As UG2 honors Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept 15 – Oct 16, we will continue to profile some of the employees whose grace, talents, intelligence, and generosity of spirit are emblematic of Team UG2 in every office across the country.
For this installment, Yaneth Baburka (Tri-State Region), María Trujillo (Tri-State Region) and Arles Callejas (Northern CA Region) shared fond memories and cherished traditions from their native Colombia.
UG2: Is there a particular food or drink that you would call your favorite from home?
YB: My favorite foods are empanadas. Colombian empanadas are made of maiz (corn).
MT: Colombia has varied cuisine but the most favorite are the Champús (a drink made with corn and fruit juices), cholado (fruit and ice flakes), and lulada (a cold, refreshing drink), and bandeja paisa (traditionally made with beans, rice, chicharrón, carne en polvo, chorizo, fried egg, ripe plantain, avocado, and arepa).
AC: My favorite food is street food such as papas criollas (Colombian-style fried potatoes).
UG2: Do you have a song, musical artist or movie that represents your country well?
YB: There are many songs that we Colombians remember our land by, but my favorite is by Carlos Vives La Gota Fria. It is called a vallenato. This music genre is from the Northern part of Colombia. Colombia is blessed with many genres of music. According to the region you are from, music is influenced by Indigenous, Europeans or Africans.
MT: I have 3. The musical artists Yuri Buenaventura, Shakira, and Carlos Vives.
UG2: Tell us how a birthday or wedding might be celebrated in your home country?
YB: When we celebrate, we celebrate with many family members at our gatherings. You can find at least three generations together. There is lots of food and we enjoy dancing the night away.
MT: One of the most famous Colombian wedding traditions is “Las arras” (gold coins). The priest blesses 13 gold coins and passes the coins to the groom who then presents them to the bride. The coins represent the groom’s willingness to take care of his wife and provide for the family.
After the bride and groom exchange rings, they do the candle ceremony. This is to symbolize the bond they now share together and that they have become one. After the ceremony comes the cutting of the cake, which is always fruit cake soaked in red wine.
Traditional styles of music loved by Colombians of all different generations will be played— Vallenato, regueton, salsa, and merengue. If you are unfamiliar with Colombian music, some popular Colombian regueton artists include Maluma, J Balvin, Piso 21, and Shakira.
UG2: What about games or special holiday traditions?
YB: My favorite holiday is the 7th of December, the celebration of Día de las velitas (day of little candles), a widely observed traditional holiday in Colombia. On this night we place candles and paper lanterns on porches, sidewalks, balconies, windowsills in honor of the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.
MT: The most typical Colombian holiday is Christmas. Traditions include eating natilla (a custard dish resembling a flan) and buñuelos (fried dough balls), and attending a Novena de Aguinaldos when the family comes together to eat, sing carols (villancicos), and recite a set of prayers.
UG2: Is there a particular place or neighborhood that you think of when you think of Colombia – or a particular place or time here that brings up memories of home?
YB: When I think of back home, I think about looking out my window and being able to see the mountains, the Andes.
MT: I’m reminded of home in my neighborhood in Jackson Heights, Queens, at Christmas time when people play the carols.
AC: I think of Monserrate Sanctuary in Bogota. (this traditional site of religious pilgrimage is an arts, culture and spiritual center in the mountains of Bogota).
UG2: What is something surprising that people might not know about your home country?
YB: What is surprising about Colombia is that people do not know that we are a mixture of three worlds: Indigenous, Spaniards and African.
We have one of the most beautiful landscapes. We have three Cordilleras (Three Andean Chains), valleys, and grasslands (Los Llanos) to the East. Colombia features an independent and relatively small range, The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which rises from the Caribbean Coastline (Atlantic Coast) to soaring snow-capped peaks. It is the world’s highest coastal mountain range.
Colombia has a UNESCO City—Cartagena.
And lastly, Colombia is a very cultural country with Nobel Laureate winner Grabiel Garcia Marquez, poets like Rafael Pombo, and painters and sculptors like Fernando Botero.
MT: Most people will have heard about Colombia because of Pablo Escobar and the Narcos Netflix series they made about his life, but Colombia is sooo much more than this. Colombia has many places to visit including Cartagena, Medellin, Cali, and the big capital, Bogota. Colombia is diverse and offers so much—Caribbean beaches, adventures in the Andes, the tropical jungle experiences, and the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. This is one ethnically diverse population that loves visitors.
Colombia is the world’s largest exporter of emeralds. One of the reasons Colombia emeralds are the best is because they are found in sedimentary host rock which makes them purer than emeralds from other regions.
Colombia is a country with no seasons. We have different regions with tropical rainforest, savanna, steppe, desert, and mountain climates.
The Cattleya orchid is the national flower of Colombia.
Colombians are the best dancers. Music and dancing are the heart of everything they do.
We are the third largest coffee producer and exporter in the world.
Colombia has the tallest palm trees in the world. You can find them in a valley known as Valle of Cocora.
Colombia is home to the Caño Cristales, also called the river of five colors, located in Serraníade la Macarena in the province of Meta. The river’s bed changes color between yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red from the end of July through November.
In Colombia we have a common phrase NO dar Papaya which literally translates “Keep your valuables out of sight to prevent them from being stolen.”
Colombia is a country that you can fall in love with!