Maybe you even grew up here, in a country that doesn’t need any filters or special lighting to shine for what it is – that very same country that dazzles and fascinates you every single day. We know that, being back and just admiring the mountainous backdrop to the city, or letting the way the waves caress the sand soothe you makes you realize that life in Colombia is utterly marvelous, and nothing could ever replace it.
You’ve looked around and felt like the land and the people you’re a part of are unique and unrepeatable, that they, like you, have made the ground you all share beneath your feet part of a paradise like no other.
And if you didn’t grow up here, you’re certainly planning your visit now – be it the first or one of many – to the country that everyone’s talking about. The one where music manifests itself in over a thousand rhythms that accompany myriad birdsongs above, the one where culture and history permeate and embolden everything we do. Here, you’ll find us in every dish we cook with love, in every delicately made handcraft, in everything that reflects how we wield our past and enjoy the present to build a bright future.
Just as we wove paths and carved furrows, caña flecha our trusty ally below the tropical sun, we crafted butterflies and other figures in gold and silver threads, developing the famous filigree of one of the most magical towns in the country: Mompox. These forms of artistic expression go well beyond recent memory and are reminiscent of the gold pieces and monoliths created by ancient cultures such as the Muisca and San Agustín peoples.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
Each word holds up a mirror we can see ourselves in. In some places you’ll be greeted with a warm “¡quiubo, pues!” and in others with an amicable “¡ole, mano!”, or perhaps with an “ajaa” or a “¿ma’wçxaga?” – the latter two, words unique to this land. The former is a “hello” that comes deep from our soul, from the time before the world knew us as Colombia, from the sacred Wayúu site that is the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The latter comes from the Nasa people and their home in the Colombian Massif, reminding us of our origins and infinite ancestry. Here, a simple “how are you?” can span eras, cultures, and sensibilities – perhaps as many as peoples and cultures have made Colombia their home.
Photo courtesy of LaGuajiraHoy.com
This is the beauty we inhabit: the beauty of rivers whose waters resemble flowing rainbows and that we care for and preserve every day as the world heritage they are; the beauty of the sprawling rainforests and moors that let the world breathe and that we lovingly protect together. This is the beauty we can all feel, one that inspires those born here and those who one day fell in love with this land alike. It’s Colombia, the country of beauty.
That’s exactly what we’re here to tell you all about: the beauty that needs no filters nor Photoshop, and that’ll never be done justice by a cellphone screen, because it needs to be lived and enjoyed in all its splendor. We’re talking of those beautiful destinations brimming with history that await you, of the currulaos and marimbas that rumble in the Pacific, and of the stories told by well-sung vallenatos accompanied by unbridled accordions.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
This is our beauty: one that goes beyond Tik Tok trends or mere “instagrammable” spots. A beauty that reminds us every day who we are and why. One that speaks to Colombian souls and greets in nearly seventy different languages all foreigners who, once in our country, already feel like siblings to us.
An everchanging beauty
The talent of our people is what drives the development of the entire country, for, no matter what challenges we may face, we do so with that incomparable “berraquera gene” of ours. Our beauty changes every day, because we find new ways of interpreting it, of admiring it, and we embrace them forward thinkingly. So, this is our invitation: come visit (and maybe never leave?) and bear witness to what it means to live in Colombia, the country of beauty.
You may also be interested in:
The Sound of Music: Traditional Colombian instruments
Ancestral mountains: a journey through the coffee of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Discover the Colombian Massif and its riches
