Culture of Colombia
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The culture of Colombia is diverse.
The four major parts of Colombia, geographically, are Los Llanos (the plains), the northern Caribbean coast, the eastern Pacific Ocean coast and the southern Amazon rainforest.
Colombia is the only country in South America to have both a Pacific and Caribbean coastline.
More than half of the country is mountainous, with tall peaks and high plateaux a common site in the Colombian interior.
95% of Colombians are Roman Catholic.
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Family
The family is, as it is with nearly all of Latin America, a highly imporant institution to Colombians. Members of the extended family are close, and Colombians often live even with distant relatives.
Men are usually the head of the household, while women are responsible for cooking, housework and rearing children.
At a child's baptism, the parents of the child will choose godparents, padrinos. A child's padrinos will play an important role in his life, giving advice, and when needed, financial support.
The Amerindian peoples of Colombia's southern regions, near the Brazilian border, live in huts of thatched palm, in stark contrast to the high rise apartment buildings of the capital, Bogotá, where 7.7 million of the country's 44 million people live.
Women
Many ladies, especially those from the middle class, have begun to take jobs outside of the home in order to supplement their family's income. However, housewives are still highly valued, and women remain responsible for cooking, housework, and child rearing. It is not unusual, however, for the husband to also assist in these tasks.
Manners and Communication
Colombians (like most South Americans) are much less direct than North Americans and Northern Europeans. Reading between the lines is a must when talking to Colombians, as they tend to be the type of people that go out of their way to avoid offending someone. Among close friends and family, however, the opposite is true, and can become shockingly direct when confidence is developed. Colombians use less mannerisms than most Latin Americans, and they tend to stand at a greater conversational distance than their Latin neighbors, which creates the false impression among other Hispanics that Colombians are cold, snobbish, or unfriendly.
Entertainment
Fútbol, as with nearly all of Latin America, is almost an addiction in Colombia. Watching the game on television is a national pastime, and a victory by the national team is a cause for much celebration. Most children and men play the sport in the spare time.
The traditional sport of bullfighting, brought to South America by the Spanish, remains popular in Colombia, and there are many bullrings in Bogotá and other large cities.
Baseball is also played, but not as much as soccer, and is confined mostly along the Caribbean coast.
An ancient game, inherited from the Chibcha, is tejo. The object of tejo is to throw a small metal disk at a gunpowder detonator in a small ring. The winner is calculated by the number of explosions compared to number of throws.
Dancing is very popular in Colombia, with dozens of vibrant styles popular. One of the most popular is "salsa", a very elegant dance that most Colombian children learn as soon as they learn to walk. Bambuco is also common. It is a very complicated dance with many differently named steps.
Cuisine
The main meal of a Colombian's day is lunch, usually eaten at about 1 or 2pm.
This meal consists of three courses: a soup followed by a main course followed by either a drink or dessert.
Many varieties of fruit totally unknown to the Western world are enjoyed in Colombia, such as the zapote, lulo, curuba, mamoncillo, uchuva, fraijoa, granadilla, mamey and pitahaya.
Banana leaves are very common in Colombian cuisine, with foods such as quesillos (cheese wrapped in banana leaves) and tamales making heavy use of them.
Art and Literature
Colombians have been producing art for thousands of years, with ornate golden figures and jewellery from millennia ago discovered by both ruthless conquistadors and careful archaeological digs.
Some Colombian artists, such as Enrique Grau and Fernando Botero, have received international fame in the 20th century for their awards and wide public acclaim.
Nobel Prize winning author, Gabriel García Márquez, is a Colombian. His book Cien Años de Soledad (Spanish: One Hundred Years of Solitude), the story of a poor Colombian family living through the 20th century on the Caribbean coast, is an international best seller.