La Selección Colombiana y la Copa Mundial

(Note: I wrote this post a two months ago. The show is not on Unimas anymore. It disappeared without too much warning ahead of time. The first 49 episodes are available on Hulu Plus Latino which you have to pay for. Colombians living in the United States know that there should be more episodes than what was shown because in Colombia, there were over 80-something episodes. I, along with many others, am very disappointed that I couldn't see the end of the series.)

LA SELECCION DE LOS OCHENTA Y NOVENTA

A few months ago, I somehow stumbled upon a Colombian soap opera called La Seleccion on the channel Unimas. My husband was so excited because the show told the stories of the players who brought so much pride and joy to all Colombians in the late 80s and early 90s. I was excited to find something we could both watch together and enjoy. He could relive those years, and I could get caught up in the drama all while practicing my Spanish.

La Seleccion  follows the career of four of the players who formed part of the team who brought glory to Colombian soccer. The show shows where each player came from and how they got to play for the national team. The four players are - Carlos "el Pibe" Valderrama, Faustino "Tino" Asprilla, Freddy Rincón, and Rene Higuita. Each man represents a different part of the country - Valderrama from Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, Asprilla from Tulua in el Valle del Cauca, Rincon from Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast, and Higuita from Medellin, Antioquia.

It was great because I really got to learn about the different Colombian accents. To be honest, before meeting my husband, I didn't know Colombians had accents. Now, I'm really good now at picking out a Paisa accent thanks in part to Magnolia, Rene Higuita's girlfriend on the show. I also realized how many Colombian colloquialisms I've learned in the past few years. If I didn't know them, I don't think I would have followed the show as well as I did.

The best part was during the commercial breaks when my husband would explain different things to me that I didn't know, but that all Colombians who watch this show would. Here are some of the things I learned. 

1. Throughout the show, they are constantly playing this song. I better learn it because I think it's the equivalent to Sweet Caroline for us Bostonians. SI SI COLOMBIA, SI SI CARIBE!!

2. In 1993, Diego Maradona was retired from playing professional soccer, and Colombia was doing well in the qualifying round for the 1994 World Cup that was going to be held in the United States. Of course, the press wanted to know what Maradona thought about Colombia's chances against Argentina in their World Cup qualifying match, and this is what Maradona said  prior to the game in which Colombia beat Argentina 5-0 in Argentina.

Here are the highlights from that game.

And here is Maradona applauding Colombia.

2. Rene Higuita was so much fun to watch on the show, and he was just as entertaining in real life. He is most for for being "El Loco". In a friendly game against England in 1995 in Wembley Stadium, he kicked the ball in such a way that he looked like a scorpion.

3. One day, my husband told me that I needed to see a documentary called "Los Dos Escobares". I watched it on Netflix and definitely shed a few tears. The story tells of the infamous Pablo Escobar and the soccer player Andres Escobar who was part of the national team during its glory days.

Pablo Escobar and others like him were fans of the Colombian teams, and they had influence over how the teams were managed because of the money they invested to build up the teams. Andres Escobar was a player who played for Colombia's national team and Atletico Nacional, one of the teams of Medellin. There were high hopes that Colombia would do well in the 1994 World Cup. However, when Andres Escobar marked a goal against his own team by accident, it dashed all hopes of Colombia advancing to the next round. Many drug lords had placed bets on that game, and many of them lost money because Colombia who was favored to win against the United States lost the crucial game.

After the game, Andres went back to Colombia, and on the night of July 2nd, he was shot dead after an incident in the parking lot of a night club in Medellin. It is widely believed that his death was related to the auto-goal.

It is tragic, and many Colombians still mourn his death. The show did not want to handle such a sensitive topic so it was left out of the show deliberately. I'm glad I watched the documentary so I could get a real picture of what happened.

5. Carlos "el Pibe" Valderrama really needs no explanation. His hair says it all. There is no one like him. First, he was the captain of the national team during the golden years. He is known for his necklaces and bracelets which he always wore. Also, back in the early days, he wore his socks really low. The actor that plays him in the show wore them the same way. Finally, he was also famous for saying "todo bien, todo bien."

On a final note, as a Spanish teacher, I am really glad to see programming that is entertaining while at the same time teaching me something about the culture. I hope that Unimas and/or Univision try to diversify their offerings to include great shows like La Seleccion.

LA SELECCION ACTUAL

While we were watching the show, the qualifying rounds for the 2014 World Cup were being played. It seemed like such a great time to have the show on the air because it helped remind Colombia of its glory days while at the same time getting the fans psyched for Brazil 2014. The Colombian national team hasn't qualified since the 1998 World Cup. This new generation of players have a good chance of bringing glory back to Colombia again.

Yesterday, FIFA published the groupings. One step closer to Brazil. Now, let's hope Brazil gets those stadiums done in time.

MaFLA and NHAWLT 2013: Colombia and Uruguay: Integrating Culture into the Curriculum

As promised here is my Power Point presentation of the workshop titled "Colombia and Uruguay: Integrating Culture into the Classroom.

Thank you to all the people who came to my workshop. I hope that you learned a lot about these two countries and that you will be able to incorporate them into your curriculum.

Colombia and Uruguay (Youtube) - Final by sratoro

What I bought on my summer vacation

The best part about traveling is going shopping. This is what I bought in Peru and Colombia this past summer. 

1. Colombia - As you can see it was mostly food products. All of it was divided between two suitcases. 

Supermarket sweep! Lots of shopping in about an hour!

I love juices so I bought a special pitcher that mixes the pulp so it all doesn't sit at the bottom.

Anything related to coffee

Beverages - lots of coffee, hot chocolate, and tea

Arequipe and obleas - great combination

Cookies and crackers

Chocolate!!

This is all related to bocadillo / fruit paste

Candy!

So, everytime I go to an airport in Latin America, I buy this candy. Note the difference between Colombia and Peru. I think we have 11 bags of them between what I bought in Peru and what my husband bought in Colombia.

2. Peru - Here I had a bit more time to go shopping in Peru. I really tried to buy unique things there.

Bought some more textiles. My favorite purchase - the alpaca blanket which I know will come in handy this winter. 

I bought a little Torito (which brings good luck- they are everywhere in Peru), the Incan sun, and a really cool mask. 

Here are some little knickknacks I bought in the tourist shops. 

Lots of books! Although I'm not sure when I'll have the time to read them. 

This will remind me of the Andean woman weavers we met.

In Colombia, as you can tell, I only did food shopping. I had to make sure my husband and I had enough food to last us until our next trip. Since I know I am going to go to Colombia again, I didn't have the pressure to buy lots of souvenirs whereas in Peru I did. I'm very happy with all my purchases especially the ones from Peru because I hope to use them in class as decoration and as a resource. 

After a busy summer traveling, it's time to get back to work, but I return with great resources and lots of stories that I hope my students will appreciate. 

Live(ly) Colombian Music

It seems a little ridiculous to be posting about something that happened over two months ago, but I really want to share this.

Since we had only a few members of our Colombian family at our wedding, the rest that couldn't come to the wedding wanted to throw a party in our honor when we went down for Christmas. They bought us presents that symbolized Colombian culture like straw hats, coffee cups, a hammock with the colors of the Colombian flag, and other art work.

The best present of all was the experience of live music. First, my brother and sister-in-law hired a band to come play música llanera for us. My husband and I were brought to tears because we were so touched. The band came with a singer who is a master of improvisation. He asked a few questions about the crowd beforehand and based off of that and in addition to what he saw, he would sing us a story off the cuff. Of course, everyone got a big kick out of it.

Not only we did we have live music, but my in-laws hired dancers as well. It was really something, and like good Latinos, people started dancing. It was such a fun dance and really easy to pick up. I love how my husband says he can't dance, but when really he can. It's in the blood. (A "bad" Colombian dancer is "good" in my book.)

Música llanera comes from the llanos, which is a large grassland that is shared by western Colombia and eastern Venezuela. The typical musical instruments are maracas, a harp, and a guitar, and the dance is called a joropo. Check out of the video below!

After the band played their last song, we enjoyed the pool for a few hours. Once night fell, another band came to play for us! They were not going to leave out vallenato! We put on our sombreros volteaos, and the party continued. 

Vallenato is from the Caribbean coast. My favorite vallenato singer is Carlos Vives. I just love dancing to his songs. The musical instruments are a caja, guacharca. and an accordion. Since the singers were costenos, or people from the coast, they also brought the mask of a maimondes, a character from the Barranquilla Carnaval festival.

caja, guacharca, and an accordion

I tried to capture everything on film so I could share it with others who might not know about this great music. 

Wearing the maimondes mask

Even after the vallenato band left, we were still people lingering around. When I heard salsa, I just had to dance. Colombians are also known for being great salsa dancers especially the ones from Cali, which is the World's Salsa Capital.

If you ever go to Colombia, bring your dancing shoes. 

Colombian Christmas Part 3: El Año Nuevo

Although I was in Colombia for Christmas, unfortunately, we didn't have anything organized with my husband's family ahead of time so I can't really report on exactly what Christmas is like there. Maybe, I can save that post for next year. What I can describe first hand is some of the traditions that have to do with New Years.

Growing up on the East Coast, many of my New Years revolved around watching Dick Clark and Times Square on television. Usually, it was very cold so most celebrations were indoors. Only once did I do Boston First Night which included a parade and ice sculptures. As a teenager, I spent some of my New Years babysitting because the parents were invited to a party and they needed someone to watch the children. I rang in the New Year by myself because the kids were in bed. I was sad celebrating New Years alone especially when I would see all the people kissing and hugging each other in Times Square looking like they were so happy. I remember thinking that I couldn't wait to be older so I could celebrate it with others.

When I got older, New Years was a hit or miss. I remember working as a waitress the night it changed from 1999 to 2000. I remember wondering if the predictions of Y2K were going to come true. (Luckily, it was uneventful although my Dad and I did have a backup plan just in case.) Other times, I would be with my parents who I'd have to wake up because they were too tired to make it to midnight. However, I was with friends a few time, and three years ago, my sister and I decided to go out to a fancy restaurant because neither of us wanted to be at home watching the ball drop on tv.

Last year, when I spent my first New Years outside the US, I realized how different other cultures view this day. For Colombians, it is just as important as Christmas or any other holiday. Everyone travels to be with family since family is so important to the Latin culture.

There is a lot of traditions associated with this day because how you celebrate determines how well the year will go for you. The first is dressing up nice to "receive the New Year". You don't want to receive the New Year in nothing but your best. The family I was celebrating New Years with decided to dress all in white with the men wearing the traditional guayaberas which are the white linens worn in the tropics.

The next thing you will probably see in Colombia are the Año Viejo dolls. Last year, I saw on being paraded around on a truck. I also saw one made in the likeness of a street vendor. (Didn't get a picture of that one.) Then, I saw someone with a miniature sized doll. When the clock stroked midnight, she burned the doll. The burning is symbolic because it means you have a fresh start. By leaving the old you behind, you can have a new version of yourself. Sometimes the Año Viejo is stuffed with paper that has the person's hopes for the New Year.

Another interesting tradition is grabbing your suitcase and walking around the house (or pool in our case) to ensure that our New Year is filled with lots of traveling. It's a fun one to do.

After, we sat around eating grapes. You are supposed to eat twelve of them which symbolize each month of the year. In the picture, below you can see the grapes being sold along side wheat which symbolizes abundance for the New Year.

Another thing that surprised me was that children were allowed to stay up late. Actually, it is encouraged since the children are part of the family, too. Although it doesn't mean that the children will actually make it. After a full day of swimming, my nephew just didn't have it in him to stay up.

I said to my husband that I love the Colombian traditions. They make me happy to be alive because I'm surrounded by people who find joy in the little things in life.

So far, 2013 looks to be a promising year. My hope is that I can take my family down to Colombia this year. The first time any of them have gone to a South American country. Plus, I will be happy to go during the summer when I have more time off to visit. Also, I have booked a trip to go to Peru to see the famous Machu Picchu. I have been dreaming of Machu Picchu since I was 15 years old. A truly once in a lifetime experience. I can't wait for 2013!

Colombian Christmas Part 2: La comida

One of the most important components of any holiday celebration is the food. During Christmas time, the most important dishes are buñuelos and natilla. I actually got to make both of these dishes back in the United States for my Spanish club. It was a big hit. My husband gave his stamp of approval, and since being in Colombia, he has been telling everyone that his Irish-American wife can cook.

Now, that I have gotten my first batch under control. I can learn to try different flavors. When we arrived, my father-in-law had some leftovers for us. The natilla he left us was cinnamon flavored. The one I made was more coconut-flavored.

A friend from high school had contacted me about a week ago asking me what to make her Colombian daycare provider. I totally her make natilla. Not only will she love it, but it is really easy to make. She wrote me back to thank me for the recipe and said that it made this woman's day.

Making food for me serves two purposes - teaching people about another culture and bringing a piece of home to those who live far away from the place where they grew up.

Colombian Christmas Part 1: Día de las Velitas

Christmas is celebrated in many different ways in various parts of the world. Right after Thanksgiving, my husband and I bought decorations for our apartment. For the first time, he hung lights and helped me decorate our little tiny Christmas tree. We also listened to Christmas music that I have grown up hearing. However, being the bi-cultural couple that we are, it would only be fair to include some of his customs.

One of them is Día de las Velitas (Day of the little Candles) in Colombia. It starts in most places on December 7th, the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Colombia is a very Catholic country, and this holiday reflects that tradition. Although when I was teaching it to the students, I didn't go too deeply into origin of the holiday. The pictures of the holiday was all that they were interested in anyway.

To incorporate this holiday into our house, we lit candles and listened to some of the traditional Christmas music that they sing in Colombia. They are called villancicos. Of course, the most famous one is "El burrito sabanero". My favorite version is the one sung by Juanes who by the way I am going to see this June when he comes to Boston. :)

The other thing I love about Colombia are the decorations. In Quimbaya, Colombia they are well known for the faroles, or paper lanterns, which they display on December 7th. Medellin, another city, is one of the 5 best cities to see Christmas lights in the world.

I hope one day to be able to see these beautiful sights in person and not just in people's home videos.

Becoming Sra. Toro

It's official! I'm Sra. Toro.

Months ago, when I told my then fiance that I was going to take his name, he didn't understand why I would want to give up my last name. In Colombia, women maintain their maiden name even when they get married. If they want to add onto their last name, they could do something like "C. Berry de Toro". I didn't like that idea. Next, there was no way I was going to hyphenate my last names to become "Berry-Toro". It's sounds too much like "very Toro" which is a disaster waiting to happen. Plus, I work with students, and I do not want to set myself up for teasing. Flip the names around, and I could be a new type of fruit - the "Toro-Berry". No way. Finally, I decided that it sounds more professional to have just "Toro" as my last name. My fiance said, "Well, what if we go to Colombia? They will think that we are brother and sister since we have the same last name." There is no way that could happen since my husband and I don't look anything like each other. I think we'll be fine.

Most American women grow up knowing that the possibility of changing their last name exists which is a concept foreign to most Latina women who live outside the United States. It was a constant topic of conversation this summer. Once I met the man of my dreams and we became serious, I started to get used to my new identity which is why I jumped the gun on making the blog with my new name. I've had time to get adjusted to my new name just like new parents have nine months to get used to the idea of having a baby. Changing my name hasn't been such a shock to me. It's practically expected here.

As my husband sees me jump through hoops to change my last name, he asks if it is all worth it. In my opinion, it is. He is no longer the only Toro in the house. We are together now. I'm part of his new American family. Is it pain to change? Yes. Is it worth it? Without a doubt.

Here are some pictures of us and our name. Anything that resembles Toro or bulls we get it or take a picture. It's actually a lot of fun. We have plenty of stuff around the house, too.

Sra. Toro

Sr. Toro

For our Colombian coffee

Me = Toro on the outside, Irish on the inside

My big fat Irish-Colombian Wedding

The best part about my wedding was how two very different families became one. It happened like this.

On Thursday, the men went to get their tuxes, and in no time, there was a mix of Spanish and English in the air. After, we bonded over pizza which make the rehearsal dinner the next night go much smoother since some people already had met.

On Friday, the rest of the Colombian family and friends were introduced, and they were the stars of the night. With everyone getting along so well, I knew that our wedding was going to be a great time. I was a bit worried about how the families would be, but Irish and Colombians are both fun groups so really I had nothing to worry about.

On Saturday, I picked up my sister-in-law for our hair appointments. One of my good friends who is also Colombian needed a ride down to the church so I picked her up, too. It was great because she could help my sister-in-law who spoke no English. I got back to my parent's house and got dressed. I was cool as a cucumber because I've never been one of those Bridezilla-types.

We made it to the church in time to hearing the bagpipes playing. My bridesmaids were all dressed in green because that was the color of my Colombian emerald which is also the same color that symbolizes my Irish heritage. My dress was Spanish inspired with lots of lace, and I wore a mantilla veil to match. Since both our families are Catholic, we had a full Mass. It was really meaningful to the both of us. My wedding band is actually from Ireland, and it is adorned with the Trinity knot. I love telling the story of my rings to people because it is so unique just like my husband and I. Plus, it's a way to carry Colombia and Ireland with me everywhere I go.

We had a great time taking the wedding party by limousine to the reception which was at the Westin Hotel. Again, the cultural theme was present throughout. The place cards were placed in trays and held up with whole coffee beans. The favors were spice jars filled with Starbucks Colombian coffee, and the tags said, "Thanks a latte". Our DJ lit the room up with a green backdrop, and he played American, Irish, and Latin music for us to dance to. Our cake also fit with the theme. The bottom layer was chocolate cake with Bailey's Irish Creme mousse. The second layer we offered our guests was a white cake with mango mousse. It was decorated with Irish shamrocks and coffee beans covered in chocolate.

My goal was to make this a wedding to remember. I wanted to highlight the things that make my husband and I special. I wanted it to be a learning experience for others as well. I think that I accomplished that. When I had the chance to observe what was going on at my wedding, it made me smile. Love broke down the language and cultural barriers that existed. People found joy in the universal language of love and celebrated by dancing the night away. I couldn't have asked for anything more. It was the wedding of my dreams.

Sr. y Sra. Toro

Exactly how I imagined

My unique rings

My favors

The cake

By JClements Photography

Colombia in the House!

I've had quite a summer!
 
I have saved a description of my final week in Uruguay, but once I got home, I was bombarded with wedding plans, and I couldn't finish my post. I have been trying to tie up loose ends and make sure that everything got done. It wasn't easy.

Now, there are less than 3 days until the wedding. Today, our family arrived from Colombia. Between sightseeing and wedding stuff, I have been quite busy.

I promise to finish my Uruguay post, tell how the wedding went particularly how we incorporated our two cultures together (Irish-Colombian), and then how was Puerto Rico/Vieques.

South American Ships Sail into Boston and Spanish Soccer

Can you see the Colombian flag?

In my future brother-in-law's apartment in Colombia, there is a painting of a ship over the fireplace. My fiance explained to me that this ship was very important to Colombians, and it meant a lot to his brother who had trained aboard the ship when he was in the Colombian Navy. La Gloria is a old ship from 1968, and it is a source of pride for the Colombians in the same way the U.S.S. Constitution aka Old Ironsides is a symbol and source of pride to Bostonians. La Gloria's sister ship, Las Guayas, is also in town. Las Guayas was built by the same company, but it is owned by Ecuador.

Las Guayas is in front and La Gloria is in back.

About to board ship

As we start to approach the ships, in true Latin style, music was playing. I think I heard Andean music coming from the Ecuadorian ship, and I know I heard Colombian music on the La Gloria. It was actually fun because as we walked around the boat we were swaying to the music.

Once we boarded the boat, we were given complimentary Colombian bracelets from Bancolombia encouraging us to get a loan and buy property down there. They were actual leather bracelets decorated with palma de iraca on each side.

Leather bracelets with palma de iraca

The ship was so beautiful. I was impressed with their attention to detail.  For example, the ropes are decorated with the colors of the Colombian flag, and the stairs have the name of the ship on every step.

 

                
















After seeing the ships, we decided to go watch the end of the 2012 Eurocup match. It was great to see Spain win their 3rd major championship. (2008 Eurocup, 2010 World Cup, and 2012 Eurocup). This makes me excited for the upcoming Olympics which I will see in Uruguay.

I like the phrase Ecuador had on their sail - "Love life". I know I surely do. I love taking advantage of all the beautiful things Boston has to offer, and I love sharing special moments with the ones I love. It's a great way to go about the world.