Introduction to Colombian Culture

By Rick Segreda

Culturally, Colombia is one of the richest countries in South America, integrating three continents worth of tradition through music, dance, painting, sculpture, folk craft, and literature.

The first cultures to arise out of this region were from pre-Colombian peoples who, with ancestral roots stretching back to Asia, inhabited the region over 10,000 years ago. Such pre-Ican civilizations as the Carib, the Chibca, the Quimbayas, the Tolimas, the Wayuú as well as the Incans were master metallurgists and craftsman, fashioning basketry, wood carvings, textiles, and pottery. Almost all of it served a combination of religious, political, and practical ends.

The Spanish conquest brought the florid passions of Catholic religiosity to the region; tall, large, and lavish cathedrals and the iconic image of the martyred, emaciated, bleeding Christ, as well as the Holy Virgin, often adorned with gold-encrusted attire, a crown, and an equally elegant baby Jesus on her arm. The veneration of Mary, particularly, was eagerly received by indigenous populations who saw in her the same maternal majesty they attributed to their own matriarch deities, such as Mama Kilya.

With colonization also came the tradition of secular European painting, literature, and music. The Spanish also imported African slaves, whose own culture mingled with the locals, resulting in such percussion-heavy musical genres of Cumbia, Vallenato, Porro, and Champeta. The Cumbia also refers to a courtship dance ritual popular with the common folk.  Vallenato also began along Colombia's Atlantic region in its northeastern valleys from farmers who incorporated West African styles of music. The Carnival of Barranquilla, serves as a large-scale celebration of the many dimensions of Colombian music and dance, and its multi-racial, multi-ethnic roots.

In 1871 Colombia established the Academy of Spanish Language, the very first in South America, and beginning with Simon Bolivar, Colombia has one of the most noteworthy literary traditions on the continent, ranging from historical chroniclers to poets to narrative fiction. As with the rest of South America, Colombia’s writers evolved from a religious to secular concerns, integrating and reflecting the changes in Western thought overall.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, is Colombia’s most famous writer and an exponent of the modernist "magic realism" genre. Some of Colombia’s other recognized writers include the 19th century Jorge Isaacs, whose romantic chronicle of the lives of Colombia's mestizos, "Maria," actually inspired a minor Japanese migration to the country, while other notable  20th century scribes include Álvaro Mutis, Laura Restrepo, Germán Espinosa,  and Fernando Vallejo, who also directs films, though the film adaptation of his most famous novel, “Our Lady of the Assassins” was directed by the Swiss Barbet Schroeder, though Schroeder spent part of his childhood in Colombia.

Colombia’s most famous sculptor and painter is Ferdinand Botero, celebrated (as well as criticized) for his “fat” subjects.

Much of modern Colombian culture – movies, television programs, as well as music – has strongly been influenced by Hollywood, European cinema, and American popular music, from rock to soul to rap. Singer-songwriter Shakira, from Barranquilla is an international superstar, while another artist, Juanes, from Medellin, is one of the biggest rock stars in Latin America. Meanwhile, Estefano, from Cali, has become famous both for his own music as part of the duo Donato and Estefano, and as a songwriter for such Latin artists as Gloria Estafen, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez.

Colombia is also noteworthy for its high number of beauty pageants as well as the highest number of museums of any Latin American country.

Sociologically, Colombia has tended towards being socially conservative, with the family of key importance in the lives of its citizens, though it has recently become more liberal in the area of divorce and gay rights. Spanish is the predominant language, Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion (though protestant evangelism is growing) and soccer ("futbol") is the most popular sport.