Colombian Perspectives

By Rowena Stevens, Spanish Teacher

As part of the Year 12 International Baccalaureate (IB) and BSSS Spanish course, students have been exploring the perspectives of Latin American people. To get to know these countries and cultures a little better, students have explored the music, art and cinema from Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay and beyond.

In Week 10, the students enjoyed a visit from César Alvarez Velasquez of The Australia-Colombia Dialogue, who, along with Viviana Espinosa, shared details of their truly amazing homeland, Colombia. We learnt about the rich biodiversity of this beautiful country and the impact of its geography and climate on the culture and lifestyles of its peoples. Students learnt about Colombia’s renowned writer Gabriel García Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude), Colombian reggaeton artists and the political landscape, past and present. We were fascinated by the cultural differences, discovering that Colombia is a country where “se madruga”, that is, they rise very early in the morning. We also learnt about the Colombian custom of drinking “café tinto”.

We also discovered the incredible impact that the Andes Mountains have on Spanish accents, climate, export and travel.

The students were very grateful to César and Viviana for sharing their expert knowledge on Colombia and personal stories, which really brought Colombia to life. We are very lucky that César and Viviana are school parents and were willing to share their time with us.