Colombia, The Land of Beautiful Women, Coffee and Bullet Proof Underwear

A negative cloud hovers over Colombia even to this day. There was a time when Pablo Escobar ‘ruled’ the country with his drugs, guns and goons. Even today, Colombia is still in a state of conflict. The drug lords are still around and the guerillas are still trying to gain control of the country. The government continues its unrelenting drive to keep peace and order in Colombia. But apart from the violence, as a country, Colombia has so much more to offer.

Beautiful Women
Colombia is the land of beautiful, Spanish speaking women. Here are some facts related to the Ms. Universe Pageant which proves this point. In 1958, Ms. Colombia Luz Marina Zuluaga was crowned Ms. Universe. Between 1992 to 1994 Colombia’s beauties placed first runner-up in the annual beauty pageant. Best National Costume Award was given to Colombia six times. In the evening gown competition, the highest score ever given to this day was to Carolina Gomez, Ms. Colombia 1994. Her score was 9.897. Colombia, together with Brazil and Sweden, share the third most successful nations in the history of Ms. Universe in terms of placements of its candidates in the semi-finals. They each have 26 candidates. In 2006, Ms. Germany’s entry Natalie Ackermann was in fact born in Colombia. Today, one of the most beautiful faces to grace the television screen belongs to Sofia Vergara who stars in the hit comedy series Modern Family. Sofia, like many women in Colombia, is not only beautiful and talented, she is strong and feisty, too.

Magic Christmas lights in Medellin, Colombia

Medellin is a cheerful city full of wonderful people that are always smiling and celebrating every single detail. Go ahead and discover the surreal and magical Christmas lights of Medellin 2009!

Medellin is shining this Christmas. People are always celebrating on the streets surrounded by the most beautiful Christmas lights that this year are displaying a magic universe in which lights, colors and water play in the sky and illuminate the night in a way that only a fairytale would be able to describe.

Everyone's going out to celebrate the joy and the magic of Christmas on the streets. Every corner is full of small stands in which people sell all kinds of typical food such as "arepa de chócolo", "buñuelo", "empanada", (it's kind of difficult to explain what they are but once you try them, you'll never leave them)…Because Christmas with no food is not the same.

You can try so many things doing any of the Christmas routes in the streets of Medellin. One delicious and a must-try is the "guarapo", which is the liquid that's extracted from the sugar cane and the base with which the brown sugarloaf is made. The "guarapo" is a natural beverage full of sugars and energy, and is delicious when drank full of ice and with a little bit of lemon.

Here's how they extract it right in front of you from the sugar cane:

The streets are full of light and the environment looks brighter at night…It's like the page of a fairytale book. People are eating, talking and laughing under big trees that are full of multicolor lights, and among fairies that increase the magic of the moment.

Everyone's reunited forgetting about everything else and just thinking about this wonderful time of the year that represents union, love, happiness and celebration. Even if people have to work the next day, a week-day is not the obstacle for partying until late and feeling the Christmas energy every second of the night. No one wants to stop, no one wants to waste a second of this happy time in this magical city.

Medellin is a place where some people have a lot and many others don't have much, but the thing is, in this unbelievable city, those who have very little are the ones who do the most to show beautiful lights and decorations surrounding their houses by the magic of Christmas…No one stays out, everyone celebrates a time where laughing and being with the loved ones is the norm.

And I have to say, Medellin is a city of creative people: you'll see the most original and innovative sellers offering all kinds of unique products on the streets with their own selling strategies and tools. Take a look:

Also, there's a very fun, traditional and particular way of going around the city and doing the Christmas lights routs: on a "chiva", which is a kind of a country bus, a very colorful vehicle with open windows and with a second floor, the roof. Inside a "chiva", there's usually a "papayera", which is a musical group that sings "vallenatos", a Colombian coast music genre that is perfect for parties and great for dancing.

So, people are inside the "Chiva", listening to a live "vallenato" concert, drinking "aguardiente", eating typical food, singing, laughing, screaming, looking at the magical Christmas lights, having fun, celebrating, feeling the joy of Medellin at this time of the year.

All this parties and celebrations take place at a city that is known as "the city of the eternal spring" because of its unbelievable weather all year long, where people are known to be really kind and cheerful, and, during this particular time, under a sky of colorful lights, stars and fairies that make Medellin look and feel like a true fairytale.

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