Culture of Colombia

Both parties engaged in multiple civil wars resulting in a slow development of the country and the isolation of regions until the end of the 19th century.

Ethno-racial groups maintained their ancestral heritage culture: whites tried to keep themselves, despite the growing number of illegitimate children of mixed African or indigenous ancestry.

Temperatures generally decrease about 3.5°F (2°C) for every 1,000-ft (300-m) increase in altitude above sea level, presenting perpetual snowy peaks to hot river valleys and basins.

Colombia's Pacific coast has one of the highest levels of rainfall in the world, with the south east often drenched by more than 200 in (500 cm) of rain per year.

Beyond the tierra fría lie the alpine conditions of the zona forestada (forested zone) and then the treeless grasslands of the páramos.

Indigenous influences in Colombian culture include cuisine, music, architecture, language, folklore, clothing, etymology, and artisan crafts.

Groups of French, Swiss, Dutch, Belgian, German, Italian, Lebanese and Syrian-Lebanese-Palestinian immigrants settled in the city and played a large role in its development.

[9] Colombian politicians, intellectuals, and members of elite society turned to England and France for inspiration in the period, following independence from Spain.

French architect Gastón Lelarge (1861–1934) designed many of the public edifices in Bogotá, as well as the cupola of the church of Saint Peter Claver in Cartagena.

[citation needed] Due to existence of geographical and climatic barriers, regions in Colombia remained isolated for much of their history, boosting strong local identities.

This is attributed to the fact that Colombia was not a unified nation during the Pre-Columbian Era and different regions had different indigenous civilizations inhabiting it, such as the Quimbaya in the Paisa region, the Muisca in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the Zenú and the Tairona in the Caribbean, the Pubenenses in Popayán, the Incas in Nariño, and the Calima in Valle del Cauca.

[10] Despite the constitution of 1886 tried to establish an unified national identity around Spanish language and Catholic faith, Panama successfully seceded from Colombia in 1903.

However, separatism is a significant political force in San Andrés and Providencia, where raizals (Protestant Afro Caribbean group) are up one-third of population.

Other groups with a strong regional identities include:[12] The educational experience of many Colombian children begins with attendance at a preschool academy until age five (Educación preescolar).

The high-school graduate is known as a bachiller, because secondary basic school and middle education are traditionally considered together as a unit called bachillerato (sixth to eleventh grade).

Once graduated from the university, people are granted a (professional, technical or technological) diploma and licensed (if required) to practice the career they have chosen.

[citation needed] Traditionally, men were usually the head of the household, in charge of earning most of the family's income, while women were responsible for cooking, housework, and raising children.

However, as in most cultures around the world, the dawn of the 20th century brought forth a great empowerment for women who were given a right to vote during the 1950s rule of dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla.

[citation needed] Colombia has many traditional folk tales and stories about legendary creatures, which are transmitted orally and kept for next generations to come.

Ornate golden figures, and jewelry from millennia ago have been discovered by both ruthless conquistadors and careful archaeological digs.

Some people explain that delay in the evolution of the Colombian artistic style is due to the geography of the country, that make difficult a contact and dialogue between the different creative tendencies[citation needed] In the decades between 1920 and 1940, Marco Tobón Mejía, José Horacio Betancur, Pedro Nel Gómez, Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo, Santiago Martínez Delgado, and Alipio Jaramillo created some dynamics in the elaboration of murals.

Pedro Nel Gómez, highlighted in the drawing, the water color, the fresco, the oil painting, and the sculpture in wood, stone, and bronze, shows, for example in "Autorretrato con sombrero" (1941), his familiarity with the works of Gauguin and Van Gogh.

Alejandro Obregon, considered by many as the father of the Colombian art (most by his originality), has been acclaimed by critics and the public, because of his painting of national landscapes characterized by violent strokes and the symbolic and expressionist use of animals (specially birds, like the condor).

[citation needed] In last years, some Colombian artists, such as Fernando Botero, Enrique Grau, David Manzur, Luis Caballero, Santiago Martinez Delgado, Ignacio Gomez Jaramillo, Débora Arango, Kajuma and have received international fame, awards and wide public acclaim.

[21][22][23] While Colombia remains a mostly Roman Catholic country by baptism numbers, the 1991 Colombian constitution guarantees freedom of religion and all religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law.

[citation needed] Other important writers are Álvaro Mutis, winner of the Cervantes Prize, Jorge Isaacs, who wrote "María", Gonzalo Arango, founder of the Nadaismo movement, Fernando Vallejo, winner of the Rómulo Gallegos prize, José Asunción Silva, precursor of Latin American romanticism, Raúl Gómez Jattin, Efraím Medina, Andrés Caicedo, the poets Piedad Bonnet and María Mercedes Carranza, Aurelio Arturo, the novelist Germán Espinosa, Augusto Pinilla, and Rafael Chaparro Madiedo.

The most outstanding directors of the film production are Sergio Cabrera, Felipe Aljure, Luis Ospina, Víctor Gaviria, and Carlos Mayolo.

Between the most recent proposals, we find to Andy Baíz and Juan Felipe Orozco, director of "Al final del espectro".

Since then, many other comedians and storytellers have shaped Colombian's concept of what is humorous in many cases at the expense of the tragedies of war, economic distress, and misbehaved politicians.

International Latin, a type of pop, ballad, and salsa music are best-represented by Charlie Zaa and Joe Arroyo, respectively.