Beautiful Aspects of Colombian Culture

My recent entry focusing on the Beautiful Aspects of Indian Culture fueled my inspirational juices. It got me generating views and ideas about the beauty in other things, and specifically my own parents' culture...

My family is Colombian - both my parents emigrated from Colombia nearly 29-30 years ago to the US. I was born two years later and thus became the first-generation child of immigrant parents, a situation that is ubiquitous and common throughout the United States. It really is the land of opportunity, especially considering their immigration policy - any person born on US soil is a US citizen. That's where my brother and I jump in. Having been born in New York and raised there our whole lives, we, like others in the same circumstances, became symbols of the bridge between old culture and new. In fact, when children of immigrants are born in the new country they undeniably give rise to a new culture. In our case it was the creation of an Americanized, hybrid version of Hispanic-American family and identity. Once you've been born, raised in the country, and thoroughly experienced the educational system, there is no going back :-).

As such, I definitely appreciate aspects of my family's culture for its really wonderful, joyous and positive traits. I am really grateful I was born into my family not only because we have an extremely strong, deep bond, but also because I feel that the qualities they personify from their own background transferred onto me in some degree. It is those qualities that enable me to enjoy life more deeply through dance, song, passion, love, affection, beauty and color.

Further below are a few elements that seem to represent the more wonderful traits of this nationality. It's not exhaustive and rather a basic sketch...

The Coat of Arms of Colombia - Interesting to note that it depicts a Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty. Later in this post I use the term and illustrate it with a graphic from Wikipedia. Upon reading up on the Wiki page I see they present this Coat of Arms! Because it specifically has the cornucopia image. Very interesting how things work out! One unrelated item led me and tied directly back into the topic on which I was writing! Cool.

• Very friendly people. 

Mostly everyone in a town, neighborhood or surrounding environment in Colombia will know each other and greet each other at different times of the day: "Good morning" etc. Of course, this may be different in busy and more populous urban centers where the building matrix structure sort of limits the closeness and intimacy between neighbors. I haven't been to Colombia in almost 12 years so I am not necessarily atuned to the current realities of the country. However, from my summer trips there as a little girl I recall that this habit of greeting neighbors and knowing basically everyone (and their personal affairs! lol) was a quality ingrained in the genetic makeup throughout families and peers alike.
I remember as a little girl my father was very particular about me learning the politeness of greeting everyone in the morning with a chipper "Good Morning! and bidding farewell when leaving a family party/function. As a child I was shy and reserved and thus begrudgingly acted on these recommendations and etiquette pointers. Ironically, as I've gone through the years, today I am very enthusiastic about greeting all those I greet from morning to night as I too feel, now, that this is decent, polite, friendly and makes me feel connected with my counterparts and environment.

• Very festive, joyous and fun-loving.

Colombians generally love to have fun - they love dancing, drinking, sporting events, playing sports and especially soccer, which is a beloved national pastime. Colombians will gather amongst friends and families - there will always be music and alcohol. Most of the time, there will be food too, however, a party can easily thrive on good music and drinks. The cherished national alcoholic beverage is called Aguardiente:

Locally produce, national pride - One of the main spirits of choice: AGUARDIENTE CRISTAL DE CALDAS.

The other very much adored Alcohol is Aguardiente Antioqueño:

Spirits of Choice #2: AGUARDIENTE ANTIOQUENO. As you can see, various bottle sizes are available to cater to any party need, group size - or pant pocket - HA!

Colombians love alcohol, drinking and partying. This is a generalization, yes, and it's mostly true although not entirely applicable to ALL people. I will say that I don't think I've ever met a single Colombian who doesn't like to drink and party. Essentially, they just love having a great time, enjoying, and being in high spirits.
La Rumba = The Party.  
Donde es la Rumba? = Where's the party?

An example of how much enjoyment and appreciation goes into their drinks is finely illustrated by the following image, which has even a Tetrapak of Aguardiente Antioqueño!!!

The different bottle shapes, sizes and types of Aguardiente. There is even a Tetrapak pack option! Crazy. They have 1L box options, similar to the boxed wine in the USA.

Just a note that I don't drink alcohol due to the sugar content; since I prize my fitness and low-sugar consumption, drinks of any kind don't fit into my lifestyle. I love to dance and have fun and overall I will enjoy a party to the max yet I don't need spirits to enjoy deeply and fully.

I wouldn't consider the 'drinking' and alcohol predilection as a 'beautiful aspect' of the culture. It's just been linked with the party-loving, festive and jovial nature of the people. That convivial spirit somehow seems to be joined at the hip with drinking and party time. I guess anyone who gets a buzz and drunk will be festive and happy, more often than not... In sum, they are a bright and friendly, fun-loving, party-loving bunch.

• Colombia is a key world producer of Coffee. 

I love coffee, and so does 98% of the rest of the universe! :-) 

Colombia birthed the iconic Juan Valdez Cafe de Colombia image, easily spotted around most of the world.

Café de Colombia - Juan Valdez. El cafe mas amado de los Colombianos. The coffee most loved by Colombians. Juan Valdez is a fictional character created by the National Federation of Coffee (FNC - Federacion Nacional de Cafe).

From an early age coffee has been staple of our family morning routine. Coffee, milk, sugar...That's what revs the day for so many folks. Historically, Colombian coffee has ranked 2nd in global production, following Brazil. However, it now stands 3rd with Vietnam coming in 2nd place (International Coffee Organization Statistics).

• Flowers
  

Little-known fact: Colombia is the 2nd largest flower producer and exporter in the world, with The Netherlands being the top exporter  and producer worldwide, and especially in Europe (WikiRef-Flowers). In fact, Colombia is the top exporter of flowers to the United States which has led to a Free-Trade agreement resulting in lowered trade prices.

I was not aware of this fact and it's pretty cool!

• Emeralds 

  Colombia is the world's largest producer of Emeralds, representing 50-95% of world production (Emeralds)

• Colombians love soccer.

• They are sweet and affectionate; They are welcoming and enjoy having a good laugh.

Well, I will leave it at that for now. I think that sometimes when you are "in" the thing, it is a bit more challenging to objectively and analytically portray the various aspects that could be highlighted.

Every culture and nationality has its set of unique and vibrant qualities. The cornucopia of ethnicities, backgrounds, attitudes and customs is one of the factors that makes life on earth so fascinating and engaging. It's at the core of politics, international relations and globalism.

The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form. (Cornucopia@Wiki)

Celebrating the abundance of perspectives ultimately leads to greater awareness; to a more optimistic, compassionate and peaceful outlook about life and the human experience.

Ironically, perceiving how different we are from one another makes us unavoidably also perceive all the qualities in which we are the very same.

By the way, today is Thanksgiving Day back home in the US. 

Very happy Turkey Day to all my beloved family, friends and acquaintances!!! :-)

The more things change, the more they stay the same! :-)