What is unique to Colombia?

gabolicious says on Aug 31, 2007, 17:48:

que los colombianos son un poco más respetuosos que otros latinos (estoy hablando de manera general) y que tienen el acento más bonito del español... es mi muy humilde opinión....

Elección no canonización....

0 funny, 0 helpful.

bufalo says on Aug 31, 2007, 18:32:

Colombia - think in the moment - ONLY right now.
US - think WAY in the future.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 18:36:

Leeroy, maybe no one single thing you mentioned is uniquely Colombian, but if you package them together???

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Leeroy says on Aug 31, 2007, 19:10:

Very true billyb - it makes an interesting tapestry. Nonetheless - what is quintessentially Colombian? Not found anywhere else? "Prepagos" (say...) might seem like a uniquely Colombian phenomenon, but in fact they exist in some form or another in a lot of countries/cultures.

I'll give it a go. I'm not sure about any of these, however...

1. Tejo
2. Chicken with honey
3. Chocolate with cheese
4. Waiting for a seat on the bus to cool down (from someone else's body heat) before sitting on it
5. Domicilio for *everything*
6. "Marica", "Huevon"
7. Using "usted" for close friends/family members

Like I said in the OP - this is not "What do you notice about Colombia that is different from your country?", rather, "What is there in Colombia that you do not find *anywhere else*?". It could be that those things in my above list are indeed found in other countries - if so, then they are void (so to speak).

0 funny, 0 helpful.

christobeldawg says on Aug 31, 2007, 19:23:

most polite Latin Americans maybe?

traveling hopefully is always better than arriving

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 19:23:

One thig that comes to mind is eating ormigas Culonas. BTW, #6 is so true, cracks me up. And Colombians are actually good drivers in a technical sense, otherwise they way they drive, you would be seeing way more accidents, if that's possible :)

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lily03 says on Aug 31, 2007, 20:39:

#4 is so true! hahaha....
Let's see..how about Guarapo? or Refajo?
Perros Calientes? Not like in the states where they are plain: ketchup and mustard..and perhaps some relish.
How about that Colombians always greet each other...at work my boss was amazed when we first started working at Carrefour everyone always said "Hello" and in the morning they would walk up to you say "Buenos Dias" and shake your hand. Yeah..we are pretty polite.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 20:46:

Lily, you must be talking about los perros calientes en la 44 in Cali, with mayonnaise, shredded cheese, crumpled potato chips..... on top of all the other typical ingredients :)

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lily03 says on Aug 31, 2007, 21:02:

Billy- I haven't been in Cali yet..have too before I leave. Para bailar salsita :)
Los Perros Calientes that you are talking about sound delicious...love our other typical ingredients such as:pineapple, salsa rosada y huevos de codorniz.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 21:22:

Yup, what's a hotdog without pineapple :) Lily, when US friends used to visit Cali and you took them to get those hotdogs, they would go what the F#$k? But after a couple of nights of eating those at around 4am after partying, they were hooked for life, jaja.

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lily03 says on Aug 31, 2007, 21:34:

Yup..that's what my ex said when I took him to Queens a la Perrada de Chalo. He was like you guys are nuts...what the F at #$!
But truth is they ae good..

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 21:37:

Too bad we don't have any places like Chalo's in NorCal, you wouldn't get my bro out of the place.

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 21:43:

"Yup..that's what my ex said when I took him to Queens a la Perrada de Chalo. He was like you guys are nuts...what the F at #$!"

Is that why he's your ex ;)

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lily03 says on Aug 31, 2007, 22:03:

jajaja...gotta be open minded and try new things-one of my requisites! jajaja not judge a book by its cover... :)

La Perrada de Chalo in Queens es deliciosa...that's too bad you guys don't have ningun chuzo like that in NorCal.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Aug 31, 2007, 22:12:

We are chuzo deprived here.

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

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Miguel says on Sep 1, 2007, 20:07:

Cheap pure perico y vallenato.

"There is nothing lower than the human race...except for the French." - Mark Twain 1878-79

0 funny, 0 helpful.

mranderson says on Sep 2, 2007, 09:29:

Things unique to me: A colombian hamburger from the street has more sauce then meat. Also I think colombians can be quite rude. I've been pushed out of the way to get on a bus or the metro. I've been elbowed in the stomach trying to walk through a crowd and the woman behind me absolutely must be in front of me. I've been inside stores talking to the shop keeper and making a transaction when a colombian comes in and talks over me, buys something while handing the shopkeeper money, totally interrupting my transaction. My colombian friends are very nice and inviting but people on the street tend to be more rude then in the U.S.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Leeroy says on Sep 2, 2007, 09:46:

The "very nice to people you know, very nice to people you are making business transactions with, and completely indifferent to everyone else" syndrome is not unique to Colombia. In fact, it is less so here than a lot of other countries.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

mranderson says on Sep 2, 2007, 09:52:

I'm sure your right. I'm not a world traveler, never really been anywhere else...just things unique to me

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Leeroy says on Sep 2, 2007, 09:56:

It strikes me here too. I believe a lot of the other things we notice (such as how people drive) is related to the above point.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ana-ant-eater says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:44:

haha we colombians are all stubborn people...that's for sure...
Things like Pony Malta, Milo (even though there's a lot of it in the USA), cerveza aguila, aguardiente, HORMIGAS CULONAS!, arepas

and yeah,,,,I LOVE RICE!!!!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Sep 2, 2007, 23:22:

""stubborn? Love Rice?""
As I have always said:
alot in common with the
Cajun people of south louisiana.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

LA_MONA says on Sep 3, 2007, 00:27:

Bailar vallenato en una sola baldoza.
Paseo al rio con la familia y ls mujeres a preparar un sancocho en leña.
Las ferias que tiene Colombia todo el año.

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

0 funny, 0 helpful.

LA_MONA says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:04:

Rubito true, of course, but it wouldn't be the same if you dance vallenato in another part of the world as opposed to dancing en la costa, with a costeño for example an authentic vallenato, costeño style.

About the sancocho, it is still a very typical day out.

And yes many countries have feria's, but with the variety and richness of the one's in Colombia?

Anyway, many of the things mentioned above take place in other countries, but when done in Colombia have their own uniqueness.

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

0 funny, 0 helpful.

LA_MONA says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:10:

What about the music too..
Bambuco, porros, vallenato, cumbia, mapale, la musica llanera etc.

Y comerse el pegado del arroz de la olla? (o es solo mi esposo? jeje)

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:29:

where's that dance that kat1 posted as a video?
They don't do that anywhere else in the world.... I think.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

LA_MONA says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:34:

Do you remember what it's called?

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:41:

she will know, immediately. I think it was something uniquely indigenous to somewhere around Villavacencio... maybe a quick search here... she posted it back about... February or March.... (before your time) so, you should find it and watch it...

the name had a lot of o's in it.... jiropo... maybe.. not? no se.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:43:

go to her list of threads; maybe it's there.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Sep 3, 2007, 01:48:

go to Kat's list of posts, and scroll down to the blue title:

DONT CHASE THE CHICAS; CHASE THE BULL.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

LA_MONA says on Sep 3, 2007, 03:14:

"And non-competitive social dancing as done in bars and clubs isn't exactly a pinnacle of artistic acheivment either. " Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize a pre-requisite for any of the answers was that it should fit into that category of being an artistic achievement..

"It's pretty hard for one country to claim CULTURAL superiority over others :P"
I don't think that was the objective either, it's a personal thing to many over what makes Colombia special and unique to them, I agree with this comment though in general.

"Authentic" is pretty overrated, any monkey can imitate what goes on around it "authentically". Anybody ANYWHERE in the world who thinks they have some great cultural mystery going on that only THEY are a part of is sorely mistaken. "

Bloody hell Rubito!

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gabolicious says on Sep 3, 2007, 05:14:

"use 'usted' with close family members"

Sorry Rubito... but that is not usual in Mexico with "close family members", in Mexico "usted" is used to refer to people you don't know... it is a respectful tone...

Elección no canonización....

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kalder says on Sep 3, 2007, 07:08:

"Authentic" is pretty overrated, any monkey can imitate what goes on around it "authentically". Anybody ANYWHERE in the world who thinks they have some great cultural mystery going on that only THEY are a part of is sorely mistaken.

Good quote though. He's on the money.

"A piece of cheese may entrap a mouse, but a bicycle could ensnare the Imperial Chancellor."~~An Bai Kuang

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Tinto (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Sep 3, 2007, 07:20:

There is a reference above to "milo." I had to look that one up because when I lived for a brief time in Texas, milo (aka grain sorghum) was used as cattle feed. Good to know Colombians aren't eating from the feed hopper; it's also the name of a chocolate malted milk drink invented in 1934 by an Australian.

I wanted access to health care, housing and education, but, no, I get potholes, trash and silicone tits instead. -Desi.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

static says on Sep 3, 2007, 08:42:

Yeah - Milo is a brand of chocolate drink and/or powder (owned by Nestle) and is popular and available just about everywhere in the world *except* the USA. (Though I have seen some for sale in 99 Ranch Market. It was imported, at imported prices.)

- signed,

Chocolate Milkaholic

0 funny, 0 helpful.