ColombiaCharlie & Sophie

Block:B

Cities, population & language

- The capital city of Colombia is Bogota, which is located right in the center of Colombia.

- Some of the other cities in Colombia include Medellin, Cartagena, Cali, Barranquilla, Santa Marta and Bucaramanga.

- The population of Colombia is about 46 million and the official language is Spanish.

- The currency used in Colombia are Pesos.

Geographic Features - Colombia is the fifth largest country in Latin America and has the world’s

second largest population Spanish-speaking people.- It is so close to the equator, that it doesn’t have any seasons and is hot &

tropical all year round. - Colombia sits in the northwestern part of the continent where South America

connects to central and Northern America. - In Colombia, there are tropical beaches, snowy mountains and volcanoes,

grasslands, jungles and deserts.

Animals & Wildlife

- About 10% of all animal species live in Colombia. From jaguars to caimans to poison dart frogs, all live in the forests of Colombia.

- Most of the native animals are birds, including the channel-billed toucan, white- plumbed anitbird, gray catbird, and many more.

Government & Economy - The country is run by a president who is elected every four years. Laws are

then made by the House of Representatives and a Senate.- The United States is Colombia’s biggest trading partner. Trading with the US

buys 40% of the country’s exports. Colombia sends many differents items across the sea such as coffee, bananas, oil, coal, gold, platinum and emeralds.

- One of the country’s worst exports would be the illegal drugs. The Colombian government is carrying out Plan Colombia, a wide-ranging effort to get rid of the gangs, called cartels, that produce illegal drugs for sale around the world.

This is a chart

that shows the

items that

Colombia trades

with other

countries and the

percentage of

those items that

are being sent

out.

History- Spanish travelers came to, what would soon be Colombia, in about 1500 but, they didn’t

establish a settlement until 1525. These travelers were captivated with the idea of

finding and having gold and other treasures. By about 1538, the settlers had defeated the

Muisca, an advanced culture that became the dominant power in Colombia by A.D. 700.

In the late 1700, people had began to get tired of the Spanish rule. In 1811, the city of

Cartagena and Bogota had declared independance. After independence, Colombia

became part of a large country called New Granada, which ended up crumbling in 1835,

and Colombia then became it’s own country. Fights soon broke out between political

groups over who would lead the country. Since then, Colombia has had several civil wars

and relatively few times of peace.

Colombian Foods & Delicacies - One of the very popular dishes in Colombia is the Bandeja paisa: it is red

beans cooked with pork, white rice, ground meat, fried egg, plantain , chorizo, hogao sauce, black pudding, avocado and lemon. It is served in a platter or a tray.

- In Bogotá, Ajiaco is a popular dish typically made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, and the Galinsoga parviflora herb, commonly referred to in Colombia as guasca.

Festivals & Celebrations- Black & white festival - January : A festival that celebrates the mixture of

indigenous rituals, Spanish colonial, and later Colombian and Afro-Colombian traditions and customs.

- Barranquilla Carnival - February : various days of parades, music, drinking and dancing .

- World Salsa festival - August : A total of over 4,000 dancers, musicians and artists, and about 20 national bands , participate in the various events planned throughout the week. These include shows, workshops, talks and practical salsa lessons.

Tourist attractions- Cano Cristales = Liquid Rainbow or the River of Five Colors, has been

closed for tourism since 1989.Plants, rocks, sand and algae give color to the river.

- Los Nevados National Park = The park is at a high elevation and is centered around some of the country’s most incredible volcanic peaks. Tourists can hike the mountains and/or camp at the camps backcountry.

- Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira = Used to be salt mining tunnels, but has now been turned into a cathedral.

Famous people/celebrities

- Nina Garcia : Fashion journalist, born in Barranquilla on May 3rd- John Leguizamo : Actor and stand-up comedian, born in Bogota on July

22nd- Shakira : Singer, born in Barranquilla on February 2nd- James Rodriguez : Soccer player, born in Cucuta on July 12th- Sofia Vergara : Actress and model, born in Barranquilla on July 10th- Juan Manuel Santos : President of Colombia, born in Bogota on August

10th.

Traditions and customs- Some traditions and customs in Colombia are music ( salsa, cumbia,

porro, vallenato, etc…, ), sports ( football(soccer), baseball, boxing, tennis, etc…, ), special festivals and/or carnivals ( on other slide ), foods ( on other slide ).

Bibliography - https://latintravelguide.com/colombia/festivals-and-holidays

- http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-colombia/

- http://www.veintemundos.com/en/spanish/- http://www.colombia.travel/en/

Hope you enjoyed this presentation and learned about

Colombia!