HOME

Colombia is a beautiful, happy and complete country, because of his different and delightful natural sceneries, his natural wealth, his particular costumes and his happy and joyfull people.

Colombia is a developing country with a classic and democratic state structure. It is an independent country since 1824. It contains 6 regions, 32 departaments and 1118 cities. Its capital city is Bogotá, a very cold city.

OUR PRESIDENT: 

Our president is named Juan Manuel Santos; he was born in Bogotá on August 10th 1951. He studied in Harvard University, London School of Economy and other important universities around the world. Since he was a child, he was influenced by political area; his great uncle Eduardo Santos was the 39th president of Colombia, his father was a columnist and editor of the newspaper "El Tiempo", one of the most important colombian newspapers. In general, Santos is a good president that wants to get peace for Colombia and wants to have a more calmed country.

Let´s visit his webpage: Juan Manuel Santos.

CULTURE AND COSTUMES:

Culture is the main characteristic in common of the population. Here we will see a little bit of Colombia´s culture:

GREETINGS:

In Colombia, greetings are according with the context:

- Informal Context:

If you are in an informal context like with friends, you take and shake their hands and you say something like hi friend, what's up?. After that, you talk with him about his family, his friends and other personal topics. Colombians have invented diferent informal greetings using their hands.

- Formal Context:

If you are in a formal context like in a business meeting, you should take the other person's hand (the right hand is more used for that) and use a greeting according with the day hour (example: if it's in the morning, good morning, if it's in the afternoon, good afternon, and like that).

When you don't know a person, someone like a friend of you has to introduce hin/her to you. Depending of the person's gender is the way you have to greet. If it's a man, just shake his hand, but if it's a woman, it's better to kiss her on the right cheek.

If you want to greet with your parents, first you say hello mom/dad, how are you today? and then you have to kiss him/her on the cheek.

It's not well seen that a man kisses another man even if it's on the cheek, but it's normally well seen that a man kiss a woman or a woman kiss another woman, but only on the cheek.

COMUNICATION STYLE:

Colombian speaking changes according to the context:

- Formal Context:

If a Colombian person is in a formal or elegant context, like a business meeting, they speak very well; they use elegant and dificult verbs and words. They also speaks in a very low voice volume.

- Informal context:

If a colombian person is in an informal context, they speak in a slang and louder speaking manner.

Colombians use bad words with other meaning to speak with friends.

Some Colombians use words like “cucho” and “cucha” to speak about their parents.

REGIONALISM:

Colombian people are very happy and exciting people.

Colombians are religious people because of the catholic influence in our country.

Colombian people love sports, more specifically soccer.

In general, Colombians are genial, exciting, ancestral and humorous people.

TYPICAL FOOD:

Each region of Colombia has a typical dish which represents them in the Colombian cuisine, some of them are:

Bandeja Paisa:

 It's considered the most representative Colombian typical dish. It represents Medellin in the Colombian cuisine and it contains: beans, rice, ground beef, pork cracklings, fried plantain, chorizo, salad, avocado pear and “aguapanela”, a Colombian typical drink made with water, brown sugarloaf and lemon juice. For me it is a delicious materialization of Colombian culture.

Tamal Tolimense:

It´s a combination of corn flour, potatoes, carrots, beef, chicken meat, pork, peas, all that wrapped in a plantain leaf. Tamal is served with rice, salad and fried banana. That typical dish represents Tolima in Colombian cuisine. I think Tamal tolimense is a delicious food that makes us feel the Colombian flavor.

Ajiaco:

It’s a delicious chicken soup that contains different kinds of potatoes, and sweet corn. It is served with capers, cream and shredded chicken like optional seasonings. In my opinion, Ajiaco is the most delicious Colombian soup and represent the combination between elegance and tradition, the essence of the Colombian spirit.

Sancoho de Gallina:

It is a chicken soup cooked in firewood that contains potatoes, cassavas, corn and plantains . It represents Cali and Valle del Cauca in Colombian cuisine. I think sancocho de gallina represents the happy and exotic Colombian personality.

Pargo Rojo Frito:

 It represents the Atlantic Colombian coast in the Colombian cuisine. It’s a delicious fried sea fish. It is served with fried green bnanas and “arroz con coco”, a typical Colombian combination of rice and coconut milk. It is the materialization of Colombian practicality and versatility.

Lechona:

It represents Tolima in Colombian cuisine too. It is a curious typical dish because is a fried pig stuffed with rice, peas and pork. It reflects Colombian inventiveness.

Ternera a la Llanera:

 It is a smoked veal meat and is served with boiled potato, salad and boiled cassava.  It represents east plains in Colombian cuisine and it materializes Colombian effort and capacities.

TRAVEL

Each one of the cities of Colombia has something that makes it different from the others. Hereby, each one of them  has a way of transporting that is according with its characteristics. Let's see some of the most important countries of Colombia and the most recommended ways to transport within them.

BOGOTÁ:

Bogota is the capital and the largest city of Colombia. As the largest Colombian city, distances between one place and another are very long. Bogota is one of the coldest cities of Colombia after Pasto. For that reasons the best way of transport within it is by car. Another reason is that there are many places to visit. The most important places to visit in Bogota are:

SALITRE MÁGICO: 

It's the most important Colombian amusement park

because of his attractions. They are focused in offer unforgettable experiences for all the family because they offer all ages attractions. Let's 

visit his webpage: Salitre Mágico Webpage.

MUNDO AVENTURA:

It's a formidable and unique amusement park. It is divided in 5 "worlds" focused in the fun of each family member. Here is his webpage, visit it:

Mundo Aventura Webpage.

PARQUE JAIME DUQUE:

It’s the most complete amusement park of Bogota.

 It has many things to do: attractions, a panoramic train that travels across the entire park, a zoo, many restaurants with different kinds of food, museums and a natural reservation. Let’s visit its webpage: Jaime Duque Webpage.

MALOKA:

Maloka is an interactive technology park that combines fun with learning. It has many facilities and mervelous places that offers experiences never lived before. Maloka wants to create awareness about be a good citizen too. In general, Maloka offers a funny learning. His webpage is: Maloka Webpage.

Also, Bogotá is considered the literary Colombia's capital. Every years, they make a theather festival in where colombian actors and writters come and expose his books and act.

I think Bogotá is the most technological and cultural colombian city.

CALI:

Cali is a very important city of Colombia; it's the capital of its department. It is a hot city with a tropical climate and it has many places to visit. Each one of these represents the Colombian creativity. Some of them are:

STADIUM:

Its name is “Pascual Guerrero” and it is one of the most beautiful Colombian stadiums. As the sports capital of Colombia, Cali has 3 soccer teams in the Colombian soccer league, 2 of them are in the “B” (second division league)-America and aguablanca- and Deportivo Cali in the “A” (first division).

CRISTO REY:

It is a big monument of Jesus. It is located in a high mountain. It is a beautiful place because when you are there, you can see all of Cali city. It represents the help of God upon Cali.

                                                  Appareance of Cali from Cristo rey.

LOMA DE LA CRUZ:

It’s a knoll located in the northwest from Cali. It’s a cultural place where indigenous people sell traditional clothes, music, food, musical instruments and much more stuff. It is recommended to go during the day because at night there are many thieves. It’s a beautiful place where Colombian culture and tradition revive.

CALI ZOO:

It’s a beautiful place where we can find many kinds of animals. It is divided by areas where we can find animals from the same type. It is a perfect place to have fun and learn with the family.

For all these characteristics about Cali, I can say that the best way of transporting in Cali is by car and by public transport called "MIO". On Sundays, the mayor’s office organizes an activity called “ciclovía” where people can go to different streets and ride in their bikes, walk or exercise. About important events, Cali government organizes something called “la feria de Cali” where people can go and dance, smile and have 6 days of fun.

MEDELLÍN:

Medellin is another important city located in northeast in Colombia. It’s called the eternal spring city. It has a mild climate city and it is very organized. Medellin is a very cultural city and its places to visit are monuments in honor of Colombian artists. Some of them are:

PARQUE BOTERO:

It’s an important Colombian square. It contains sculptures of fat people representing many historic events like: Jesus’s last dinner, etc. All that sculptures are made by a Colombian artist named Fernando Botero.

As the second most important Colombian city, Medellin is a large city. For that reason, the most effective way to travel within there is by car and by "metro", the public medellin´s transport. Other alternative ways of transporting could be: walking and riding bike.

CARTAGENA:

 It’s the most touristic Colombian city and it’s located in the Atlantic Colombian coast. It’s a hot city and it is divided in 3 parts: the old city area, the new city area and the touristic area, for that reason, the ways move around Cartagena depend of the city zone where you want to go.

OLD CITY AREA:

It’s called “ciudad amurallada”; it was the place where Spanish people lived. It’s a beautiful representation of Colombia history. The best way to   transporting in there is to walk because streets and avenues are very narrow for cars. There are carriages pulled by cars as a way of transporting and as a way of get some money fot the citizens. It’s a touristic place for visit.

NEW CITY AREA:

It’s the place where people from Cartagena live. It’s the real urban city. The best way of transporting in there is by car or by public transport.

TOURISTIC AREA:

It’s where strange people that want to go and vacation stay. It contains all hotels, beaches and restaurants. In general, it is all the touristic life of Cartagena.

SAN ANDRES:

It’s a small island located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the most cultural places of Colombia after Cartagena. It’s a hot island. In San Andres are the nicest beaches from Colombia, it’s called “the 7 colors sea”. It is a place to go and have fun with the family or friends. Some of the places to visit are:

SEA FOOD RESTAURANTS:

In San Andres are the best sea food restaurants. Its typical dish is “pargo rojo Frito” and “arroz con coco”. San Andres cuisine is based on sea food.

SUNRISE HOTEL:

It’s the best hotel in San Andres. It is the only 5 star hotel located in San Andres. The whole structure is made of marble. It is a representation of the Colombian creativity.

As a touristic place, the best way to transport around San Andres is walking, by car or by motorcycle. Other alternative ways to transport within there is by golf karts. San Andres people sell and rent those karts to have money. It is my favorite Colombian place.

EXPERIENCES

HEY SLEEP!

My family and I wanted to go to Santa Marta for a family vacation. When my father was buying the airplane tickets, he could just buy 3 and we were 4 persons in our family. My father decided to disguise my little brother as a baby. He was 3 years old. My parents put a diaper to my little brother and ordered him to sleep during all the flight. It was very funny because my little brother wasn’t a baby.

MY FAMILY!

My family and I arrived to the USA and we had to go to present our documents to enter there. In that place, a woman said to us – if you are a family, go and stand in that line – and we obeyed her and we went to that line. My father was back in another line because he had forgotten something on the airplane. When he saw us, he went to the families line and a big man stopped him and asked him something in English, as my father didn’t know speak English, he just said – My family, my family! – While he was pointed us. The man understood him and let him to pass with us. It was another funny experience in my trips.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hi everybody, I’m Samuel Gomez. I’m at 2^nd semester. I study in ICESI in the business administration degree course. My objective with that blog is that you know more about my beloved Colombian country, a little bit of its important cities and its more effective ways to transport within them and that you just laugh for a moment. Finally, I want to say that God loves you!

Bye.

IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT ME, PLEASE WRITE ME TO MY E-MAIL ADDRESS: samueldgomez7@gmail.com