Colombia is a hispanic country located in South America. The country is home to various ethnic groups and is ethnically and linguistically diverse. Colombia, out of the countries in Latin America, is the third-most populous. Colombia’s current population is 48.65 million people. Different ethnic groups influenced and caused Colombia to have a very diverse culture. Named after Christopher Columbus, Colombia is known for its landscapes, its emeralds, and coffee.
Families in Colombia have a common family structure. It includes a father, a mother, and their children. The mother is usually home & responsible for the children. The father is the head of the household and takes on the most responsibility of the family. Men take on the role of machismo which is being self-reliant and manly. For Colombians, family is an important aspect of their life. They’re expected to be loyal to their family and always support them. It‘s common for Colombians to have godparents, who act as parental figures to the children. Lastly, it’s uncommon to divorce as it looks wrong to the Catholic Church.
There are three social classes in Colombia. Social classes are based on race, wealth, and social status. The upper class is made up of rich white people. The middle class grew in the 20th century as people rose from the lower class by improving financially. In the lower class, social inequality is seen as people are more sick, less educated, and poorly housed.
Since the sixteenth century, the social classes in Colombia were related to money and race. Some people in the upper class have inherited money and wealth from past generations. Wealth of people in this class relate to the owning of property and land. In the 20th century, industrialization caused the middle class to grow vastly. This class includes professionals, teachers, small business owners, and white collar workers. The majority of the people in Colombia belong to the lower class.
There are various customs and traditions in Colombia. Colombia has a diverse culture as it’s been influenced by different ethnic groups. The diversity of the people in Colombia are celebrated during festivals, fairs, and carnivals. This country is one of the countries in the world that has the most national public holidays. One of the traditions in Colombia is the Pot Gathering. Families reunite and share sancocho, which is a traditional Colombian dish. For Christmas, Colombian’s eat natilla, a custard dish, and attend a Novena de Aguinaldos. This is when families gather to eat, sing carols, and pray. Colombian’s love to dance and Cumbia is the most known musical style in Colombia. Lastly, Colombian traditions vary from dance and music to clothing and food.
Spanish is Colombia’s official language and is spoken by more than 99.2% of Colombians. Colombia is the second biggest Spanish speaking country in the world. Their Spanish is different from the traditional Spanish that’s spoken in Spain. There are also over 70 different languages spoken in the country, as Colombia is linguistically diverse. These other languages belong to various ethnic groups. Some schools in some regions in Colombia are bilingual. They teach both Spanish and the ethnic language that’s spoken in that region.
The different ethnic groups in Colombia have influenced the country’s arts, literature, and music. Colombia has relics that date back to 3100 BC, and it’s known that ceramic art was seen in Colombia first, prior to anywhere else in the Americas. The Piartal culture used vessels with patterns in burials to store jewelry and relics in it. In the beginning of the 20th century, a different style of art started appearing. Colombian painters were influenced by Mexican muralists and some artists were influenced by European and Andean art. Alejandro Obregón is recognized as the father of modern Colombian painting. The most known artists of Colombia are Omar Rayo and Fernando Botero.
Authors in Colombia use literature as a way to speak about cultural aspects, religion, and politics. In the 1900s, a few authors commented on social injustice. The modernism literary movement was influenced by the industrialization. In the 1950s, the nothing-ist movement was sparked by violent events that were occuring. In the 60s, the Latin American Boom happened. A internationally known Colombian author is Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Music in Colombia ranges from traditional Caribbean type of music to pop and jazz. Cumbia, porro, and vallenato are a few music genres. One of the genres, Cumbia, is also a popular dance style. Popular dances in Colombia are salsa, mapale, merengue, and bambuco. Lastly, every music genre in Colombia has its own dance.
In Colombia, there is religious freedom. 75% of the Colombian population identify as Catholics, 15% identify as Protestants, 5% have no religious belief, and the other 5% follow other religions. These other religions include Muslims, Jehovah's Witness, and Jews. Roman Catholic was Colombia’s official religion until 1991, when the Colombian Constitution declared all churches and religions equal. Protestantism disagrees with some of the teachings in the Catholic Church. Furthermore, Colombian religions are influenced by different cultural heritages.
Colombia’s government is a republic. In a republic, the public elects the members of the government. Also, the government has three branches; the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The legislative branch is in charge of the Country’s policies and laws. The judicial branch is responsible for the justice system. Presidents, Administrative Departments, and the Council of Ministers make up the executive branch. The powers are completely separated amongst these branches.
The US and Colombia both have a mixed economy. They’ve had strong ties with each other since the 1990s. Colombia’s major imports are chemicals, industrial/transportation equipment, and fuel and electricity. The country’s major exports are coal, petroleum, gold, and coffee. Based on Gross Domestic Product, Colombia’s economy is the third largest in South America.
Colombian food is known to be delicious. Some traditional dishes are Bandeja Paisa, Ajiaco, and Mondongo. Bandeja Paisa is considered a hard worker’s dish, as it consists of rice, beans, beef and different types of meat, fried eggs, and avocado. Ajiaco is a soup containing corn, chicken, and potato. Lastly, Mondongo is a tripe soup that has lots of vegetables.
Clothing in Colombia is very diverse. The upper class wears clothes that's different than those from the lower class. They dress more conservative like and with suits. People from the lower class prefer pants, skirts, and loose clothing. A type of fashion in Colombia is the sombrero vueltiao, which means a turned hat. People wear these traditional sombreros on the regular or for religious scenes.
Colombia is a country that is diverse from clothing to music to ethnicities. People of Colombia are categorized into three social classes, have a basic family structure, and have various traditions. In addition, Colombia has religious freedom and the same type of economic system as the US