My Patriotism In Colombia

It has many outdoor activities to offer such as ‘Mountain Biking’ , ‘Kayaking’ and ‘Rafting’. It is located 300km from the Capital Bogotá and it has a population of around 43,000 inhabitants

When I was a little girl my family taught me that everyone should be treated with respect, and every single person in the world should have the right to be themselves. I grew up in a society where everyone was treated with respect. Also we have the freedom to be ourselves. However, my grandparents, and even my parents face a different society, where people were treated with great injustice. Whenever they fly to the United States, and see their passports, my grandparents and my parents were treated completely different than American citizens were treated. There are a lot of definitions for the word injustice, but for me this word means the lack of rights and respect between an individual and society. In the book of The Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez, illustrate two major Latin American groups that face social injustice. The Mexicans and Puerto Ricans fought and worked very hard to earn a name in America. Instead, there were a lot of discrimination of the Latino/ Latina culture and traditions. Therefore, Latinos used to be invisible in this country, and we are still fitting to overcome discrimination and make our voice heard.

I have privileges unfathomable to family back in Mexico, and my mother warned me against taking these privilege for granted. Being born in America did not make me American, she told me, being First Generation American would present seemingly unbearable challenges. She offered advice that I followed to the letter until our first name was not the only thing we shared, until the voice inside my head was replaced with my mother’s.

Living in the U.S has opened the doors of opportunities in my favor, but it has also exposed me to stereotypes of how I should be or act. I’ve seen how people in the streets look at me and my family. Sometimes, I don’t know if they look at us with fear or disapproval. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised either way. After all, it is what they have been taught by the media. Personally, the game that I’ve had to play has been facing this fake perspective of my culture in a foreign country and around the world. It’s a mold in which we are all supposed to fit. It makes me mad to see how students in the school halls make fun other Hispanic students. I do acknowledge that Latin American countries are sometimes dangerous, but, what country isn’t? So, because of the world’s focus on our badness, my generation is the one to pay the consequences. This is our every-day fight. Thinking about it, maybe that’s why I’ve seen many students who are Hispanic descendants hide who they really are and don’t have any interest

This tenacious journey to develop my identity was finally over. For a brief moment, I was able to denounce the racial stigmas against me. However, if I were to be faced with this uncomfortable situation once again, I would simply smile. I would invite anyone who disapproved of my heritage to Latin-America Fest. I refuse to be silence in the faces of the ignorant. I refuse to be intimated by racism. I stand proud and tall with my Latino brothers and sisters, facing the world everyday. Regardless of what the world may think, I will continue to defy the gravitational pull of triumph and rise above the prejudices against

The Colombian culture is formed from the inheritance of the indigenous peoples present in the territory since ancient times, the Spanish traditions adopted during the colonial period and the African Customs incorporated by the slaves that led the conquistadors. This mixture of cultures constitutes a society with traits common to the rest of Latin American countries but, at the same time, very different also. Indeed, even within Colombia's own territory there are many differences between regions and others. Geographic diversity-can be found from tropical beaches to mountains of more than 5,000 meters in height with perpetual snows-and the natural isolation of some areas has led to this diversity. Some of the most important cultural groups according to their location are the so-called cops, located in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; the countries, settled in Antioquia; The foresters, Settlers of the eastern plains; the Vallunos, settled in the area of Valle del Cauca; the coastal, inhabitants of the Caribbean coast, and the Santander, residents of the departments of Santander and Norte de Santander. All these groups are characterized by showing great cultural differences among themselves, which makes Colombia a fascinating country to know and enter into the day to day of its inhabitants.

Colombia, republic in South America, situated in the northwestern part of the continent, and bounded on the north by Panama and the Caribbean Sea, on the east by Venezuela and Brazil, on the south by Peru and Ecuador, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country of South America with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The total land area of the country is 1,141,748 sq km (440,831 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Bogotá.

In 1863 Colombia was given its name. The name was chosen in honor of Christopher Columbus, even though Columbus never visited Colombia. Alonso de Ojeda, was the first European to set foot on Colombia in 1499, Alonso de Ojeda explored Sierra Navada de Santa Marie and was very surprised by the wealth of the Indians and their stories. These stories gave birth to the legend of El Dorado.

The misconception of the United States is that it is titled “white.” While the United States does have a fair amount of white citizens, it thrives on its diversity of cultures. While living in Maryland I was quickly captured by the African American heritage. Lots of soul food and lots of family parties. Maryland neighborhoods were like a brotherhood, everyone wasn’t wealthy, but everyone checked each other’s backs. My understanding of having nothing and surrounding yourself with people you love developed greatly with the ethnic surrounding of my black friends and neighbors. Then came the day where I moved to California and a whole new side of me was soon to blossom. All of my favorite memories with my “brotherhood” were hard to continue with the lack of a strong enclave of African Americans in southern California. I was now immersed in the Mexican lifestyle. The food became spicier and the music was more upbeat and brought happiness in every song. But the main attribute that made me fall

Growing up in suburbia, I struggled to find my place as a first-generation American. I did not appreciate being called “African-American” because it is an inaccurate way of describing my heritage, but I felt pushy and pretentious if I told people to call me Caribbean-American. My dad’s family still lives in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and we visit them every few years, so I had to confront these issues during my family’s last trip to St. Vincent.

It was the last day of my trip, and while I was washing plates in my grandmother’s house, the sunlight was reflected on the plates to my eyes. The fear going through my veins, my mind confused with everything that have happened two weeks ago. Uncertainty of what event would destroy or rebuild my heart. What would happen next ?. The future is unpredictable, so far that is a concept that now I understand. Considering the time spent in my country Colombia , vacations, friends, and parties were the words that stay on my mind for the first two weeks, otherwise the next two weeks were not what I planned. Firstable I was not supposed to be there for these last two weeks, but I am grateful. “No puedes viajar hoy” were the words asserted by the airline

Growing up in New York City is a very unique experience. You grow up surrounded by a diverse population of people packed tightly into one city. But with this kind of diversity come the questions of self-identification and how others view you. I was born and raised in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights which is known for its mostly Dominican population. Moreover, growing up in the public school system and everyday New York living has exposed me to many different Latino and Black communities and culture. I have experienced racism; I have experienced the implementation of hegemonic ideals and I have been exposed to poverty. Even after all the civil rights movements and activism that have

Colombia was one of the three original countries along with Ecuador and Venezuela that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830. Over the last 40 years, there has been a campaign to overthrow the government partially because of the drug trades throughout Colombia. The movement does however lack support from military and support from the necessary influences. In recent years, there have been challenges for control of the territories throughout Colombia and also for the drug trade.

Since coming to America, I have moved to an ample amount of places because my father’s job concerns. I changed school frequently and in each new school I was never greeted with a warm welcome. With one glance my classmates saw I was different from them. I was often bullied and teased because of my racial difference from my classmates, from these experiences I became a quiet and docile girl. This way I thought I would not get in anyone’s way. I had closed up in the world in front of me; I never expressed my own opinions and always agreed with the majority. However secretly inside of me, I was frustrated not being able to express myself and yet I was unable to change. I craved to be what I was in the inside to be on the outside. Still by

Everyday I am on a constant race to discover who I am as an individual. I am fighting this battle whether I choose to acknowledge it or not. Donald Hernandez has written in his book Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance; he talks about major key points, but the most important one state “Third, because life chances differ greatly according to race and ethnicity in the United States, and because of the race and ethnic composition of immigrants to this country has shifted markedly during recent decades,” (3). That is true trying to be one thing is very hard in USA society has an effect of how you may become as the individual. If I were in another country they would just see as an American and nothing else, but the place that I was born and raised they see me as what my parents are Nigerians. I am not American because my parents are from Nigeria; this has been a very constant thing, because of several definitions of what it