They never asked about the smell of pan de bono in the morning. They never asked about the weight of a ruana (woolen poncho) on a rainy afternoon in Boyacá. They never asked about the way my grandmother would say "Mi amor" —a cure for every scraped knee and every broken heart.
: The Colombian mother is often the central figure, giving her entire life for the family's well-being. Girls are often taught early to help with household chores and meal preparation, such as learning to cook traditional dishes like with their grandmothers. Extended Networks as a little girl growing up in colombia
This is not the Colombia of tourist brochures or narcoseries. This is the Colombia I felt in my bones. They never asked about the smell of pan
But here is what I also learned: resilience is not a grand speech. It is my mother waking up at 4 AM to sell empanadas at the bus terminal so I could have a new notebook. It is my abuela turning a single chicken into a three-course meal (soup, main, and fricasé leftovers). It is every costeño on the Caribbean coast laughing harder than anyone else the day after a hurricane. : The Colombian mother is often the central
But the loudest sound was the human one. On Sundays, my uncles would arrive with a bottle of aguardiente and a portable radio. They would play salsa —Rubén Blades, Héctor Lavoe. The adults would dance. , I would stand on my father’s feet while he taught me to step to the clave . "Mira," he would say, "the rhythm is the heart. If you lose the rhythm, you lose yourself." I did not know then that he was talking about survival.
Music and dance are not just pastimes in Colombia; they are the very heartbeat of the culture. A little girl growing up in Colombia is immersed in this vibrant rhythm almost from the moment she can walk.
: Many young women continue to live with their parents well into adulthood, often until they marry, reflecting a culture that values family cohesion over independence. Social Values and Upbringing