Colombia
COLOMBIA - FIND IT
Colombia - my first thought was where is it, I've hardly heard of it, and my second thought was why would I go there? I now have one good reason to go there, the wonderful Botero sculpture park by a major museum in Medellin.
Also it turns out that the country is named after Christopher Columbus, not many adults have not heard of him,
In my recent times, Colombia is the birthplace and home of well known Nobel prize winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez also wrote Love in the Time of Cholera about his courtship of his wife-to-be despite opposition from her parents.
Thought, bronze sculpture by sculptor Fernando Botero in Botero Park, Medellin, Colombia.
MARQUEZ - READ UP
I just had a thought. I shall briefly digress into the book, which is so well known and widely read, and can be read before you plan a trip to Columbia, or on the plane there, and then I shall come back to the sculptures.
The name Marquez probably rings a bell, two bells. It is also a name you might recognize from the news about two Spanish motorcycle riders, bothers world champions of MotorGP.
Wiki sums it up, the writer Marquez, succinctly:
WHERE AND WHY VISIT MEDELLIN?
Colombia, spelled with a double o, with your eyes look for it on the map of the world, cut out of the north west corner of South America. A free site to visit is the sculpture park, Botero Park, double o again, in front of the major museum in Medellin (double l and the letter e twice) where the sculptor Fernando Botero was born. I kept typing Ferdinand until I remembered the song Fernando's Hideaway, and realised that Fernando and Botero both end with o.
Medellin is the country's second largest city after the capital, Bogota, so you might make this a two centre trip. The big capital city has the expected population of around 12 million, offering more museum and visit opportunities, whilst the second city of Medellin is nearer 1 million, a more manageable size where you can quickly zoom in on your tourist target.
BOTERO AND BOTERO PARK
The bronze sculptures were donated by the sculptor Botero.
Botero's work is known all over the world. He also created sculptures displayed in the USA, in New York and Washington DC, in Paris, France, (he has lived in both countries) , as well as Armenia, Spain, Singapore and many more places.
Here's a handy list of what you will see if you go to Colombia, or what you can check out online.
Botero Sculptures in Spain
Woman with mirror, in Madrid, Spain, by Colombian-born sculptor Botero.
Cat, by sculptor Botero, in Barcelona, Spain.
Hand, by sculptor Botero, in Madrid, Spain.
Medellin is known for textiles and speak Spanish language schools.
LEARN SOME SPANISH QUICKLY
Finally, for fun, in Colombia the language you will find useful is Spanish. You could try learning some words from Memrise, which allows you to record your own memory aids and share them with other learners of the language. Duolingo, another free website good for starting a new language, offers multiple choice with pictures, and simple sentences.
Useful Websites
duolingo.com
memrise.com
TRAVEL HELP - SUGGESTED WEBSITES
Finally, the flag.
Flag of Colombia.
TRAVEL
https://wikitravel.org/en/Colombia
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, photographer, researcher, author and speaker and teacher of English and other languages.
For handy Spanish For the Traveller see next post.
I have several popular posts on countries around the world including Spain, and learning Spanish. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Colombia - my first thought was where is it, I've hardly heard of it, and my second thought was why would I go there? I now have one good reason to go there, the wonderful Botero sculpture park by a major museum in Medellin.
Also it turns out that the country is named after Christopher Columbus, not many adults have not heard of him,In my recent times, Colombia is the birthplace and home of well known Nobel prize winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez also wrote Love in the Time of Cholera about his courtship of his wife-to-be despite opposition from her parents.
Thought, bronze sculpture by sculptor Fernando Botero in Botero Park, Medellin, Colombia.
MARQUEZ - READ UP
I just had a thought. I shall briefly digress into the book, which is so well known and widely read, and can be read before you plan a trip to Columbia, or on the plane there, and then I shall come back to the sculptures.
Gabo" wearing a "sombrero vueltiao" hat, typical of the Colombian Caribbean region. Most of the stories by García Márquez revolve around the idiosyncrasy of this region.
Wiki sums it up, the writer Marquez, succinctly:
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (American Spanish: [ɡaˈβɾjel ɣaɾˈsi.a ˈmaɾkes] (
listen);6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo [ˈɡaβo] or Gabito [ɡaˈβito] throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century and one of the best in the Spanish language, he was awarded ... the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.
listen);6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo [ˈɡaβo] or Gabito [ɡaˈβito] throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century and one of the best in the Spanish language, he was awarded ... the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.WHERE AND WHY VISIT MEDELLIN?
Colombia, spelled with a double o, with your eyes look for it on the map of the world, cut out of the north west corner of South America. A free site to visit is the sculpture park, Botero Park, double o again, in front of the major museum in Medellin (double l and the letter e twice) where the sculptor Fernando Botero was born. I kept typing Ferdinand until I remembered the song Fernando's Hideaway, and realised that Fernando and Botero both end with o.
Medellin is the country's second largest city after the capital, Bogota, so you might make this a two centre trip. The big capital city has the expected population of around 12 million, offering more museum and visit opportunities, whilst the second city of Medellin is nearer 1 million, a more manageable size where you can quickly zoom in on your tourist target.
BOTERO AND BOTERO PARK
The bronze sculptures were donated by the sculptor Botero.
Botero's work is known all over the world. He also created sculptures displayed in the USA, in New York and Washington DC, in Paris, France, (he has lived in both countries) , as well as Armenia, Spain, Singapore and many more places.
Here's a handy list of what you will see if you go to Colombia, or what you can check out online.
Botero Sculptures in Spain
Woman with mirror, in Madrid, Spain, by Colombian-born sculptor Botero.
Cat, by sculptor Botero, in Barcelona, Spain.
Hand, by sculptor Botero, in Madrid, Spain.
Medellin is known for textiles and speak Spanish language schools.
LEARN SOME SPANISH QUICKLY
Finally, for fun, in Colombia the language you will find useful is Spanish. You could try learning some words from Memrise, which allows you to record your own memory aids and share them with other learners of the language. Duolingo, another free website good for starting a new language, offers multiple choice with pictures, and simple sentences.
Useful Websites
duolingo.com
memrise.com
TRAVEL HELP - SUGGESTED WEBSITES
Finally, the flag.
Flag of Colombia.
TRAVEL
https://wikitravel.org/en/Colombia
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, photographer, researcher, author and speaker and teacher of English and other languages.
For handy Spanish For the Traveller see next post.
I have several popular posts on countries around the world including Spain, and learning Spanish. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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