goldencolombia.com.co

William Ospina and his northern
lights

William Ospina is considered as one of Latin America's most important writers, and was one of the speakers at a Golden Colombia seminar held in Oslo in 2008. After the event, and with the help of Golden Colombia, Ospina visited the Norwegian cities Tromsø and Bergen. Read his article about his impressions of Norway, and the experiences he had during his Norwegian adventure in the El Espectador Newspaper

Our New Blog

Antanas Mockus advices Golden Colombia

Today Golden Colombia received a visit from Antanas Mockus at our offices in Bogotá. As many will know, Mockus was about to become Colombia president last spring as he eventually was beaten by Juan Manuel Santos in the finishing weeks of the campaign. Read more about the excentric philosophy professor and the green wave that was about to carry him into the presidential palace in this article.

Offices in Bogotá

Golden Colombia Foundation was founded in Bergen, Norway in 2006. June 1st 2010 we opened an office in the historic area of downtown Bogota. If you are near this part of the city, stop by our office, learn about what we do, and learn more about Colombia in the process.

Les mer... Offices in Bogotá

Support our work: "Like" us on Facebook!

Facebook Fanbox 1.5.x.0

Centro Cultural Leandro Díaz – teaching Colombian culture to foreign tourists

Half an hour ouside of one Latin America's most popular tourist destinations, Cartagena de Indias, Golden Colombia Foundation is establishing the Leandro Díaz Cultural Center right on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. The center will offer a variety of courses on Colombian related topics, such as the country's history and geography, music and dance, literature and folklore tales, cooking, as well as Spanish. The centre will be inaugurated in February 2013 and carries the name of the legendary blind vallenato music composer, Leandro Díaz..

Vallenato Festival Blog!

Golden Colombia is present at the 44th Festival of the Vallenato Legend in Valledupar – Colombia's largest musical event. We'll be covering every step of the contest leading up to the coronations of the King of Accordeon, King of Composing and King of Piqueria (similiar to battling for Rap music) who will compete on Saturday April 30th. We'll also try to get some comments on the music and the parrandas (jam sessions soaked in alcohol) from vallenato legends such as Lorenzo Morales, Poncho Zuleta and Jorge Oñate. Stay tuned at goldenvallenato.blogspot.com!

Blog Posts

Hotel Tequendama, one of the world's Top 5 Ghost hotels!

The hotel that can be seen on the top of the cliff to the right, Tequendama, was recently voted as one of the Top 5 Ghost hotels in the world by hotels.com. The other four are Chelsea Hotel (New York), Queen Mary Hotel (California), Gran Bolívar Hotel (Peru), Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (California).

As can be observed, the Tequendama Hotel is situated by the 157 meter Tequendama waterfall, a mere hour outside of Bogotá. After the hotel was inaugurated in 1928, it tragically became a favourite spot for many Colombians to end their lives by throwing themselves into the abyss. The guests staying at the Tequendama eventually started meeting these restless souls at night in their hotel rooms; whispering in their ears, pulling their hair. Some even reported waking up with scratches in their faces.

So the hotel eventually was closed down, and still is. It now definetely even looks as a ghost hotel, something that the Golden Colombia team could witness at our visit to the Tequendama falls last month:

Santa Marta's most successful fast food chain: The Vomit!

El Espectador presents the unlikely story of the most successful fast food chain in Santa Marta, El Vómito: The vomit!
Continue reading >>

Another Coffee Zone - an hour and a half from Bogotá

Many of the vistors to Bogotá have been to the tourist resorts in the hot lowlands, a couple of hours from the capital, with their discoteques and swimming pools: such as Melgar, Girardot, Anapoima to the southwest and Guaduas, Villeta and others to the northwest.

Not as well known is the region you will pass through if you take the 120 km dirt road through the mountains from say Anapoima straight north to Guaduas. All of a sudden you have moved at least half a century back in time, and it will appear as if you have arrived in another region of Colombia: The Coffee Zone. The landscape and the culture bare a striking resemblance to Antioquia and departments in el Eje Cafetero. These small peaceful and pictureque villages, surrounded by a spectacular scenery, are easily accessible even on a day trip from Botogá.

This region was however severly hit by the violence a decade ago, and the economy was ruined. The population, mostly farmers, are still struggling to get out of poverty. Golden Colombia are now looking to involve this region in our Golden Amigo programme next year, stay informed at www.goldenamigo.org and www.facebook.com/goldencolombia.