Colombia is a country that is full of life, colour, spirit, history, tradition and music. Her people are full of energy, celebration, life and sheer enthusiasm for living life to the fullest. A country proud of it's heritage and history, they open their arms to anyone who steps on their land. Hospitality and tradition takes on another meaning here. Everyone welcomed me with open arms. I felt so blessed not only to meet John's incredibly warm family but also to meet friends of friends who treated me like a part of their family.
The food, the music, the architecture, the family values, the art, the dancing....everything just pours out of their hearts. Colombia is full of passion, nobody does things here half assed. You can feel the history of Cartagena in every step that you take, now Colombian salsa songs have taken on a new meaning, they tell the story of the nation. The media shows a different Colombia. People hear Colombia and they think of drugs or guerilla warfare or violence. Not for a minute did I encounter anything like that. I felt safe and welcomed every minute that I was there. I felt a lot safer then in some other places I have been to. I feel very lucky to have experienced everything that I did in Colombia and I think more people should look past the media bull shit and experience this wonderul place for themeselves. Colombia and her people will always have a very special place in my heart. Like the commercial says, the only risk is staying. VIVA COLOMBIA!
That same night, we decided to also do a bit of dancing or go to "rumba" as they say.
The next day we continued to explore Cartagena. This time, we took a Chiva Bus around town. Chivas are these big, wildly decorated, open air busses that were used to transport people. They've been used in Colombia since the early 20th century. They're also used as Party busses in the night time. Anyways, we took the party bus to La Popa, which is at the top of the mountain overlooking all of Cartagena. We also went to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas which is the fortress that was built around Cartagena to protect it from invasions. The construction was started in 1536 but was significantly expanded in 1657. Another expansion was made to the fortress in 1763.
After the tour, we went back downtown. As we strolled past the Plaza de la Aduana, we heard some drums. Students were putting on a live show of traditional Colombian dancing. It was amazing! The drums, the rhythmn, the costumes, the movement.....just incredible! Their dancing was flawless and the flashes of colour from their costumes and the infectious drum beats made you want to drop everything and start dancing yourself. Best thing is, the show was completely free. They were just students showcasing their craft and at the same time, showing me a piece of their history. Their dancing really tells a story. I have always been a fan of Latin music, particularly Salsa, but now that I have gotten a chance to learn more about Colombia and Cartagena's history, I see how these are not just dancing rhythmns, each song tells their history. It just all makes so much more sense now!
This is Cumbia. Cumbia is a music style that originated in Colombia's Caribbean coastal region. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the African slave population that was later mixed with European instruments and musical characteristics. Cumbia started in the northern coast of South America, what is now Colombia and Panama, mainly in or around Cartagena during the period of Spanish colonization. Spain used its ports to import African slaves, who tried to preserve their musical traditions and also turned the drumming and dances into a courtship ritual. Cumbia was mainly performed with just drums and claves.
This is another example of a dance telling a story. The African presence in Colombia dates back to the 8th century. African slaves began being imported by the Spaniards in the first decade of the 16th century. By the 1520s, Africans were being imported into Colombia steadily to replace the rapidly declining native American population. Africans were forced to work in gold mines, on sugar cane plantations, cattle ranches, and large haciendas. This dance represents the males working on sugar cane plantations and the females selling fruit. You can still see the Afro-Colombian ladies dress in a similar manner and they continue to sell fruit in Cartagena.
Here are two Afro-Colombian dances. You can clerly see the African influence in these dances. Now think about the dancing that people have been doing at clubs for the last 10 years, doesn't it bear striking resemblance? Think about crunking for example. It all comes from somewhere!
The following day we decided to spend some time at the beach at Boca Grande. But first I had to stop by the flower market to buy some flowers for my hair. Many people don't know that Colombia is Latin America's lead exporter of cut flowers. Nearly 70% of USA's cut flowers, come from Colombia. After the flower market, we went to the beach at Boca Grande.
The following day, we continued the R&R vibe by going to a beautiful hotel named Villa Martha. This place was stunning and sooo affordable.
As so happens, I spent July 1st - Canada Day partying and I made sure that my friends partied the Canadian way with me. And so we went to rumba around town and what a night it turned out to be! We started off the night be going on a Chiva bus. You pay one fee, you get on the bus with other partiers and a band. You get a bottle of rum and pepsi for your row and off you go. There's an MC that instigates the partying. We stopped at the murro (Cartagena's walls), the band got off with us, we bought beers and then we danced to the music on the wall, next to the ocean, underneath the stars.
After the Chiva, we went to a bunch of clubs and were joined by a few other friends who decided to celebrate Canada Day with me. Oh, what a night!
The next day, John's sister Betty invited us to her co-worker's birthday party. It was a casino themed party and you had to come dressed in black, white and red. The places looked awesome and the food, drinks and dancing went well into the night.
We had a nice chill day at Juan Pablo's pool. We broke out 2 of Martha's 4 tequila bottles (aguardiente gives her a headache) and the 4 of us pretty much finished it all off lol.
After our tequila binge, we stuffed ourselves full of arepas, empanadas, chorrizo and chicharon. We went home and changed and continued the night with a rumba at Mister Babilla's.
We also did a day trip to the Rosario Islands. The islands are about 45 km away from Boca Grande in Cartagena and are accesible by tour boats or private boats. They are over 20 islands and they are all considered to be a natural park. Half the fun was the boat ride over. We had a host who made the most of the ride and entertained us the entire way. Of course there was music and dancing involved and as usual, everyone wants to see the white girl shake it, so I got picked on haha. On the way to Boca Grande, we walked past the soccer/football field and saw an interesting sight, cows everywhere!
As you can see, I had an amazing time in Colombia. I got to see amazing sights, I got to learn more about Cartagena's history, I got to learn more about the Colombian culture, I got to eat and drink the best that the country offers, I got to dance into the late night hours and most importantly, I was lucky enough to meet and spend time with amazing people. People who invited me into their home and treated me like a part of their family from the moment that they met me. Every person I met, opened their arms and hearts to me and told me "mi casa es su casa" (my house is your house). John's family was so amazing to me that I can not express their hosptality nor my gratitute for it in words. I just hope that one day I have the opportunity to treat them the way that they treated me. On the last day his nieces Saskia and Piedad put together a farewell party for us. Martha and I came home and found invitations on our bed. We were to come to the terrace at 9pm. As we walked down the stairs, we noticed all the lights were out. As we turned them on, the whole family (John's sisters and brother and all of their kids) jumped up and surprised us with this farewell party. They transformed their house and decorated it carnaval style. They also made us a huge poster and made special chairs just for Martha and I. I was so moved that I nearly started crying. They put together a whole program for us. First John said a few words then his sister Betty sang us a beautiful song. John's brother Alvaro wrote us a poem, John's niece Piedy read us her written memories. Saskia wrote us a song which she and her family sang for us. The nephews cooked us dinner. My God, I was so moved by all of this that I could barely keep my tears in check. No one has ever done anything like this for me before and to think of all the time and effort they put in for us. I felt so priviledged and happy and thankful to have met John's family, they have treated me so well and opened their arms to me. I am getting emotional just writing this! After everyone sang and read their poems, we put on some good Cumbia and Vallenato and started dancing. What a farewell! I will never, ever forget this event and John and his family are always going to have a very special place in my heart.
Well that sums up my adventures in Colombia. To say the least, I had an amazing time. I hope that more people ignore what the media has to say about this wonderful country and I hope they go see this amazing place for themeselves. I certainly hope that I return one day, there's so much to do and experience in Colombia.
So I leave you with this song: La Invitación by Jorge Celedon & Jimmy Zambrano
VIVA COLOMBIA!
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