The Culture of Colombia and the Colombian People Culture is defined as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. This definition of culture is very true in the country of Colombia. In this paper, I will be going over the three major topics that I believe to be the most important about the Colombian culture: religion, language, and food and customs. Also, while covering these main topics, I will overview terrain, infrastructure, and military conflicts. Colombia is located in the northern region of South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean in the west, Panama to the Northeast, Caribbean Sea to the Northwest, Venezuela directly to the east, Brazil in the southeast, and Peru and Ecuador in the south.
Colombia was discovered and colonized by Spaniards in 1499. This event brought to the country different races like Spaniards and Africans. The culture shock of these races together evolving among the years is what we know as Colombians. The Colombian culture is a complex one, with a population of 42.3 million people, you can see the difference in their characteristics. For example, a person who lives up north in Cartagena would have different characteristic to a person living in the center of Medellin.
Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes were both famous Spanish adventurers during the Age of Exploration. When the explorers came upon land, they encountered two different cultures. In 1492, Columbus encountered the Taino people, and in 1520, Cortes encountered the Aztecs. The two cultures that the men encountered were different in more ways than they were similar in regards to how the natives treated the men, what weapons they had and their war-like behavior, their technologically advancements, their housing and architectural structures, and even their religion. According to Christopher Columbus, the Taino people of the Caribbean Islands that he encountered “were much delighted, and became wonderfully attached to us” (Journal, page 6).
Mexican Culture: Customs and Traditions The Mexican culture is very diverse which has undergone many transformations over several decades and the culture varies widely throughout Mexico and the United States. I will be more focused on the other side of the border and express my findings about the Mexican culture in Mexico. According to woldatlas an online database, the majority of Mexicans live in cities like Mexico City with a population of 12 million Mexicans. Following cities include Iztapalapa, Ecatepec, Guadalajara, Puebla, and Ciudad Juarez all ranging with populations of one million to two million Mexicans. The smaller rural communities tend to have a stronger role in defining the country’s collective customs and traditions.
As with most of the New World, the Spaniards motives in Colombia were self-serving. They were interested in the acquisition of territory, the expansion of power, the accumulation wealth, and the subjugation of the native people through conversion to Catholicism. The Spaniards organized and calculated colonial tactics in Latin America directly contrast the turbulence and instability that has plagued Colombia since the onset of its colonization. Colonization of Colombia happened in increments, rather than all at once, and the effects of this disjointed colonization have lasted for four centuries Colombia was discovered in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda, but the process of colonization did not begin until 1525, when Rodrigo de Bastida established
Latin America consists of primarily three distinct regions: Mexico, Central America, and South America; including Caribbean countries as well. As mentioned before, all countries maintain their own distinguishable cultural attributes. For example, Mexico traditionally plays Mariachi music, an ensemble containing soulful vocalization along with accompaniment consisting of mainly string instruments and trumpets (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2016). While a form of traditional music in Brazil, samba, exemplifies a more vigorous dancing beat more associated with Carnival in Rio and “emphasized by the polyrhythmic sounds of multiple percussion instruments” (History of Samba, 2017). Both forms of music embody tradition emanating from their countries, distinguishing them among other countries within Latin
Culture is an essential part of a community’s identity, because it links individuals to a collective bond. The Americas have always contained a vast variety of cultural communities, especially in the United States. The US is known for being one of the most diverse nations in the world, housing hundreds of different cultures. Mexican-Americans display a strong sense of a cultural background, which falls as a subset of the bigger Latino culture that links all Latinos. Oral history is a major aspect on the Mexican culture, which contributes to the truth of how history in the United States actually happened.
Bolivia is a beautiful country located in central South America, with countries surrounding all of its borders. It has experienced a rich history from as early as 2,000 BC. Originally inhabited by indigenous native Indians, after the invasion by the Spanish and migration from adjacent countries, it has experienced cultural and political change, including much struggle and political instability - which continues today. However, the mixing of different people into the country also created a society full of diverse cultures, traditions and religions. Bolivia is a country made up of the indigenous native Indians, the Europeans who are mostly Spanish and the mestizos, who are a mixture of both cultures.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, is heavily based around Colombian culture. This is made apparent throughout the novel with aspects of family honor and religion reoccurring throughout the novel. To what extent does culture influence the novel and how would it differ from other countries. The United States, China and Iran vary immensely in relation to Colombia but where do they share similarities and when do they differ. North American (NA) culture could be considered as a control of sorts with its massive combination of cultures, otherwise called a melting pot.
However, they dismissed the idea of losing their national heritage, and they developed their culture and took it to a new level. Nowadays, there are many poems and songs in Chicano Spanish, which are about Mexican-emigrant-Chicano-history, their myths, and their life, they became more confident and independent. They understood that conformity would not solve their problem and changed their angle of looking, perceived it from another perspective, thus they stopped considering it as a problem. After this reevaluation, they became proud of their language. They could firmly stand and speak up about their fears, concerns and visions.