Hello All,
I’d like to post our first Colombia Travel Blog post of 2012 by introducing you to Liliana Gutierrez, a Colombian Entrepeneur who co-owns and runs Esta es Colombia Cena Show along with her husband Oscar Londonho.
Those of us who work in the Colombia travel industry know how difficult it is sometimes to try to innovate and standardize travel services up to international levels. At See Colombia Travel we are constantly training our providers in order to achieve the goal of taking Colombia’s travel industry to the next level but in some cases it has been quite challenging to change some mindsets – we’re actually preparing a *hilarious* future post about this – and in a few others, the resistance to change has been the most effective way to filter out which providers we work with and which ones are better to just forget about. And although this is usually the case with local hotels and excursion providers, there is also a lot to do in the area of (or lack of) complementary services.
That is why it is so refreshing to find an entrepreneurship like Esta es Colombia. “It all started inspired by similar shows in other Latin American cities, especially in Buenos Aires where you can have a typical bife de chorizo and Mendoza wine while enjoying a Tango show. We realized there was a lack of this kind of product in Colombia,” says Liliana, “Before this I had a corporate career and Oscar owned a travel agency for 15 years, but we decided to bet on this dream and once we left our former jobs, things started flowing”
During a pre-carnival party in Bogota in early 2011 they met the Delia Zapata ballet and they instantly knew that they had to be included in the project. Actually, they liked them and the whole concept of that party so much that they ended up renting the house in which the party was held in the historical La Candelaria in downtown Bogota….and it happens that the house had belonged to Delia Zapata herself.
“Delia Zapata was a one of the most important Colombian folklore researchers” , explains Liliana, “She used to travel across Colombia not only collecting information and historical facts about typical dances , but also about actual long lost traditions, chronicling the way of living of the different Colombia regions” As an Afro-Colombian, she was specially interested in the spaniard/african influence in Colombian culture. As a matter of fact Delia passed away in 2001 due to dengue fever, a disease she contracted in Africa while researching the Afro-Colombian cultural connection.
The beautiful colonial house in La Candelaria is now owned by Delia’s daughter, Edelmira, who is very happy to see her mother’s legacy alive. “The setting couldn’t be more perfect; this is a house in which Delia and her friends spent many nights debating, talking, dancing and breathing Colombian Folklore,” continues Liliana, “And being in La Candelaria, with its traditional architecture, cobblestoned streets, art galleries and history just adds to that authentic non-staged feeling.” Every night the Delia Zapata ballet, a group of around 40 dancers (including backups) from all over Colombia provide an amazing show that takes you not only through Colombian folklore history, buy also showcases the culture of not so well known places in Colombia like Guapi in the Pacific Coast. The show works like clockwork, and its not a surprise since this group have been together for two generations since they started in 1954.
To round up the concept Liliana and Oscar have also focused on having a very good menu and an excellent chef who fusions colombian and international food. We’ve tried the food there personally and we have to say it is indeed excellent.
Esto es Colombia started in pilot mode with friends and family during August 2011 and after fine tuning the details it officially launched in September. Their visitors are usually international – and Colombian – travelers and although most of their clients are form Latin America and Eastern europe, they’re slowly noticing an increase of visits from english speaking countries. Promoting this new concept in Colombia can be tough, but through some creative Marketing, good word of mouth and working with key hotels and travel agencies they’re managing to grow very quickly.
“We want to turn Esta es Colombia into a ‘must stop’ for travelers in Bogota,” finishes Liliana, “Ours is such a diverse, dynamic and interesting city, perfect for culture and history lovers, and we want to be able to add to that experience by showing our traditions from all over the country.”
You can find out more about Esta es Colombia Cena Show here: www.cenashowcolombia.com
Cheers
JL
