“I feel that I’m a native of any country in Latin America” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez. –> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– Whilst this statement may be true, Colombian literary hero Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Gabo for short) was in fact born in the small town of Aracataca, a stiflingly hot and dusty place in the banana […]
Tag: Colombian Culture
This weekend, kicking off Friday and ending on Monday, is Rock Al Parque. Rock Al Parque is an annual music festival held in Bogotá that features some of the best local and international talent around at the moment. It’s being running for 16 years, attracting names such as Asian Dub Foundation, Fito Páez, Bloc Party, Coheed […]
When I disembarked at Bogotá airport last year I was greeted by a smiling (and slightly relieved) Marcela. We got in her car and began driving, speaking excitedly about my upcoming travels in Colombia. As the conversation unraveled, I began to glean that there were plans for that very night with Marcela and her family. […]
One of the things you can’t fail to notice on a Colombia vacation is the country’s love of music. It’s not just the fact that music is ubiquitous, but that everyone seems to know every word and sing or dance at every opportunity, including taxi drivers, bus drivers, people in pubs and even just people on […]
Following in the footsteps of the granddaddy of all Tomatina festivals – Buñol in Spain – comes Colombia’s very own extravaganza: the Tomatina Festival in Sutamarchan. –> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– The Tomatina Festival will take place this year (2012) on the 9th to 11th of June, where thousands of tomatoes will be propelled through the air, covering […]
Jun 05
“Political Correctness Gone Too Far!”: Colombian Adverts That Would Be Considered Offensive in the US and Europe
Yesterday, hoping to get a few giggles, Paul posted this on 9Gag. Responses ranged from laughter to confusion to mild offense. Some saw blatant racism, some saw a funny joke and others were perplexed as to why it could be considered funny or racist at all. –> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– It threw into sharp relief […]
For a long time the world at large had little understanding of Colombian music beyond the erratic wail of Shakira and the unchallenging soft-rock of Juanes. In the last couple of years that all changed. Acts such as Bomba Estereo and Chocquibtown exploded on to the scene, borrowing from traditional Colombian rhythms but adding modern […]
Are you missing Colombia? Perhaps you travelled here a couple of months ago and are still feeling the withdrawal symptoms; maybe, like some of us here at Colombia Travel Blog, you lived for a while in this country and have headed home; or maybe you are Colombian and have relocated abroad. Well, never fear, because […]
Colombia had around 2 million foreign tourists in 2011, and experts are predicting this year to completely eclipse that already record breaking one: 4 million foreign tourists in 2012! Two of them were my parents…that’s right, my parents in Colombia! Compare that to 1998, when about 70,000 visited this country (definitely not including my parents), and you have some idea of […]
“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it” (Gabriel García Márquez) –> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– I once met Gabriel García Márquez’s biographer, who assured me (over a questionable plate of unagi) that Colombia’s best-loved writer was, in fact, the world’s best-loved writer. […]