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LOS PAISAS

Hola :)

So it's been a while since I came back from Colombia, but here there and everywhere that I am exposed to images of Colombia (visual, verbal ... any descriptive representation of the country) I am exposed to PAISA culture, or tales of the Paisas or stereotypes of the Paisas (hardworking, salespeople, family oriented, conservative etc.)

I know from having spent nearly 2 months in Colombia that it is a very DIVERSE country yet there is still a predominance of Paisas in say politics (Uribe for instance...) and Paisa culture informs is the dominant notion of Colombia, I think.

I was briefly exposed to negative opinions of Paisas from a friend from Magdalena. Given the recent (paramilitary) history of the department, he perceived all Paisas to be paracos.

So ... what gives? Why do los paisas tienen buena fama en todos lados (en general)?

By island girl on May 7, 2009, 12:03 in Friendly Talkzone.

Simon says on May 7, 2009, 12:13:

Your friend from Magdalena is an ignorant bigot.

"Just an honest, decent Colombian trying to do the right thing."--Simon

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 12:14:

Blessed are the one-eyed in the land of the blind? Care to elaborate in terms of this particular context?

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paisa29 says on May 7, 2009, 12:17:

Si todos los paisas somos paracos... entonces todos los costeños son perezosos.

"Fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality" Conrad Hilton

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 12:17:

Thanks Simon, I'll be sure to tell him an anonymous person on an internet forum has called him an ignorant bigot. I'm sure there are no negative stereotypes of Costenos being espoused by peoples from the interior either.

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 12:21:

OYE! Ok I used that one expample as THE ONLY example I have heard that did not make Paisas seem like THE Colombian people. When there are a myriad of cultures there. I DO NOT AGREE WITH MY FRIEND HE MADE A COMMENT AND IT WAS THE ONLY NEGATIVE ONE I HEARD THERE HERE OR ANYWHERE (Paisa stereotypes I heard IN GENERAL were about being salespeople, hardworking, family oriented and hospitable.) I am just interested in the history of the Paisas being such a dominant and FAMOUS GROUP IN COLOMBIA.

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 12:27:

Thanks elsapo for perhaps clearing that up! Do you agree with my perception that Paisa culture is the most "exported" of Colombia's cultures and that they are a pretty "famous" peoples in the country? Do you know the history of this?

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Byron_Kostner says on May 7, 2009, 12:35:

The paisas are like Texan's in the USA, they think their shit don't stink as well.

Simon says "Your friend from Magdalena is an ignorant bigot."

We agree, many Colombians are ignorant bigots.

Actions speak louder than words, but the self-righteous crusaders want to live by their own rules.

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romy says on May 7, 2009, 12:39:

Para que mas sirve un sapo si no es para abrir la boca?

In Cali paisas are referred to as panaderos because they opened up many panaderias around the city. Probably related to the "hardworking, salespeople, family oriented, conservative etc."

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 12:42:

B_K: It's funny when someone (Simon) is critiquing a negative, sweeping generalization of people (in effect criticizing bigotry) by making negative, sweeping gneralizations (in effect being a bigot as well). I am glad the irony was not lost on you although I fear we may also be treading down the same path (although more carefully with use of the term "many").

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Simon says on May 7, 2009, 12:43:

"Thanks Simon, I'll be sure to tell him an anonymous person on an internet forum has called him an ignorant bigot."

I'm not anonymous.......I'M SIMON!!!!

"Just an honest, decent Colombian trying to do the right thing."--Simon

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Simon says on May 7, 2009, 12:45:

"We agree, many Colombians are ignorant bigots"

And we have you here representing that elephantine ignorant segment from the US, our token redneck... congrats Byron!!

"Just an honest, decent Colombian trying to do the right thing."--Simon

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 12:46:

Well that was a kind of cute comeback Simon. Ok let's be friends. And I do not expect you to be friends with my friend from the coast but hey, don't shoot the messenger!

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Simon says on May 7, 2009, 12:52:

It's ok Island girl, I never attacked you to begin with.

"Just an honest, decent Colombian trying to do the right thing."--Simon

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 12:52:

"In Cali paisas are referred to as panaderos "

LOL. In Neiva they are known for opening clothing stores. There must be a hundred stores with some variation of "El Paisa" as the name.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 13:05:

That's true here in Houston as well. The vast majority of Colombian restaurants are Paisa oriented. You can get a Bandeja Paisa in a ridiculously large number of places.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 13:14:

Same here in Toronto CG. From "Arrieros" to "Mi Tierra" they are all basically Paisa restos. Before going to Colombia for the first time I thought Paisa culture and food WAS Colombian food and culture (as opposed to one - albeit a dominant one - in many). I was a bit shocked at my first few stops in-country: San Andres, Cartagena, Santa Marta and Mompos.

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Mononoke28 says on May 7, 2009, 15:25:

I personally think the Paisa "fame" is due to the Paisas themselves. They're famous for their egos and they're constantly tooting their own horn. Now, a lot of it is well deserved but I agree with the OP in that there are all kinds of great people from all over Colombia, not just Paisas.

Diana

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viajero123 (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 16:11:

I think paisas (including those from Eje Cafetero) make up a large portion of Colombian expats, therefore their over representation in the image of Colombia abroad.

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shazam (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 17:23:

Some of us do need a history lesson.

Medellin was originally founded by a pogrom of Jews from the Basque region of Spain. Jews are reknowned for the emphasis they place on education, hard work, and financial savvy and the people of the Basque region are renowned for their strong character and good looks. There's a start, but throughout the years, they obviously mixed with others and now Medellin is mostly Catholic.

Anyone from Antioquia is considered Paisa. As much as they are very family oriented, they are also incredibly hard working, savvy business people and some of the best husslers you'll ever meet. They are friendly, outgoing, fun loving and generally up front with you. (Unlike a Bogotano who values appearances over sincerity!) It is also a region with a wonderful climate, plenty of water and fertile land...hence farms did very well here and the Paisas very early on were some of the wealthiest, if not best off Colombians. And early on there was a sense of unity among Paisas...most likely tied directly to their close knit families...if everyone is related, then that makes all Paisas related!

In the early 1800's, there was a movement in Colombian history called La Colonizacion Paisa, in which both the political and church leaders in Antioquia encouraged paisas in Medellin, to 'colonize' other parts of the country, cultivate the land and make the country prosperous. This is why people from the departments south of Antioquia, like Caldas, consider themselves Paisa. But they Paisas didn't just go to the neighboring departments, they went EVERYWHERE. Many of the large cattle ranches on the coast are owned by paisas; flower farms in Cundinamarca are owned by Paisas; coffee plantations in Eje Cafetera are Paisa owned. The went out, aquired land and made themselves prosperous.

This is where much of the Paisa pride, and non-Paisa dislike derives. Paisas work hard, make money and do well. When they come into your region and do better than you, it evokes jealousy. As well, Medellin, although small compare to Bogota, is the textile center of the country. Most Paisa banks and companies are incredibly well run, efficient, modern and successful. i.e. Exito, Bancolombia, Sufinaciamento, etc. In the late 1980's Bogota couldn't even get themselves organized enough to collect garbage so a Paisa company was contracted. They came in and had everything running smoothly in 2-3 months! If something works in Colombia, there's usually a Paisa behind it! So the jealousy is obvious.

There has also been a movement on and off among radical, successful Paisas to separate from the rest of Colombia and become their own country. Born out of disgust with the inefficiencies of the rest of the country, they figured they had all the resources they'd need to be a successful country on their own. On paper, it seems feasible, but it'll never happen.

As for the Uribe-paramilitary connection, that is not all Paisa. Uribe's parents were killed by the FARC and as governor of Antioquia he passed into law the right for landowners to use or hire men to use firearms to protect themselves. This is where the many of the small personal defense groups were created, such as AUC. Eventually, when they demanded more from the landowners, upon refusal they took matters into their own hands. So basically, he allowed militias of paramilitaries to run amok with no recourse.

As well, this was around the time of Pablo Escobar in which the Pipe's were born. Again, they were a self-armed militia funded by the wealthy to go after Escobar and his supporters completely outside, yet tolerated by the police and military. So they're not all perfect.

The Paisas are easily the most wonderful people in all of Colombia. Consider yourself lucky to experience Medellin, to be surrounded by Paisas and to be welcomed into their lives. They are good people.

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durito2 says on May 7, 2009, 18:01:

"Anyone from Antioquia is considered Paisa."

Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío too.

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 18:06:

Don't forget that some in La Costa want to be separate as well. Of course, our idiot governor in Texas spouts similar bullshit when it serves his purpose.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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island girl says on May 7, 2009, 18:07:

Do people from coastal Antioquian places like Turbo identify as Costenos or as Paisas?

Thanks to all and thanks Shazzam for some interesting info there :)

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utopiacowboy says on May 7, 2009, 18:12:

My wife from Medellin looks a lot like a Jewish girlfriend I used to have.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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PALEOLITICO says on May 7, 2009, 18:33:

"Why do los paisas tienen buena fama en todos lados?"

Porque somos muy muy bacanos! :)

www.paleolitico.net

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whitewidow says on May 7, 2009, 19:27:

when you think of a cowboy, you think of texas. when you think of paisa, you also think of "get r done". i like what shazam said, he did his research. so what is the antioqueño term for "red neck", monteñero? either way, paisas have power and texas still needs to secede...

- rumor has it the nwo is grooming rick perry for the next puppet president, after Mr. Soetero has his run..... (obvious lead in for gringoloid response).

I'm no doper! I just play one on TV.

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ferran says on May 7, 2009, 19:56:

Shazam...........wow where did you get the facts? First of all there is no jewish or middle eastern ancestry in the Basque country (I'm Basque and I know my history) let me explain; the people that developed the inner part of the country what now is known as Antioquia, came through the Magdalena river and this migration came in three stages; during the XV and early XVI century came the people from the region of Spain called Estremadura, these were people appointed by the crown of Spain to institutionalized the country, religion, education, and banking, these people were hard core, they wanted an empire in this new land, because of the hard terrain it was imposible to bring slaves to developed the land, they tried to enslave the indiginous population but this didnt work, they got sick and die, the rest ran away into the jungle. They manage to convince a cacique to be on theyre side and named him cacique de Nutibarra (a Spanish word) and got some to help to develop the land. Later in the late XVI century they encourage the people from the south of Spain to migrate "Los Andaluzes" a stock predominantly made of middle eastern and other ethnic cultures to come and develop the land, to some royal titles were given for theyre hard work and accomplishments. The last wave of Spaniards came from the Basque country in the XVII century, remember they all came through the Magdalena river, it was a tough journey so the ones that made it became the strong stock. The Basque are known for animal hearding and farming, the Andaluzes for fishing and commernce, all this three cultures is what makes the Paisas unique, they develop the land on theyre own.

When the industial revolution came the Antioqueños fell right into it, they were the first to stablished a railroad system "Ferrocarriles de Antioquia" this made the region very wealthy and were able to create more industry, during this period most of the population in Antioquia was white, the demand for labor brought people from all over the country to work. Medellin became a modern city with "El tranvia" and the first to import cars from Europe in a large scale, architecture fluorish and so did the arts, music, theater, literature and painting schools were created, thats why Carlos Gardel became famous in Medellin were he died in a plane crash.

Because of the audacity of the Paisas we got the Pablo Escobars and through much turmoil the PEPES were created (not the pipes) the acronomyn is "gente PErseguida por Pablo EScobar" These were the first to establish a crime sindicate, the legacy is still there and most of the money that developed Medellin as we now it now came from the Pablo Escobar legacy, thats why Colombia has a president from Medellin that cant seem to shake of that past.

I have a very close relatioship with the Paisas, my last name (Basque) is very common in Antioquia thats why I have no problem being a Paisa and theyre roots welcome me with open arms.

All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self evident.

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whitewidow says on May 7, 2009, 20:05:

hmmmm, have not heard that first part b4. even better, ferran. good research!

I'm no doper! I just play one on TV.

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shazam (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 20:23:

I stand corrected. The information I gave was given to me several times by several people while I lived in Medellin, all Paisas, however, I must say, all the ultra wealthy, so it's quite possible it was 'their' story...or the story they wanted to believe. And I did. Or maybe it's the story of a small few, and not the majority. Or maybe it was a combination of Jews and Basque people, but not necessarily Basque Jews. It is history and therefore details vary depending on the teller.

Thanks for the spelling on PEPES. I'd only ever heard it, never seen it. I still hold that that period of paisa colonization within Colombia is valid for drawing the dislike of their countrymen. It's taught as part of the sociales curriculum in schools throughout Colombia.

Thanks for also sharing your last name. I must say I've never met a paisa with that one, but I'm sure I haven't met them all...yet! :)

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whitewidow says on May 7, 2009, 20:36:

there were never any jews.......... that was fabricated by the jews.

I'm no doper! I just play one on TV.

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ferran says on May 7, 2009, 20:45:

The southern part of Spain was settle by alot of jews "Andaluzes" they later became Christians in order to benefit from the country, its funny because some of them still look jewish and act like jews, and still have that merchant attitude, something that has left a trademark on the Paisas.

Shazam you dont know my last name, its Very, Very commom in Paisa land.

All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self evident.

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markobhoy says on May 8, 2009, 03:10:

can i have a guess, ferran? beltran or uribe? both seemed common in medellin and i'm pretty sure that they are basque

as a complete side point, at each game numerous fans of my team, celtic, fly the Ikurriña at any stadium where we play

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Haddeman says on May 8, 2009, 06:58:

Remember that in the time of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand a large proportion of the Spanish people were muslims and jews.The forced conversion to christianity and the subsequent pograms and inquistions forced many back to Morocco and many others reluctantly became catholic,but in reality kept many of their old muslim and jewish beliefs and customs.
There is a respected opinion and a number of books on the topic that many of those forced to convert came to Antioquia and are in fact racially Jewish or Arab.If you consider the physical appearance,the business and family aspects,the way they prepare food and bury their dead,these are all very familiar to muslim and jewish culture.To anyone who has travelled in North Africa and the middle east these similarities ar almost uncanny,i know Israelis and Arabs who have come here and found themselves to be shocked at how comfortably they fit in to this culture.

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billyb says on May 8, 2009, 07:04:

They have bandeja paisa in Israel?

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

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greg says on May 8, 2009, 08:08:

Island Girl, my girlfriend is from Turbo and she considers herself to be a Paisa.

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ferran says on May 8, 2009, 08:44:

Marcko...None of the above, Beltran is not Basque, keep on guessing and billyb, no bandeja paisa in Israel, maybe bandeja cous-cous, when a Paisa opens a restaurante Antioqueño in Tel Aviv, he will have all the jews eating Chicharron and converting to Paisas, they will turn nice and funny end all the wars, all thanks to a Paisa.

Interesting note, once in downtown Medellin I saw someone that resemble an Andaluz gypsy, I approach him and got him talking, and in fact he was a gypsy and told me the story of gypsys in Medellin, it wasnt a good ending, they were discriminated and left out of the system, there is a small pocket of Gypsys living in Medellin. Hey that could be a good OP

Gypsys Of Colombia

All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self evident.

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Rocco81 says on May 8, 2009, 09:11:

I partied with some Basques in Germany...very cool guys, but I think they were slightly offended by me trying to communicate in my shitty Spanish ...So, we called it a draw and communicated in German and broken English..

Sic semper tyrannis

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ferran says on May 8, 2009, 09:16:

No hard feelings Mongo, we Basques have develop a tough skin, it is said that we originated from what was the Atlanteans, our language Euskera is very old and has no ties to any indoeuropean language, when people ask me where I'm from, I tell them..... from the Basque country, a country situated between Spain and France.

EUSKAL HERRIA

All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self evident.

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Rocco81 says on May 8, 2009, 09:25:

Yeah I understood why they didn't want to talk Spanish...it was just my first reaction in communicating with them. They explained why they didn't understand me so well (not just my lack of spanish skills...but because they spoke something removed from Spanish) so yeah in the end we all had some fun got some pics maybe I'll show you sometimes Ferran.

Sic semper tyrannis

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billyb says on May 8, 2009, 09:39:

My family, through my maternal grandmother, also is from the Basque country, arrived in Antioquia in the late 1700s.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

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ferran says on May 8, 2009, 10:54:

That sounds about right billyb, the Basque migrated to Antioquia in the late 1700s and early 1800s, do you know what part they were from?

All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self evident.

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billyb says on May 8, 2009, 11:02:

I don't know off the top of my head, but Interesting, I will have to look it it up, I had never thought of it. A cousin wrote a book for the family tracing my Grandma's side to the Basque Country and Grandpa's side to Spain back to the early 1450s, almost back to the Visi-Goths, no?

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

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Mononoke28 says on May 8, 2009, 11:43:

shazam (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 17:23:

The Paisas are easily the most wonderful people in all of Colombia.
-------------------------------------
I think you should've prefaced that phrase with a "In MY opinion..." because I highly disagree. I've met wonderful people in all the different places I've lived and been in Colombia, not just in "paisa" territory.

Diana

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esanch36 says on May 8, 2009, 12:31:

Arent there alot of German/anlgo and Eastern european jewish ancestory in medellin, because there was a decent sized immagration to colombia during/after WWII...thats why you see alot of light skinned, blond haired paisas.

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MitchAlvarez says on May 8, 2009, 12:40:

UN PAISA ES:

Andariego y luchador
No se le quita a nadie
Trabajador y berraco
Inteligente y pensador
Optimista en la derrota
Querendon y enamorado
Una vez que estrecha su mano es amable
Integro en su trabajo
Alegre en su triunfo y bravo en la injusticia.

Si vez un hombre asi Avemaria puessssssssss

has encontrado lo mejorsito de Colombia:

Un Paisa!!!!!!!!!!!

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MitchAlvarez says on May 8, 2009, 12:42:

LOS PAISAS....

Somos buenos y berraco pa' lo que sea!!!

Pa donar sangre....
pa empujar carros...
pa servir de fiadores...
pa llorar por un amigo si se muere...
pa jurar en vano...

Hablamos de todo el mundo y no le sostenemos a nadie. :)

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 8, 2009, 12:46:

Ay juepucha!!! Quien le dio cuerda a Mitch!

Solo te estoy jodiendo ;)

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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island girl says on May 8, 2009, 17:48:

Thanks so much for all the feedback and an especially big thank you to Rikito who called me a troll. I'll interpret your name-calling as such: That I managed to illicit enough ever-so-slightly controversial responses to my GENUINE question as to get your attention and your delighful comment.

This has been a very enlightening post for me, as I am very interested in concepts and performances of "identity" in the Colombian context. Thanks Greg for your insight on the Turbo situation. My time in Colombia was an interesting foray into a very beautiful country with warm people and various complexities and I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter.

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Byron_Kostner says on May 8, 2009, 18:32:

The Virtual Jewish History Tour in Colombia

Age of Exploration

The first Jews came to Colombia during the 16th century. They came as settlers from Spain who practiced Christianity but were really Marranos. In 1636, a huge group of Marranos were caught and put to death. There was still a small group of secret Jews after this massacre, but they slowly diminished. There are no practicing Jews left from this time period in Colombia.

Origins of the Modern Jewish Community

The first wave of practicing Jews came from Jamaica and Curacao. These Jews started practicing their religion openly at the end of the 18th century, even though it was not officially legal to do so. Once Judaism was made a legal religion, the government granted the Jews a plot of land for a cemetery.

During the early part of the 20th century Jewish immigrants came in masses from the Eastern Hemisphere. Right after World War I a large number of Sephardi immigrants from Greece, Turkey, North Africa and Syria. Shortly after, Jewish immigrants began to arrive from Eastern Europe. A wave of Ashkenazi immigrants came after the rise of Hitler in 1933. From 1939 until the end of World War II immigration was put to a halt by anti-immigrant feelings in the country. The Jewish population at that time was around 6,000. After World War II, another 350 Jews entered Colombia.

Treatment of Jews

Since 1853 the government has taken measures to try and make it easier to practice other religions besides Catholicism in Colombia. In 1886, the liberal government reformed the Constitution to restrict the Church's power in ruling the country. In 1991, the Church was officially separated from the government. Religions with organized public institutions were allowed to apply for tax exemptions, however the Jewish community has not applied for this privilege.

While Colombia does not have an official religion anymore, the character of the society and government is still largely Catholic, making it difficult to be Jewish. Socio-economic conditions also exacerbate the Jews' plight. The Jews of Colombia are largely upper-middle class. The average person is Colombia is much poorer which breeds anti-Semitism. In the last two decades about twenty Jews have been kidnaped and even more violent incidents have been reported. These violent attacks come from both right-wing and left-wing groups and is mostly due to the relative wealth of the Jewish community.

Relations with Israel started off poorly but have improved over the years. Colombia was one of the countries that did not vote for partition in 1947. When Israel was established in 1948, Colombia did not recognize the State of Israel. It was not until the 1960s that Colombia and Israel opened embassies. Relations improved tremendously in 1988 when major trade agreements were signed between Israel and Colombia.

Modern Jewish Community

Most Jews in Colombia are not observant and generally not active in religious Jewish life. Emphasis is on social gatherings and only a handful of Jews keep kosher. Despite the low-level of ritual observance, however, many Colombians send their children to day school and the intermarriage rate is only around 10 percent.

The Jews in Colombia are concentrated in a few professions. Most Jewish immigrants started out and are still involved in commerce and business. Jews have played a large role is developing new industries in Colombia since World War II. Some Jews tried farming when they first came to Latin America, but failed in their efforts.

Most of the Jews in Colombia are concentrated in Bogota. There are small communities in Cali, Barranquilla and Medellin. The size of the Ashkenazi and Sephardi population is about the same. There are nine synagogues throughout the country. In Bogota the Ashkenazi, Sephardi and German Jews each run their own religious and cultural institutions. One organization, Confederacion de Asociaciones located in Bogota is the central organization that unites all Jews and Jewish institutions in Colombia.

Due to the unstable economy and violence against Jews, many Jews have left Colombia. In the mid-1990s the population was 5,650 and, in the early twenty-first century, the Jewish population has decreased to 4,200. Most of the Jews that have left have gone to settle in Miami and other parts of the United States.

Actions speak louder than words, but the self-righteous crusaders want to live by their own rules.

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Byron_Kostner says on May 8, 2009, 18:34:

A Letter From A Jewish Paisa

HOW I DISCOVERED MY JEWISH BACKGROUND - by Horacio Calles

I was born in a little town in the state of Antioquia of northwestern Colombia. We Antioqueños are very proud of our identity: were are very much entrepreneurs, hard working, and for generations we spoke of ourselves as of the Nation, and the Race. Since I was a child I often heard, in the daily conversations with my age mates, that we Antioqueños were Jews . But I did not pay attention to it. As a matter of fact I was raised as a Catholic, a devout one, My family was Catholic, my neighborhood was Catholic. My town was Catholic. Catholicism was all over the place for generations. Going to mass, having late holy communion, praying the holy rosary every night.That was everyday 's sluff. And we did it with conviction and devotion.

The years went by and as a teenager I became eager to read good books - literature, history, psychoanalysis, politics and foreign languages; I was fluent in English and French, and had some knowledge of Russian and German. So I got fond of being an intellectual, free thinker, atheist, and very much on the left. My devotions as a Catholic were left behind and now religion was nothing but "the opiate of the people". After finishing my studies at the School of Economics at my local university I applied for a fellowship to study my real interest : anthropology. And I was lucky, enough to get a grant at S.I.U. in Carbondale, Illinois.

I had never been away from my people, my culture, my way of being .. So it was rather difficult. Than I came to the States I had to face what they call; Cultural Shock. No, it was not rather difficult, it was very difficult. For example my grant was very small and I went hungry in the middle of plenty, but at least there were plenty of books to read, and one of them was about the inquisition and the Jews of Majorca. The author, whose name I do not remember now, made a very good description of how the Jews of Majorca, in order not to be bothered by the inquisition, used to practice a very "showy", kind of Catholicism, and I could not but compare it with the Catholic milieu in which I had been raised. Besides. these Jews were known, and still are, as "los de la calle" which is the last name of my family on my father 's side.

Then I moved to Chicago and I will never forget that the first small apartment that I found for my meager budget was denied to me by the landlord who looked at me from head to toe and just said, "You are Jewish , aren't you. No, I won't let you have it" . And that was it. So I looked around and of all the places on earth I found myself living in a small room in a Jewish neighborhood. But they were a very particular kind Jews : they were Troskyites, Russian Jews, who had run away from Stalin. They were atheists, they were ultraleftists, they were very much intellectuals so I was in my own soup! As I had some knowledge of Russian and I was very interested in political theory, those were my best days in the States .- Monthly Review, Isaac Deutcher. Malcom X, Stop the war in Viet Nam, Cuba..... I used to have my meals at a Kosher restaurant near by. But I never knew what Kosher was, As far as I was concerned it was the name of the restaurant and that was it. I do remember that the taste of that food was rather different. but I did not care.

In my readings I was very fond of every article or book that had to do with the Kibbutzim. As far as I was concerned, it was the perfect society: small, close to nature, no private property, no social classes, everybody, for everybody ... And then I came back to my country and plunged for twelve years with the Witatos, a tribal group in the tropical rain forests of the Amazon. At last I was a real anthropologist.

This is not the place to tell what happened then. Just that I found myself teaching at The University, and one day I ran into a newspaper article, a small one at that, that had a little sample of the Ladino -spoken by the Sephardic Jews in Israel - It was a letter written by two sad parents asking their daughter to come back home. And then a bell sounded in my heart!

The Ladino was very much in some of its style, its way of speaking like the provincial Castellian that we use still today in Antioquia. I decided to learn why, and all of a sudden I was reading ever thing I could about Sephardic history and then about Judaism. And of course I went through the books that have been written up today about the issue if we Antioqueños are of Jewish origins or not. I went back to my hometown just for a few days and on one occasion I was chatting with a girl friend about this issue in a university cafeteria and she told me, ".. look Horacio, that man across the table is a Jew, why don't you ask him about it". I did. It happened that he was an Argentinean Rabbi and he said: "As far as I am concerned I am convinced that the Antioqueños do have a lot of cultural traits that are 'Jewish in origin'" And he started to speak of them. I was very much surprised because I never knew that a lot of my cultural heritage, when it comes to daily activities, was Jewish in origin.

That same day I went to visit an old aunt of mine and I asked her if she had any knowledge about our being descendants of Jews, as a family. And she told me, very easily, that since her early, childhood she had listened to conversation within the family, that we were Jews- Since then I got a fever, a very high one at that, and for the past three years I have been doing everything I can to discover my distant but very much felt Sephardic identity. I do not think I will ever be able to find a secret envelope, very old and written in Hebrew and passed from generation to generation, stating that we are Jews. No, I have been able to trace my genealogy all the way, back to the early 17th century when my ancestors came from Spain. The first thing they did was to change their last names, a typical anusim policy to avoid problems with the inquisition. Their last names were Perez de la Calle, and Lopez de Restrepo. Now I am only, Calle Restrepo. The Lopez is on my mother's side and I have been told that we were Levi, from Toledo. I do not know. But now I do understand why my maternal grandmother who taught me my first "Catholic" prayers used ones that made no mention of saints at all, but only of one almighty God. Those were prayers written by fray Luis de Leon, a converso who had problems with the inquisition in Spain....

Horacio Calle
Professor depto. de Antropología
Fac. de Ciencias Sociales
Universidad Javeriana
Bogotá D.C. Colombia

Actions speak louder than words, but the self-righteous crusaders want to live by their own rules.

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Byron_Kostner says on May 8, 2009, 18:41:

Sephardic Contributions Amongst The Founders Of The Northwest Colombia Population

Historical and genetic evidences suggest that the recently founded population of Antioquia (Colombia) is potentially useful for the genetic mapping of complex traits. This population was established in the 16th–17th centuries through the admixture of Amerinds, Europeans, and Africans and grew in relative isolation until the late 19th century. To examine the origin of the founders of Antioquia, we typed 11 markers on the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome and four markers on mtDNA in a sample of individuals with confirmed Antioquian ancestry. The polymorphisms on the Y chromosome (five biallelic markers and six microsatellites) allow an approximation to the origin of founder men, and those on mtDNA identify the four major founder Native American lineages. These data indicate that ~94% of the Y chromosomes are European, 5% are African, and 1% are Amerind. Y-chromosome data are consistent with an origin of founders predominantly in southern Spain but also suggest that a fraction came from northern Iberia and that some possibly had a Sephardic origin. In stark contrast with the Y-chromosome, ~90% of the mtDNA gene pool of Antioquia is Amerind, with the frequency of the four Amerind founder lineages being closest to Native Americans currently living in the area. These results indicate a highly asymmetric pattern of mating in early Antioquia, involving mostly immigrant men and local native women. The discordance of our data with blood-group estimates of admixture suggests that the number of founder men was larger than that of women.

Genetic data are being used extensively in human evolutionary studies and for following the dispersal of humans throughout the globe (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). Evaluation of the genetic history of human populations is also relevant for the optimal design of studies aimed at the identification of genetic determinants of complex diseases. For such a task, approaches that use the association between genetic variants and disease in population samples have been proposed as a more powerful alternative to linkage studies (Risch and Merikangas 1996). The strength of such association is going to be strongly influenced by evolutionary factors such as drift and admixture, and it has been proposed that the linkage disequilibrium (LD) generated by them could be used for genetic mapping (Terwilliger and Weiss 1998). We are interested in evaluating the potential for complex trait mapping of the population living in the province of Antioquia, in northwest Colombia, because demographic history data indicate that this population could combine two sources of LD: recent founding by a small number of individuals and population admixture. Furthermore, founder effects have been documented in Antioquia for monogenic diseases such as early-onset Alzheimer’s (Lendon et al. 1997; Lopera et al. 1997) and juvenile Parkinson’s (A.R.-L., unpublished data) diseases.

Historical records indicate that immigrants from the Iberian peninsula founded the first non-Amerind settlements in northwest South America (in present-day Colombia) in the early 16th century. Soon after that, the Atlantic slave trade introduced African individuals, who originated mostly from western Africa (Curtin 1969). The arrival of immigrants led to the establishment of a rapidly growing admixed criollo population and a concomitant decline in the Amerind population. The Andes divides into three major mountain ranges (“cordilleras”) in southern Colombia, which cover most of the western side of the country. The ruggedness of the terrain has been a formidable obstacle to communications for centuries, and the demographic growth of various populations in the region occurred in relative isolation until the late 19th century. During that time, a distinct regional identity (termed paisa) developed around the fertile highland valleys of Aburrá and Rionegro, in the province of Antioquia, where some of the most successful settlements had been established in the mid-17th century (Alvarez 1996). From these two valleys, the Antioquian population expanded southward, following the central cordillera (Parsons 1968). This expansion was given considerable impetus in the 19th century with the introduction of the coffee crop (Juan Valdez, the logo used by the Colombian Coffee Federation, is an iconic paisa). Blood-group data indicate that the genetic background of the population of Antioquia is ~70% white, 15% Amerindian, and 15% African (Sandoval et al. 1993).

In order to evaluate the origin of male and female founders of Antioquia, we examined mtDNA and Y-chromosome markers in a sample of descendants of the Aburrá and Rionegro expansion. Our results reveal the imprint of an early admixture involving mostly native women and immigrant men. Interestingly, the female contribution still reflects the genetic makeup of South Amerinds inhabiting the region. As expected, the founder male contribution seems to be predominantly from southern Spain, although a northern Spanish (possibly Basque) component is detectable. Finally, Y-chromosome data suggest that some of the Antioquian founders could have a Sephardic ancestry.

Actions speak louder than words, but the self-righteous crusaders want to live by their own rules.

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utopiacowboy says on May 8, 2009, 18:41:

Makes me remember living in a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh called Squirrel Hill. Jewish pussy is a mighty fine experience. I've always had a taste for the exotic.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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PALEOLITICO says on May 8, 2009, 20:09:

www.paleolitico.net

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billyb says on May 10, 2009, 17:49:

"Finally, Y-chromosome data suggest that some of the Antioquian founders could have a Sephardic ancestry."

Husky, how do you get from what he pasted above, and your statement that the great majority of Paisas are Sephardic Jews? All I get from that is that SOME COULD have.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

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whitewidow says on May 10, 2009, 18:50:

there are no jews in colombia....

I'm no doper! I just play one on TV.

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whitewidow says on May 11, 2009, 07:03:

i saw zero, but i was not seeking them out. i remember a friend or two telling me the same thing huskie.

- interesting enigma to say the least.

I'm no doper! I just play one on TV.

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