arranged marriages

I've met lots of Colombian women who got married at sixteen, fair enough, however talking to a 47 year old woman who was giving me a haircut she revealed that not only had she married at sixteen but it had been arranged by her parents.

Is there or was there a custom of arranged marriages in Colombia? You can guess her class by her job.

By el flaco on Apr 7, 2008, 03:24 in Friendly Talkzone.

gypsymomma says on Apr 7, 2008, 04:18:

I'm not sure about Columbia, but I have a friend that married a man from El Salvador. He went against the grain by marrying an American. Arranged marriage was preferred by parents, but he came here to college and met her. Funny thing is shortly after they married, he went back claiming he had some familial responsibilities. That was about a year and a half ago. He is still there, claiming all sorts of excuses on behalf of the U.S. Embassy as to why he cannot come home. I think he is married there, too. My friend is young and naive and was pregnant when he left. Sometimes I want to tell her to be a little less trusting of these hollow sounding excuses, but that is not my place. She even converted to Catholicism for their marriage, undermining her own upbringing. I know arranged marriage has been commonplace in Central America.

Peace be with Thee~Fare Thee Well

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Rikito says on Apr 7, 2008, 04:47:

Sorry, but you made a terrible mistake. You must write 100 times the following and submit it to this post.

"The correct spelling of the word Colombia is: C O L O M B I A

Siempre contigo :-)

It is not life that matters, but the journey.

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vicshere says on Apr 7, 2008, 05:42:

actually mine was arranged to......i arranged it

listo

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Mononoke28 says on Apr 7, 2008, 09:31:

I've never heard of that at all. Not even from my parents who were coffee farmers and were surrounded by a lot of country folk.

Diana

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britabroad says on Apr 7, 2008, 09:39:

Mrs Brit says that in the good old, bad old days, you would be expected to marry into a good family of the same or higher class than yourself. She also says that parents often judged a boyfriend as to his suitability for marriage, and maybe a little push in the right direction, but no real "arrangement" went on.
Having said that, her mother - who immigrated to Colombia from Spain during the Spanish Civil War - was 12 when she got married, although she still lived with her parents until she was 16.
At the age of 12 I can't see her making a decision about marriage by herself.

Leave the big stick at home...carry a cannon!

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Cali2005 says on Apr 7, 2008, 10:34:

I am not sure about arranged marraiges but the current problem seems to be from family members selling their kids off to guys that have money.

Medellin Apartments and Tours http://www.MedellinApartments.INFO

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ColombianoGringo says on Apr 7, 2008, 10:43:

As in many other cultures, it is not uncommon to see marriages between the children of families that are friends. However, these are not typically arranged in the same way that you would see in India and other countries. The families may sometimes encourage the relationships, but they're not really arranged. I have a few cousins that have married into situations like that. One turned out great, while the other was a complete disaster.

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Robert Jorge says on Apr 8, 2008, 06:03:

I have the same take as ColombianoGringo.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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Lauthra says on Apr 8, 2008, 07:58:

I don't know about decades ago, but in my life time, I haven't heard of any arranged marriages.

Nato (='.'=)

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