When I first heard about the project I was really impressed. I think that we are in need of a documentary that shows the country without the stereotypes. We need to hear about the positive things Colombia has to offer. It is more than just coffee. Colombia has beautiful flowers, delicious food and awesome fashion designers. The world has to learn about it.

The people behind the idea of the documentary needs your help. They want to raise money to make this project happen. You can visit their site A Journey to Colombia to learn more and make a donation (which is tax deductible)

So here it is your opportunity to make this great project happen. Your donation wheter it is 10 dollars, 100 dollars or more would make the difference!

On December 31st we say good bye to the old year and prepare ourselves to receive the New Year. All around the world people have different traditions and ways to receive the New Year.

In Colombia those traditions are in the form of some rituals called "agueros". They are actually some rituals that were performed back in the time on Spain and France and that after the years took the form of the now days agueros in Colombia.

This “agueros” are followed on December 31st to bring on good fortune in the New Year.  For example the tradition of wearing new clothes so the rest of the next year you will always have new clothes in your closet. We also eat 12 grapes during the final 12 seconds of the old year asking for a wish for each grape for each respective month of the year.

There is also an “aguero” of wearing yellow underwear wearing them inside out and changing them at midnight for good luck on the next year. The same “aguero” with red underwear is for good love during the year.

Another “aguero” is to broom our homes and clean them very well to take out all the bad energies; we do "saumerios" or cleansings of the homes to get rid of bad energies.

There is also an “aguero” about burning the old year (Año Viejo). We make a puppet full of fireworks and it is burned at midnight to get rid of bad feelings on the past year.

Another “aguero” is to go out at midnight with a luggage or suitcase and go around the block for travels in the next year.

All families get together with food, deserts, ron, aguardiente (alcohol beverage) and of course the grapes and champagne to toast at midnight.

The rituals (agueros) are for prosperity, health, love and happiness. However the way I see it they are more to keep families together having fun and looking forward to a better year. And I know this, because even though in my family we do not believe on this agueros we still do some of the things just to keep the culture alive and have fun.

Now, you might decide to try out one of them, they might not change your luck in 2013 but I will assure you they will provide your family with some laughs and happiness.

Happy 2013 everyone, thanks for reading and keep connected, we will have more to share with all you in the next year.


Feliz Año Nuevo

Los Alumbrados or the Medellín Christmas lights are a tradition in the beautiful city of Medellin, Colombia. Los Alumbrados take place from December to January and during that time Medellin turns to party mode and the celebration begins. With all the lights that adorn the pat along the Medellin River, major roads and parks.

The city lights up usually by the time of the celebration of El Dia de Las Velitas (December 7th) where families get together to light up candles and turn on the Christmas lights at their houses.

Besides the beautiful Christmas lights the city welcomes thousands of tourist and with this, also the streets get full of vendors and street performers

The lights are planned and organized by the public utility provider Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM)

This year the city lights up with more of 18 millions lights with a theme “Nature, life and Light” that celebrates the different ecological areas of the area including, flowers, animals and climate.


Does the city you are from have any special celebrations during Christmas?

The Flower Festival: Medellin, Colombia is known as the city of eternal spring. The weather is very nice and feels like spring all year long. That type of weather is perfect for great agricultural products such as coffee and also beautiful flowers.

On the first week of August there is a festival in the beautiful city of Medellin (Antioquia) called the Flowers Festival (La feria de las flores). The festival is usually around 10 days long and offers different activities such as Equine Festival, Music, and Classic car parade, among others. One of the most popular events is the “Silleteros” that is a parade of display of beautiful flower arrangements.

The fist flowers parade was held on 1957 and since then the festival has been growing in a fast pace and now it counts with more than 140 cultural events.

The men and women that take place on the parades are very proud and show the tourist the beauty of the flowers and the city.

If you are looking into traveling for vacation to another country, maybe you can plan your next vacation here.

En agosto en Medellín la ciudad conocida como “Ciudad de la eterna primavera” debido a su maravilloso clima como de primavera todo el año. Este clima es perfecto para la agricultura de productos como el café y para crecimiento de flores muy lindas.

En la primare semana de agosto, la cuidad de Medellín (Antioquia), celebra un festival conocido como la feria de las flores. El festival dura aproximadamente 10 días y tiene diferentes actividades como la cabalgata equina, música y el desfile de carros clásicos. Uno de los eventos más populares es el desfile de Silleteros, donde los campesinos desfilan con arreglos de flores.

La primera feria de las flores fue en 1957 y desde entonces la feria ha continuado creciendo y en la actualidad cuenta con más de 140 actividades culturales.

Los hombres y mujeres que organizan y llevan a cabo los desfiles se sienten muy orgullosos y muestran a los turistas la belleza no solo de las flores, pero también de la cuidad.

Si estas buscando unas buenas vacaciones para conocer un nuevo país, esta sería una oportunidad perfecta.

Today, July 20th, we are celebrating the  202nd anniversary of our nation’s independence.

Hoy el 20 de Julio estamos celebrando 202 años de la Independencia de Colombia.