyers, with the new law the two parties had to only agree against a notary public without the need of a lawyer.http://www.rpp.com.pe/portada/internacional/4712_1.phphttp://abogada.com/abogados/Colombia/Lawyers/El_Divorcio_Express_en_Colombia_Ley_962_de_2005/ According to a study by the Universidad Externado divorce in Colombia has been constantly increasing since the 1950s
representative democratic
republic
, whereby the President of Colombia
is both head of state
and head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of congress
, the Senate
and the House of Representatives of Colombia. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Inland, the dishes reflect the mix of cultures, inherited mainly from Amerindian and European cuisine, and the produce of the land mainly agriculture, cattle, river fishing and other animals' raising. Such is the case of the sancocho
soup in Valledupar
, the arepa
s (a corn based bread like patty). Local species of animals like the guaratinaja, part of the wayuu
Amerindian culture.
On the Islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina the main dish is rondon, a seafood dish made of coconut milk, fish, conch, cassava root (yuca), sweet potato, white yams, and pumpkin seasoned with hot peppers and herbs. They also have a crab soup which is considered a delicacy. It is made with the same ingredients as rondon, without the fish.
Colombia
has many traditional folk tales and stories about legendary creatures which are transmitted orally and kept for next generation
s to come. Some of them are common with other Latin American countries. The Colombian folklore has strong influences from Spanish culture, with elements of African and native American cultures
.
and marianismo
pervade in certain cases. Few men take on housekeeping or child-rearing duties, which are reserved for women. Economic instability has increased the number of single, female-headed families
, and gender discrimination in wages and hiring has lead many single mothers and their daughters to turn to prostitution
. Abortion
is legal in some cases, and divorce was legalized in the past decade.
of their countrywomen. Companies, municipalities and even prisons hold over a hundred beauty contest
s showcasing women annually, more than any other country. Popular soap opera
s like Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso
("Without Tits There Is No Paradise") and Yo Soy Betty La Fea ("Ugly Betty
") have satirized the over-emphasis placed on women's sexual attractiveness
, fashion
and grooming
.
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Colombians have been producing art
for thousands of years. Ornate gold
en figures and jewelry from millennia ago have been discovered by both ruthless conquistador
s and careful archaeological
digs.
In the colonial time, the painting was characterized by the works of the three Figueroa, pioneers of this art: Baltasar de Figueroa, the old; Gaspar the Figueroa, his son and Baltazar de Figueroa, the young. Gaspar was the teacher of important artists, lie Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos. José María Espinoza Prieto, painter and engraver, also is important for his portraits, landscapes and caricatures. Epifanio Garay is highlighted, specially by his portraits.
After the war of independence, in 1819, the Colombian art still is dependent of the figurative. Some persons explain that delay in the evolution of the Colombian artistic styles doing reference to the geography of the country, that make difficult a contact and dialogue between the different creative tendencies
In the decades between 1920 and 1940, Marco Tobón Mejía, José Horacio Betancur, Pedro Nel Gómez, Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo, Santiago Martínez Delgado and Alipio Jaramillo created some dynamics in the elaboration of murals. They were influenced by the Mexican art, although with neoclassic and Art Nouveau characterists. At the beginning of the 1940 decade, are created works that was new in Colombia, inspired in the post-impressionism and the academic french style.
Many historians of art believe that the Colombian art only began to has a distinctive character in the half of 20th century, with a new point of view, integrating the cultural and artistic traditional elements with the concepts of the art in 20th century. Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo, for example, combine the new techniques with cultural elements, in his Portrait to the Greiff Brothers. Pedro Nel Gómez, highlighted in the drawing, the water color, the fresco, the oilpainting and the sculpture in wood, stone and bronze, shows, for example in "Autorretrato con sombrero" (1941), his familiarity with the works of Gauguin and Van Gogh. In other works, he reveal the influence of Cézanne. Alejandro Obregon, considered by many as the father of the Colombian art (most by his originality), has been acclaimed by critics and the public because of his painting of national landscapes characterized by violent strokes and the symbolic and expressionist use of animals (specially birds, like the condor). His work is influenced by Picasso and Grahan Sutherland.
In last years, some Colombian artists, such as Fernando Botero
, Enrique Grau
, David Manzur, Luis Caballero
, Santiago Martinez Delgado
, Ignacio Gomez Jaramillo
, Débora Arango
, and have received international fame, awards and wide public acclaim.
, winner of the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1982, is from Aracataca, Colombia. His novel Cien Años de Soledad
is recognized as a landmark of the literary movement known as "magical realism (realismo mágico)". Other important writers are Jorge Isaacs, who wrote "María", Gonzalo Arango, founder of the "Nadaismo" movement, Álvaro Mutis, winner of the Cervantes Prize, Fernando Vallejo, winner of the Rómulo Gallegos prize, José Asunción Silva, precursor of Latin American romanticism, Raúl Gómez Jattin, Efraím Medina, Andrés Caicedo, the poets Piedad Bonnet and María Mercedes Carranza, Aurelio Arturo, the novelist Germán Espinosa and Rafael Chaparro Madiedo. The most important literary magazines are El Malpensante
, Arcadia, Número, La Movida Literaria, Universidad de Antioquia and Puesto de Combate.
Festival de teatro Gitanos en Macondo - first week of september in Aracataca, Madalena.
The most outstanding directors of the film production are Sergio Cabrera, Felipe Aljure, Luís Ospina, Víctor Gaviria and Carlos Mayolo. Between the most recent proposals we find to Andy Baíz and Juan Felipe Orozco, director of "Al final del espectro". The work of Dago García and Rodrigo Triana is in a commercial line.
Baseball
has become popular in recent years; it is especially popular along the coast and is strongly promoted all around the country. Edgar Rentería
is an example of a famous Colombian baseball player, but Soccer is still the main sport of the country. Boxing and fighting sports are also very popular amongst the male population and all of these are practiced avidly by the youth.
An ancient game called Tejo
, inherited from the "muisca natives", is also played. The object of tejo is to throw a small metal disk at a gunpowder
detonator
in a small circular area. The winner is calculated by the number of explosions compared to number of throws.
is a mixture of African, native Indigenous and European (Spanish) influences, as well as more modern American
and Caribbean music
al forms, such as Trinidadian
, Cuban
, and Jamaican
. The national music of Colombia is said to be vallenato and cumbia
.
Cumbia is a mixture of Spanish and African music, the latter brought by slaves. The style of dance is designed to recall the shackles worn around the ankles of the slaves. In the 19th century, slavery
was abolished and Africans, Indians and other ethnic group
s mixed more fully. Styles like bambuco
, vallenato
and porro
were especially influential. When the waltz
became popular in the 19th century, a Colombian version called pasillo
was invented. International Latin, a type of pop
ballad
, and salsa music
are best-represented by Charlie Zaa
and Joe Arroyo
, respectively.
Music and dancing are very popular in Colombia, with dozens of popular vibrant styles. The most popular local musical styles are Vallenato
, salsa, Merengue, Cumbia
and Bambuco
. The latter is a very complicated dance with many differently named steps.
Colombian rock
developed after an influence of Rock en Español
generating fusion of Rock Music with traditional Colombian music and other musical styles.
The musical genre of Colombian pop music
has been growing recently with artists like Fonseca
, San Alejo, Lucas Arnau
or Mauricio y Palo de Agua. Pop with strong traces of traditional Colombian music is also currently rising. Los De Adentro and Maía
represent this trend. Many Colombian artists are recognized internationally including among others, Shakira
, who is the most recognized Colombian artist in the world.
Dancing to reggaeton
became also very popular in Colombia during the first decade of the 21st century.
Culture of Spain
The culture of Spain is based on a variety of influences.The Visigothic Kingdom left a sense of a united Christian Hispania that was going to be welded in the Reconquista. Muslim influences were strong during the period of 711 AD to the 15th century, especially linguistically...
of the 16th century and its collision with Colombia's native civilizations (see: Muisca
Muisca
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
, Tayrona). The Spanish brought Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, African slaves, the feudal encomienda
Encomienda
The encomienda was a system that was employed mainly by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor....
system, and a caste
Casta
Casta is a Portuguese and Spanish term used in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries mainly in Spanish America to describe as a whole the mixed-race people which appeared in the post-Conquest period...
system that favored European-born whites. After independence from Spain, the criollos
Criollo (people)
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
struggled to establish a pluralistic political system between conservative and liberal ideals. The conservatives supported the involvement of the Catholic Church in the state while liberals favored the separation of these. The conservatives managed to outsource public education to the Catholic Church and for many years the church controlled the country's education system. Both parties engaged in multiple civil wars resulting in a slow development of the country and the isolation of regions until the end of the 19th century. Ethno-racial groups maintained their ancestral heritage culture: whites tried to keep themselves, despite the growing number of illegitimate children of mixed African or indigenous ancestry. These people were labeled with any number of descriptive names, derived from the casta
Casta
Casta is a Portuguese and Spanish term used in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries mainly in Spanish America to describe as a whole the mixed-race people which appeared in the post-Conquest period...
system, such as mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
and moreno
Moreno
-Places:*Moreno, Pernambuco, city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco*Perito Moreno Glacier, glacier in Patagonia, Argentina*Perito Moreno National Park, on the northwest of the Santa Cruz Province, Argentina...
. During this time it was normal for white individuals to marry a sibling or close cousin to maintain their inheritance within the family. Blacks and indigenous people of Colombia also mixed to form zambos creating a new ethno-racial group in society. This mix also created a fusion of cultures. Carnivals
Carnival in Colombia
The carnival in Colombia was introduced by the Spanish. The Colombian carnival has incorporated elements from European culture, and has managed to syncretise, or re-interpret, traditions that belonged to the African and Amerindian cultures of Colombia...
for example became an opportunity for all classes and colors to congregate without prejudice. The introduction of the bill of rights of men and the abolishment of slavery (1850) eased the segregationist tensions between the races, but the dominance of the whites prevailed and prevails to some extent to this day.
The industrial revolution arrived relatively late at the beginning of the 20th century with the establishment of the Republic of Colombia. Colombians had a period of almost 50 years of relative peace interrupted only by a short armed conflict
Colombia-Peru War
The Colombia–Peru War was an armed conflict between the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Peru.-Civilian takeover:...
with Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
over the town of Leticia in 1932.
During the 1940s, Colombia started to develop its tourist industry having as main attraction the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia...
and the Magdalena river basin
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...
main towns which also had a flourishing economy and an important flow of immigrants from Europe and the Middle East due to World War II.
With the advancement of the ideas of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
around the world, Colombian radical liberal politicians and thinkers adopted these ideas and adapted to their political rhetoric. Tensions between the United States and the USSR during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
revived tension between local Colombian liberals and conservatives, polarizing Colombian society. Radical communist guerrillas surged sponsored by the USSR while the US government aided the Colombian government.
Influences
Aboriginal influences
The various cultures of the indigenous inhabitants of Colombia were decimated by the Spanish. Today, only around one percent of Colombians live and consider themselves as indigenousIndigenous peoples in Colombia
The indigenous peoples in Colombia comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500.-Origins:...
. Nonetheless, many elements of indigenous culture live on in Colombia's cuisine, music, folklore, and language.
Multicultural elements
The essence of Colombian culture lies in the mixing of SpanishCulture of Spain
The culture of Spain is based on a variety of influences.The Visigothic Kingdom left a sense of a united Christian Hispania that was going to be welded in the Reconquista. Muslim influences were strong during the period of 711 AD to the 15th century, especially linguistically...
, indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, and African cultures. The greatest expression of the mélange is perhaps the Carnival of Barranquilla
Barranquilla's Carnival
Barranquilla's Carnaval is Colombia's most important folklore celebration, one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century...
, whose rhythm is the cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
, and which was proclaimed by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in November 2003 as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness on intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and the local people who sustain these forms of cultural...
. The culture of Spain
Culture of Spain
The culture of Spain is based on a variety of influences.The Visigothic Kingdom left a sense of a united Christian Hispania that was going to be welded in the Reconquista. Muslim influences were strong during the period of 711 AD to the 15th century, especially linguistically...
is still very dominant in Colombia: the layout of towns, bull fighting, holy week processions, and the "refined" dialect of Bogotá are part of its legacy. Afro-Colombians have historically been marginalized from society. Nonetheless, they have contributed greatly to Colombian culture, including its music, dance and folklore. Cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
is said to be derivative of the cumbe dance of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
. Small numbers of Roma or "gypsies" are scattered throughout the country. Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
exist in several of the larger cities; Bogotá has five synagogues. Germans settled in parts of Santander, including Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga is a Colombian city, and capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth largest city economy and sixth largest population in Colombia, with 1,212,656 people in its metropolitan area...
. They also brought the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
to Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
, which would become a key instrument in the very popular vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
music genre.
Geography, climate, and immigration
Most Colombians live in the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, high above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
where climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
s range from temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
to cool (the highest parts get snow).The treacherousness of the terrain and sheer variety of climates made communication and travel very difficult, and helped foster intense regionalism
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
which is tropical.
Between the three mountain ranges or cordillera
Cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges, that runs along a coastline . It comes from the Spanish word cordilla, which is a diminutive of cuerda, or "cord"...
s are two large valleys whose rivers (Magdalena River
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...
, Cauca River
Cauca River
The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...
) link the interior to the coastal ports. These lowlands are thick with rainforests and interspersed rushing tributaries, waterfalls, and steep inclines. The Andes themselves are in parts volcanic, jagged and covered in glaciers. Other parts are more hospitable, such as the tableland of much of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
(including Bogotá) and Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
(called in Spanish the Altiplano Cundiboyacense
Altiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is a set of highlands located on the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes between the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca...
), which has a climate similar to the Argentine pampas. Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
is in the Aburra valley, on the central mountain range, at a lower altitude than chilly Bogotá, which gives it an "eternal spring"-like climate. The Caribbean coast, Colombia's gateway to the outside world before jet travel, is separated from the Andes by mosquito-filled, marshy wetlands, while the Pacific coast is pock-marked with its own marshes and is one of the wettest places on earth.
Colombia did not receive substantial immigration after the period of Spanish rule. An exception is the Atlantic port city of Barranquilla
Barranquilla
Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...
. Relatively small groups of Lebanese, Italian, Dutch, German, Catalan, Syrian-Lebanese-Palestinian, French, and Chinese immigrants settled in the city and played a large role in its development. Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
, a native of Barranquilla, is of Lebanese and Italian ancestry. Bogotá received some immigrants from Europe in the period following World War II; the eccentric former mayor of Bogotá and semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
professor Antanas Mockus
Antanas Mockus
Aurelijus Rutenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician.The son of Lithuanian immigrants, he left his post as the president of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá in 1993, and later that year ran a successful campaign for mayor...
is the son of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n immigrants. Most Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
in Colombia originally came from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, where they helped in the building of the railways of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, to help in building the train and road routes between the Pacific port of Buenaventura
Buenaventura
-Myths and legends:*Buenaventura River , a legendary but non-existent river that was once believed to run from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in what is now the western United States-People:...
and the interior city of Cali
Calì
Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
. Today, in the surrounding area of the Cauca Valley, virtually every town has a Chinese restaurant
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
.http://www.colarte.arts.co/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=7236
A few Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
families settled in Colombia, inspired by the bucolic description of the Cauca Valley in Jorge Isaacs
Jorge Isaacs
Jorge Isaacs Ferrer was a Colombian writer, politician and soldier. His only novel, María, became one of the most notable works of the Romantic movement in Spanish literature....
' novel María
María (novel)
María is a novel written by Colombian writer Jorge Isaacs between 1864 and 1867. It is a costumbrist novel representative of the Spanish romantic movement...
. The heads-of-household of Japanese descent would be interred in prisons near Zipaquirá
Zipaquirá
Zipaquirá is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Tausa and Cogua to the north; Nemocón, Gachancipá and Sopó to the east; Cajicá and Tabio to the south; and Subachoque and Pacho to the west. Its seat of municipal government is 49...
during World War II.http://www.colarte.arts.co/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=7236
Foreign influences
Colombian politicians, intellectuals, and members of elite society turned to France for inspiration in the period following independence from Spain. Colombian's civil code (adopted in 1887) is based on the Napoleonic CodeNapoleonic code
The Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...
. French architect Gastón Lelarge (1861–1934) designed many of the public edifices in Bogotá as well as the cupola of the church of Saint Peter Claver in Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
.http://www.colarte.arts.co/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=7236
Starting in 20th century, North American culture had increasing influence on the culture of Colombia. Shopping malls and tract housing
Tract housing
Tract housing is a style of housing development in which multiple similar homes are built on a tract of land which is subdivided into individual small lots...
in the style of North American suburbs are very popular and are considered status symbol
Status symbol
A status symbol is a perceived visible, external denotation of one's social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols...
s. Hollywood films, American fashions, and English-language popular music are also popular. Influences from elsewhere in the Spanish speaking world
Hispanophone
Hispanophone or Hispanosphere denotes Spanish language speakers and the Spanish-speaking world. The word derives from the Latin political name of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, which comprised basically the territory of the modern states of Spain and Portugal.Hispanophones are estimated at...
are also present, especially in music and television.
In the late 19th Century US and to a lesser amount European businesses started to taken an interest in the northern part of Colombia where they started to grown Bananas on large pieces of land. This had a big influence on local government and the term Banana Republic is also here relevant. The Town of Aracataca (Macondo) was the center of these new undertakings later so well described in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece; One Hundred years of Solitude...
Public education
Public education in Colombia is cheap and compulsory for students coursing Primary Studies (Básica Primaria) consisting of five years, from first grade to fifth grade. Classes begin in February and finish in November.Students usually begin primary at age of six, and finish it at age of ten. Secondary Studies (Básica Secundaria) are not free and consists of six years, from sixth grade to eleventh grade. Classes begin in January and finish in November.During the eleventh grade students apply for the ICFES test, similar to the SAT test, which is needed to apply for superior studies. Public schools in Colombia usually attend only half a day, since there are so many kids and so few schools and teachers, they divide the day in two, having one set of kids attend in the morning from 7 to 12 pm and one set in the afternoon from 1 to 6 pm, like having two schools in the same facility. The government has started a night school program for those students who work during the day, though. Some teachers may work at two or three different schools during the day or at the same school during the whole day.The students can go to classes in the morning, from 7 am to 12 pm, in the afternoon, from 1 pm to 6 pm,or at night from 6:30 to about 10:00( some night schools hours may be shorter).
Most students of public schools are from low income families and cannot afford superior studies. Such students can choose a free course in the SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje) or study in educative corporations (corporaciones educativas) which offer very few titles of universities, and technical degrees. There are only a few public universities where students can get an education for free or very little money.
Private education
Private education in Colombia is more reliable than public education, but is more expensive. In intermediate and small cities, monthly costs can range from USD 50 to USD 450. In bigger cities, costs can be USD 300 or more, however, the most expensive schools are not always the best. The classes begin in the morning (usually at 7:00) and finish in the afternoon between 1:30 and 4:00 pm. The school year starts in January or February and finishes in November, for Calendar A schools. The school year in calendar B schools begins in August and finishes in June. Most schools expect from children to learn to read and write before beginning primary and most schools are bilingual, however, all schools, public and private must teach English as a second language. The teaching of English is more intensive in private schools, some students are fluent before beginning middle vocational studies. Most private schools assure that all the students can apply for superior studies in a normal university. Due that most students come from middle and upper class families, they can afford superior studies. Private universities are expensive, a semester can cost USD 1500, most private universities are in Barranquilla, Bogotá, Medellín, Bucaramanga and Cali.Income disparity
Due to widespread corruption, economic instability and high unemployment over the last century or so, Colombia has developed a huge rift between two economic classes (Low and High) with an almost nonexistent, but increasing middle class, particularly in the Bogotá and Medellín areas.Family
The family is, as it is with nearly all of Latin America, a highly important institution to Colombians as engraved by the traditional Roman Catholic church teachings. Members of the extended familyExtended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
are close and children rarely move far away from their parents. There is a deep sense of familial responsibility that stretches through many generations.
Traditionally, men were usually the head of the household, in charge of earning most of the family's income while women were responsible for cooking
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
, housework and raising children. However, as in most cultures around the world, the dawn of the 20th century brought forth a great empowerment for women who were given a right to vote during the 1950s rule of dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was a Colombian politician, military officer, General of the Army and President of Colombia between 1953 and 1957.- Biographic data :...
. The Constitution of 1991 gave a wider opportunity for women and today the majority of families (regardless of economic class) have two working parents due to the need of an income to sustain a family.
At a child's baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, the parents of the child will choose godparent
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
s, padrinos. A child's padrinos will play an important role in his life, giving advice, and when needed, financial support.
Divorce
Before 1974 marriage was exclusively performed by the Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups until the government of Alfonso López MichelsenAlfonso López Michelsen
Alfonso López Michelsen was a Colombian politician, lawyer and journalist. Lopez Michelsen was President of Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was the son of Alfonso López Pumarejo, who was also president of Colombia from 1934 to 1938, and once again from 1942 to 1945...
(1974–1978) approved the civil marriage
Civil marriage
Civil marriage is marriage performed by a government official and not a religious organization.-History:Every country maintaining a population registry of its residents keeps track of marital status, and most countries believe that it is their responsibility to register married couples. Most...
that could only be ended after a legal divorce. It was only after the Colombian Constitution of 1991
Colombian Constitution of 1991
The Political Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4 of 1991 , it replaced the Constitution of 1886...
that Colombian lawmakers admitted divorces for marriages performed by the Catholic Church.
On June 9, 2005 the Colombian congress approved the Express Divorce law in an effort to eliminate paperwork and waits. These previously took an average of 6 weeks, a judge and lawyers, with the new law the two parties had to only agree against a notary public without the need of a lawyer.http://www.rpp.com.pe/portada/internacional/4712_1.phphttp://abogada.com/abogados/Colombia/Lawyers/El_Divorcio_Express_en_Colombia_Ley_962_de_2005/ According to a study by the Universidad Externado divorce in Colombia has been constantly increasing since the 1950s
Political attitudes
The Politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidentialPresidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, whereby the President of Colombia
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
is both head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of congress
Congress of Colombia
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate , and the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives ...
, the Senate
Senate of Colombia
The Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia...
and the House of Representatives of Colombia. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Food
There is a large variety of dishes that take into account the difference in regional climates. For example:- In the city of MedellínMedellínMedellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
the typical dish is the bandeja paisaBandeja paisaBandeja paisa, also known as bandeja de arriero, bandeja montañera, or bandeja antioqueña, is a typical fusion cuisine Colombian dish...
. It includes beans, rice, ground meat or carne asada, chorizoChorizoChorizo is a term encompassing several types of pork sausages originating from the Iberian Peninsula.In English, it is usually pronounced , , or , but sometimes ....
, fried egg, arepaArepaAn arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa...
and chicharrón. It is usually accompanied by avocado, tomato and sauces. - In the city of Cali, the most traditional dish is "sancocho de gallinaSancochoSancocho is a traditional soup in several Spanish and Latin American cuisines. Variations represent popular national dishes in the Canary Islands of Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela...
" - a soup composed mostly of chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, plantainPlantainPlantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
, cornMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, corianderCorianderCoriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
, yuca root, and other seasonings. - In Bogotá and the Andean region, ajiacoAjiacoAjiaco is a Colombian potato soup, and is eaten in Colombia.The soup is typically served with table cream, capers and avocado all mixed in just before eating in the proportions each individual prefers. Ajiaco is so heavy that it is usually considered a full meal...
is the traditional dish. It is also a type of soup made of chicken, potatoes, and flavoured with a locally grown herb called "guasca". Traditionally, cream and capers are added just before eating. Both soups are served with white rice, salads with a hint of lemon, avocado, or plantain chips, sweet or salty. For breakfast people often eat changuaChanguaChangua is a typical hearty breakfast soup of the central Andes region of Colombia, in particular in the Boyacá and Cundinamarca area, including the capital, Bogotá. The dish has Chibcha origins....
, a milk, scallion and egg soup. - In the Caribbean coast, spicy cooking, with fish and lobsterLobsterClawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
, is practiced. Coconut riceCoconut riceCoconut rice is a dish prepared by cooking white rice in coconut milk or coconut flakes.As both the coconut and the rice-plant are indigenous in places all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures throughout the world .- Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Puerto Rico:Off the...
is a common dish along the coastal cities. - In the Llanos, barbecueBarbecueBarbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
d meat, such as the "ternera llanera" is common, and also typical river fishes like the "amarillo". - In the Amazonas, the cuisine is influenced by Brazilian and Peruvian traditions.
Inland, the dishes reflect the mix of cultures, inherited mainly from Amerindian and European cuisine, and the produce of the land mainly agriculture, cattle, river fishing and other animals' raising. Such is the case of the sancocho
Sancocho
Sancocho is a traditional soup in several Spanish and Latin American cuisines. Variations represent popular national dishes in the Canary Islands of Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela...
soup in Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
, the arepa
Arepa
An arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa...
s (a corn based bread like patty). Local species of animals like the guaratinaja, part of the wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
Amerindian culture.
- In the TolimaTolimaTolima may refer to:* Nevado del Tolima, a volcano in Colombia* Tolima Department of Colombia* Deportes Tolima, a football team in the First Division...
region the Tamales TolimensesTamaleA tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...
are a delicacy. These tamales are made of a corn dough and feature peas, carrots, potatoes, rice, chicken, pork and various spices. They are wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled for three to four hours. Pandebono for breakfast with hot chocolate.
On the Islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina the main dish is rondon, a seafood dish made of coconut milk, fish, conch, cassava root (yuca), sweet potato, white yams, and pumpkin seasoned with hot peppers and herbs. They also have a crab soup which is considered a delicacy. It is made with the same ingredients as rondon, without the fish.
Folklore
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
has many traditional folk tales and stories about legendary creatures which are transmitted orally and kept for next generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
s to come. Some of them are common with other Latin American countries. The Colombian folklore has strong influences from Spanish culture, with elements of African and native American cultures
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
Sex roles
Sex roles in Colombia, specially in some segments of population, are rigidly defined. MachismoMachismo
Machismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
and marianismo
Marianismo
"Marianismo" is an aspect of the female gender role in the machismo of Latin American folk culture. It is the veneration for feminine virtues like purity and moral strength...
pervade in certain cases. Few men take on housekeeping or child-rearing duties, which are reserved for women. Economic instability has increased the number of single, female-headed families
Feminization of poverty
Feminization of poverty describes a phenomenon in which women represent disproportionate percentages of world’s poor. UNIFEM describes it as "the burden of poverty borne by women, especially in developing countries"...
, and gender discrimination in wages and hiring has lead many single mothers and their daughters to turn to prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. Abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
is legal in some cases, and divorce was legalized in the past decade.
Women
It is common for Colombians to extol the beautyBeauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
of their countrywomen. Companies, municipalities and even prisons hold over a hundred beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
s showcasing women annually, more than any other country. Popular soap opera
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
s like Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso
Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso
Sin tetas no hay paraíso is a famous Colombian television series, produced and aired by Caracol TV. The show is based on the best-selling novel with the same name written by Gustavo Bolivar....
("Without Tits There Is No Paradise") and Yo Soy Betty La Fea ("Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
") have satirized the over-emphasis placed on women's sexual attractiveness
Sexual attraction
Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
, fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and grooming
Personal grooming
Personal grooming is the art of cleaning, grooming, and maintaining parts of the body. It is a species-typical behavior that is controlled by neural circuits in the brain.- In humans :...
.
LGBT Population
In the last decades, the LGBT population has expressed in favour of its rights. The Constitutional Court (Corte Constitucional) has recognized some rights of the LGBT population, like the right of social protection for the homosexual couples and civil unions.Painting
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
for thousands of years. Ornate gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
en figures and jewelry from millennia ago have been discovered by both ruthless conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s and careful archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
digs.
In the colonial time, the painting was characterized by the works of the three Figueroa, pioneers of this art: Baltasar de Figueroa, the old; Gaspar the Figueroa, his son and Baltazar de Figueroa, the young. Gaspar was the teacher of important artists, lie Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos. José María Espinoza Prieto, painter and engraver, also is important for his portraits, landscapes and caricatures. Epifanio Garay is highlighted, specially by his portraits.
After the war of independence, in 1819, the Colombian art still is dependent of the figurative. Some persons explain that delay in the evolution of the Colombian artistic styles doing reference to the geography of the country, that make difficult a contact and dialogue between the different creative tendencies
In the decades between 1920 and 1940, Marco Tobón Mejía, José Horacio Betancur, Pedro Nel Gómez, Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo, Santiago Martínez Delgado and Alipio Jaramillo created some dynamics in the elaboration of murals. They were influenced by the Mexican art, although with neoclassic and Art Nouveau characterists. At the beginning of the 1940 decade, are created works that was new in Colombia, inspired in the post-impressionism and the academic french style.
Many historians of art believe that the Colombian art only began to has a distinctive character in the half of 20th century, with a new point of view, integrating the cultural and artistic traditional elements with the concepts of the art in 20th century. Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo, for example, combine the new techniques with cultural elements, in his Portrait to the Greiff Brothers. Pedro Nel Gómez, highlighted in the drawing, the water color, the fresco, the oilpainting and the sculpture in wood, stone and bronze, shows, for example in "Autorretrato con sombrero" (1941), his familiarity with the works of Gauguin and Van Gogh. In other works, he reveal the influence of Cézanne. Alejandro Obregon, considered by many as the father of the Colombian art (most by his originality), has been acclaimed by critics and the public because of his painting of national landscapes characterized by violent strokes and the symbolic and expressionist use of animals (specially birds, like the condor). His work is influenced by Picasso and Grahan Sutherland.
In last years, some Colombian artists, such as Fernando Botero
Fernando Botero
Fernando Botero Angulo is a Colombian figurative artist. His works feature a figurative style, called by some "Boterismo", which gives them an unmistakable identity...
, Enrique Grau
Enrique Grau
Enrique Grau was a Colombian artist, renowned for his depictions of Amerindian and Afro Colombian figures...
, David Manzur, Luis Caballero
Luis Caballero
Luis Caballero is a comedian and writer of Puerto Rican descent, who lived in New York City for most of his life. After performing stand-up in comedy clubs for several years, he teamed up with filmmaker Ben Model to adapt his comedy material into a film...
, Santiago Martinez Delgado
Santiago Martínez Delgado
Santiago Martínez Delgado was a Colombian painter, sculptor, art historian and writer. He established a reputation as a prominent muralist during the 1940s and is also known for his watercolors, oil paintings, illustrations and woodcarvings....
, Ignacio Gomez Jaramillo
Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo
Ignacio Gomez Jaramillo was born in Antioquia. Master Gomez Jaramillo was one of Colombia's most important artists of the 20th century. He was part of the Colombian Muralist Movement along with Santiago Martinez Delgado and Pedro Nel Gómez...
, Débora Arango
Débora Arango
Débora Arango was a Colombian artist, born in Medellín, Colombia as the daughter of Castor María Arango Díaz and Elvira Pérez. Though she was primarily a painter, Arango also worked in other media, such as ceramics and graphic art...
, and have received international fame, awards and wide public acclaim.
Religion
Studies suggest that about 90% of Colombians are Roman Catholic. However, Colombians are notable for their acceptance of other creeds and faith as well as sexual preferences based on the simple principle of "do no harm" and tolerating and welcoming anyone who follows such guideline. Also, there are many Christians in Colombia.Literature
Gabriel García MárquezGabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
, winner of the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for Literature in 1982, is from Aracataca, Colombia. His novel Cien Años de Soledad
One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude , by Gabriel García Márquez, is a novel which tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia...
is recognized as a landmark of the literary movement known as "magical realism (realismo mágico)". Other important writers are Jorge Isaacs, who wrote "María", Gonzalo Arango, founder of the "Nadaismo" movement, Álvaro Mutis, winner of the Cervantes Prize, Fernando Vallejo, winner of the Rómulo Gallegos prize, José Asunción Silva, precursor of Latin American romanticism, Raúl Gómez Jattin, Efraím Medina, Andrés Caicedo, the poets Piedad Bonnet and María Mercedes Carranza, Aurelio Arturo, the novelist Germán Espinosa and Rafael Chaparro Madiedo. The most important literary magazines are El Malpensante
El Malpensante
El Malpensante is a Colombian literary magazine founded in October 1996 by Andrés Hoyos Restrepo and Mario Jursich Durán, two minor writers....
, Arcadia, Número, La Movida Literaria, Universidad de Antioquia and Puesto de Combate.
Colombian theatre
- Iberoamerican Theater FestivalIberoamerican Theater FestivalTheater in Colombia was introduced during the Spanish colonization in 1550 through zarzuela companies. Colombian theater in Colombia is currently supported by the Ministry of Culture and a number of private and state owned organizations...
Festival de teatro Gitanos en Macondo - first week of september in Aracataca, Madalena.
Film and television
The interest for the film production came late to Colombia. Vicente and Francisco Di Doménico, of Italian origin, were the pioneers in the films production. In 1912 is inaugurated the first movie theater in Colombia: the Salón Olympia, with a capacity of three thousand people.The most outstanding directors of the film production are Sergio Cabrera, Felipe Aljure, Luís Ospina, Víctor Gaviria and Carlos Mayolo. Between the most recent proposals we find to Andy Baíz and Juan Felipe Orozco, director of "Al final del espectro". The work of Dago García and Rodrigo Triana is in a commercial line.
Sports
Fútbol (soccer) is the most popular sport in Colombia.Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
has become popular in recent years; it is especially popular along the coast and is strongly promoted all around the country. Edgar Rentería
Edgar Rentería
Edgar Enrique Rentería Herazo , nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby," is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop. He throws and bats right-handed. Previously, he has played for the Florida Marlins, the St...
is an example of a famous Colombian baseball player, but Soccer is still the main sport of the country. Boxing and fighting sports are also very popular amongst the male population and all of these are practiced avidly by the youth.
An ancient game called Tejo
Tejo (sport)
-Mechanics:Tejo is a traditional sport in Colombia. The sport originated by the Chibcha people from pre-hispanic central-western Colombia. It is played by throwing a metal plate or disc, named tejo, weighing about 680 g at a target so as to make it strike the "mechas" located in cardinal points...
, inherited from the "muisca natives", is also played. The object of tejo is to throw a small metal disk at a gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
in a small circular area. The winner is calculated by the number of explosions compared to number of throws.
Comedy
Colombian comedy's original birthplace is the radio since this was the first original mass media with wide coverage of the national territory rendering radio a very important medium for the promotion of comedy. A distinctive representative of Colombian comedy on the radio and who was praised by generations even before television became popular was Colombian comedian Gullermo Zuluaga, better known by his stage name Montecristo.Since then many other comedians and storytellers have shaped Colombian's concept of what is humorous in many cases at the expense of the tragedies of war, economic distress and misbehaved politicians.Music
Modern Colombian musicCulture of Colombia
Many aspects of Colombian culture can be traced back to the early culture of Spain of the 16th century and its collision with Colombia's native civilizations . The Spanish brought Catholicism, African slaves, the feudal encomienda system, and a caste system that favored European-born whites...
is a mixture of African, native Indigenous and European (Spanish) influences, as well as more modern American
Music of the United States
The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. Among the country's most internationally-renowned genres are hip hop, blues, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, barbershop, pop, techno, and rock and roll. The United States has the...
and Caribbean music
Caribbean music
The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...
al forms, such as Trinidadian
Music of Trinidad and Tobago
Calypso music and steelpan is what Trinidad and Tobago is best known for, including internationally in the 1950s through artists like Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow; the art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte...
, Cuban
Music of Cuba
The Caribbean island of Cuba has developed a wide range of creolized musical styles, based on its cultural origins in Europe and Africa. Since the 19th century its music has been hugely popular and influential throughout the world...
, and Jamaican
Music of Jamaica
The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Jamaica's music culture is a fusion of elements from the United States , Africa, and neighboring Caribbean islands such as...
. The national music of Colombia is said to be vallenato and cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
.
Cumbia is a mixture of Spanish and African music, the latter brought by slaves. The style of dance is designed to recall the shackles worn around the ankles of the slaves. In the 19th century, slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
was abolished and Africans, Indians and other ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
s mixed more fully. Styles like bambuco
Bambuco
Bambuco is a traditional music genre originated from Colombia. It has a beat structure similar to the European waltz or polska...
, vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
and porro
Porro
The porro is a musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. It is a Colombian Cumbia rhythm that developed into its own sub-genre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballroom dance...
were especially influential. When the waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
became popular in the 19th century, a Colombian version called pasillo
Pasillo
Pasillo is a South American genre of music extremely popular in the territories that composed 19th century Gran Colombia: Colombia; Ecuador, where it is considered the national musical style; and to a lesser extent in the mountainous regions of Venezuela and Panamá...
was invented. International Latin, a type of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, and salsa music
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
are best-represented by Charlie Zaa
Charlie Zaa
Carlos Alberto Sánchez , better known in the entertainment world as Charlie Zaa, is a Colombian singer who has gained fame across Latin America and among Hispanics in the United States. Zaa is the son of singer Luis Humberto Sánchez.Zaa was a singer with two famous Colombian salsa orchestras:...
and Joe Arroyo
Joe Arroyo
Álvaro José Arroyo González was a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer, composer and songwriter. Considered one of the greatest performers of Caribbean music in his country....
, respectively.
Music and dancing are very popular in Colombia, with dozens of popular vibrant styles. The most popular local musical styles are Vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
, salsa, Merengue, Cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
and Bambuco
Bambuco
Bambuco is a traditional music genre originated from Colombia. It has a beat structure similar to the European waltz or polska...
. The latter is a very complicated dance with many differently named steps.
Colombian rock
Colombian rock
Colombian Rock is a generic term that describes the different types of rock music from Colombia, the most common being based on Rock en Español, but also, in recent years, being based on indie rock, as well as the traditional focus of hard rock Colombian bands....
developed after an influence of Rock en Español
Rock en Español
Rock en español is the Spanish-language rock music. While the term is used widely in English, it is used in Spanish mainly to distinguish such music from "Anglo rock." It is a style of rock music that developed in Latin American countries and Latino communities, along with other genres like...
generating fusion of Rock Music with traditional Colombian music and other musical styles.
The musical genre of Colombian pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
has been growing recently with artists like Fonseca
Juan Fernando Fonseca
Fonseca is the artistic name of Juan Fernando Fonseca, a Colombian singer who was born on May 29, 1979 in Bogotá.He debuted in 2002 with his first CD, Fonseca, which was popular in his home country...
, San Alejo, Lucas Arnau
Lucas Arnau
Lucas Arnau is a Colombian singer-songwriter who was born in Medellín, Antioquia on May 16, 1979.Arnau's first album, "Un Poco Más" was produced by Jose Gaviria and Andres Munera in Miami, Florida and was released in Latin America in April, 2004....
or Mauricio y Palo de Agua. Pop with strong traces of traditional Colombian music is also currently rising. Los De Adentro and Maía
Maía
Mónica Andrea Vives Orozco, more commonly known as Maía is a Colombian singer-songwriter.-History:Mónica Vives Orozco is the only child of Rafael Vives and Mónica Orozco...
represent this trend. Many Colombian artists are recognized internationally including among others, Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
, who is the most recognized Colombian artist in the world.
Dancing to reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
became also very popular in Colombia during the first decade of the 21st century.
See also
- Colombia in Popular CultureColombia in Popular CultureThe depiction of Colombia in popular culture, especially the portrayal of Colombian people in film and fiction, has been asserted by Colombian organizations and government to be largely negative and has raised concerns that it reinforces, or even engenders, societal prejudice and discrimination due...
- Latin American cultureLatin American cultureLatin American culture is the formal or informal expression of the peoples of Latin America, and includes both high culture and popular culture as well as religion and other customary practices....
- Hispanic culture
- List of Colombians
- List of players from Colombia in Major League Baseball
- Carnival in ColombiaCarnival in ColombiaThe carnival in Colombia was introduced by the Spanish. The Colombian carnival has incorporated elements from European culture, and has managed to syncretise, or re-interpret, traditions that belonged to the African and Amerindian cultures of Colombia...
- Festivals in ColombiaFestivals in Colombia- Major Colombian Carnivals and Festivals :*Barranquilla's Carnival , it holds the second largest carnival parades in the world after Rio de Janeiro's...
External links
- http://www.lablaa.org, Luis Ángel Arango LibraryLuís Ángel Arango LibraryLuis Ángel Arango Library, is a public library located in Bogotá, Colombia. It was founded in 1923 as a small library with a few books on economics. It is currently under the administration of the Bank of the Republic...
digital collection] - Music Llanera
- Dancing Devils in Corpus Christi Festival, Sierra Nevada