Interesting Facts and Flower Festival

So I learned new interesting facts today! That Colombia has the biggest salsa festival, biggest theater festival, biggest outdoor horse parade, biggest flower parade, and second biggest carnival all over the world. 

The Feria de Las Flores the flower parade is held during the month of August. People come from all over the world to absorb the rich culture, filled with bright colors and beautifully decorated floats and lots of flowers arranged so creatively. 

This festival has many events; horse drawn rides around town, an orchid competition, music festivals, and parade of silleteros. The first ever festival took place in May 1957 and only lasted 5 days. It was invented to celebrate the rich botanical culture of Colombia. But today it happens in the city of Medellin in August and the celebration lasts a full week. 




http://discovercolombia.com/medellin/events/the-flower-festival/

Colombian Tasty Feasts

So every country has different parts and each part has a specific food preference and style. I was reading about Colombian cuisine and something stuck in my mind. It was really surprising to learn that Ants are common. Yes the insect, but in many different cultures various insects are looked on as delicacies. During the rain season of Colombia ants are harvested they are soaked in salt water and roasted in a ceramic pot. Mmmm tasty. I don't think I would eat ants but maybe if I was feeling adventurous and traveled to Colombia. 

This is a very old tradition that goes back to the pre-colombian times. Ants were actually given as a wedding gift. They were believed to be an aphrodisiac. But that might need some research, but it was discovered that ants are actually loaded with protein. they are actually being harvested so much that they are coming close to extinction. They are literally known as Big ass ants in English translation. 

They also eat Guinea pig, which apparently tastes very good. 
Another dish I found particularly interesting is Morcilla Rellena, which is blood sausage, or blood pudding. This is a more common dish that is served deep fried or barbecued. 

The last dishes that I found very interesting are Charapa...don't eat it. Its a tortoise that lives in the fresh water and it's endangered. The other dish I found intriguing is Chunchullo. This is cow and poultry intestines that have been fried and stuffed.   

  

http://www.southamerica.cl/Colombia/Food.htm

Colombian Flag

Colombian flag

Flags come in many different patterns and colors. Each has a specific meaning and significance to the country of origin.This Flag is actually one of the worlds oldest flags. It was adopted November 26, 1861. This flag has three bands horizontally of various colors. The top color is yellow and it is the thickest. It represents the gold found and held in Colombia before the Spanish came and took over. There have been many interpretations of the tricolor flag. The yellow has the most meanings. The first stated earlier was from a children's song. Another meaning is that the yellow represents sovereignty and justice. The second color is blue and it represents vigilance, nobility, and loyalty. But a more popular and well known representation for the color blue is it represents the two oceans that touch Colombia. Blue can also represent equality of races and all social classes before god and the law. The last color is red. It represents valor, honor, and victory that was achieved during the many battled for independence from Spain. Red also can represent the blood lost during the people's struggle for independence from Spain. the red represents the blood that gave the Colombians their freedom. A question I have for everyone, I want to know why is the yellow part of the flag bigger than the other two colors? I don't really know the answer I was just curious to see if anyone else knew?  
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/samerica/colombia.htm
http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/colombia-flag.html
http://www.worldflags101.com/c/colombia-flag.aspx

Sacred Holiday

Sacred Heart

This is a National Holiday in Colombia and I thought it would be interesting to learn about what it stands for. This holiday just occurred on Monday June 15th. In Spanish it's known as Sagrado Corazón. An interesting fact I learned is that this holiday always falls on a Monday. 

It falls 10 days and a day after Easter Sunday. 

The full name is "The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

This holiday is to celebrate the physical heart of Jesus and his divine love for all of humanity. 

This celebration started in the middle ages but was brought to Latin America by the colonizing Spanish. 




http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/colombia/sacred-heart
http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/colombia/sacred_heart.php

La musica

Colombia has lots of festive music

There are four different regions of Colombian music
-Caribbean coast
-Pacific coast
-Andean region
-Eastern Plains

Each area has a different style of music with different influences

The Caribbean has the cumbia, which most associate highly with Colombia. The best way to describe this music to those whom haven't heard it is it's similar to salsa. Very upbeat and with Spanish words. This type of music is usually has an instrument called guacharaca. This is a percussion instrument made out of a small palm tree. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1lr-sfXffQ

http://www.colombia-sa.com/musica/musica-in.html

Colombia Clothing

In Colombia clothing is very westernized similar to what is worn in America. But on special occasions woman wear brightly colored skirts also known as "La Pollera Colora", or brightly colored shirt literally translated. It is the most common national costume for the women of Colombia.Colombia is worn with a plain white shirt that shows the shoulders and is lined with ruffles around the collar. The ruffles are meant to look like flowers. Women often compliment this look with flowers in their hair also. This costume is only worn on special occasions during festivals and holidays. The men even have similar ruffled white matching costumes as well. This costume could be worn during the national festival "Carnaval de Barranquilla". 

http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/national-traditions/colombian-tradition3.htm

http://internationaldayresources.weebly.com/textiles-around-the-world.html

Mudslide in May

There was a Mudslide in Western Colombia on May 18th After a lot of heavy rainfall. The flash flooding was unexpected and eroded the ground and caused an avalanche. Unfortunately the death toll has risen to 58. This happened as people were sleeping around 3am, and many houses were swept away by the strong current of mud filled with trees and rocks.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/colombia/11614506/Death-toll-rises-after-heavy-rains-cause-landslide-in-Colombia.html 

About My Blog

This Blog is going to be all about Colombia.
I want to share with everyone the rich culture in hopes it's like we are all taking a mini vacation as college students, we can totally afford (haha). But also this blog will focus on culture and the daily lives of those living in Colombia. About the current events good and bad and about understanding what it's like to live there now v.s years ago. I want to focus on cultural traditions and why they are important. Also family dynamics, geographical importance, economic revenue, crime, fashion, lots of food, and anything else I can find.