The worst Colombian stereotypes
When most people from around the world hear the word “Colombia” they think in two main things, drugs and women. How much they know about the reality it is completely wrong , the reason behind this is that the stereotype of Colombia has been damaged over the last few decades, the reason of course was because we were one of the first countries to produce and export drugs, if people knew about our history it would be better instead of criticizing and insinuating that all Colombian people are like drug dealers or even drug addicts.
When you are abroad and you meet some people normally they ask you about where are you from. In my case, and most of the Colombian people who are living abroad, we are asked if we know about drugs or just a subtle comment like this “Oh Colombia, drug dealers, drugs that’s awesome”. Or, sometimes if you meet rude people they always are going to do some signs, for example the sound of sniff that means sniff cocaine. Nevertheless these kind of things that people typically think and said about Colombia make us feel really insulted.
There are many things about Colombia that people have never heard about before, such as culture, food, how friendly people are, tourist places and festivals. We have a special saying about it and I always say this when someone makes rude comments “You must live first in the place and then you could criticize”.
Nowadays we have problems like poverty, drugs and security but if you compares ten years ago it was worst than today, the government has increased the security and making some plans to change and solve as much as possible in the long term this problems. There is not problem to visit and driving around the country but you need to be careful always.
Language and Culture
Generally speaking, some people know that our native language is Spanish but sometimes people think that is the same as in Spain but this is wrong, we have the same language but it is a completely different accent. By the way like every country in the world we have more than 5 accents in Colombia that make Colombian Spanish even more different from the Spanish from Spain
We considered ourselves really regionalist; we have many regions with different cultures, food, weather. This is one of the best points of our country; the diversity of people, sights, food and the experience of having 2 oceans, beautiful beaches, warm, cold and hot weather during the year because we don’t have seasons, always having the same level temperature.
People and places
Colombian people are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world I am not sure why this is, but it is true. You always see the Colombian people smiling no matter what problems they have, is not like England where it depends of the weather.
There are about 5 places that everyone must visit. Bogota the capital has a different atmosphere, you have everything you want in a massive city. It is better known as “the eternal spring”. If you want to visit a historical place, you should go to Cartagena, in my opinion it is the best place to visit. On average most people don’t know my city because is a small city , it is an amazing city in the shadows of a volcano, the weather is cold between 15 and 23 degrees, of course I am talking about Pasto. We have carnivals and amazing sights around the city, lot of volcanoes, lakes and countryside. Indeed if you have time I recommended visiting “the coffee zone” which is an amazing experience and an opportunity to try the best coffee in the world, see how they made the coffee and visit the farms.
By Nancy Albornoz
When you are abroad and you meet some people normally they ask you about where are you from. In my case, and most of the Colombian people who are living abroad, we are asked if we know about drugs or just a subtle comment like this “Oh Colombia, drug dealers, drugs that’s awesome”. Or, sometimes if you meet rude people they always are going to do some signs, for example the sound of sniff that means sniff cocaine. Nevertheless these kind of things that people typically think and said about Colombia make us feel really insulted.
There are many things about Colombia that people have never heard about before, such as culture, food, how friendly people are, tourist places and festivals. We have a special saying about it and I always say this when someone makes rude comments “You must live first in the place and then you could criticize”.
Nowadays we have problems like poverty, drugs and security but if you compares ten years ago it was worst than today, the government has increased the security and making some plans to change and solve as much as possible in the long term this problems. There is not problem to visit and driving around the country but you need to be careful always.
Language and Culture
Generally speaking, some people know that our native language is Spanish but sometimes people think that is the same as in Spain but this is wrong, we have the same language but it is a completely different accent. By the way like every country in the world we have more than 5 accents in Colombia that make Colombian Spanish even more different from the Spanish from Spain
We considered ourselves really regionalist; we have many regions with different cultures, food, weather. This is one of the best points of our country; the diversity of people, sights, food and the experience of having 2 oceans, beautiful beaches, warm, cold and hot weather during the year because we don’t have seasons, always having the same level temperature.
People and places
Colombian people are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world I am not sure why this is, but it is true. You always see the Colombian people smiling no matter what problems they have, is not like England where it depends of the weather.
There are about 5 places that everyone must visit. Bogota the capital has a different atmosphere, you have everything you want in a massive city. It is better known as “the eternal spring”. If you want to visit a historical place, you should go to Cartagena, in my opinion it is the best place to visit. On average most people don’t know my city because is a small city , it is an amazing city in the shadows of a volcano, the weather is cold between 15 and 23 degrees, of course I am talking about Pasto. We have carnivals and amazing sights around the city, lot of volcanoes, lakes and countryside. Indeed if you have time I recommended visiting “the coffee zone” which is an amazing experience and an opportunity to try the best coffee in the world, see how they made the coffee and visit the farms.
By Nancy Albornoz