Colombian Culture - OverviewTo get a sense of Colombian culture, it might be fun to see the movie, Maria Full of Grace , starring Colombian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno. Hospitality & Enjoying LifeColombian culture is about enjoying life. Here, people are warm, hospitable and enjoy company. They treat their guests extremely well and it's hard to overstay your welcome. If anything, it can be difficult to leave as the social get together tends to go on for hour after hour.When you visit someone, it is customary for something to be served and the women of the household frequently cook on and of for much of the day. Male/ female roles are far more "traditional" here. The women cook and clean and the men work at their job. The woman is the heart of the family and knows how to mend things, looks after the children, welcomes visitors and spends time with the family and feeds everyone. Work EthicGenerally, Colombians are known to be hard working. Many have an entrepreneurial spirit, often combining a small home enterprise with a day job. Especially in the Antioquia region and Medellin where the local "Paisas" pride themselves on their hard work and being the most enterprising in the nation. This is in many ways true.The coast is hotter and more laid back. Therefore, it can also be poorer, more typical Caribbean in atmosphere. Here, the heat is fairly intense and life moves at a slower pace. Colonial InfluencesMuch of Colombian culture has of course been influenced by its Colonial invader, Spain. Not least of all owing to Catholicism that is still the prevailing religion and although younger Colombians are not the avid church-goers like their previous generations, people still go to mass, at least a few times a year and the sense of morality associated with Catholicism still lingers deeply whether or not people choose to believe or "obey" these religious laws. The ingrained work ethic runs very deep here and especially among the older generations, you notice how people are almost always working in some way or another.Regional DifferencesCommunication has been slow or even fairly non-existent in Colombia for most of its history due to the logistic challenges of transportation. This is after all an Andean nation, fairly large in size with dense rain forest and an abundance of mountains that make transportation by land slow and almost impenetrable, at least until recently. Costs of road infrastructure are high and maintenance a constant battle due to land slides and flooding. There is of course a highly developed network of airports and domestic routes by air but prices remain fairly high relative to a lot of other countries.The effect of this has been that regions have in many ways held onto their own customs and traditions and even become somewhat insular and regionalist, especially Medellin and Antioquia. This is after all, the best place in the world...
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