We know because we have to preserve it in our memory. We have to carry the taste of lulo juice and the sound of the guacharaca bird in our bones.
: A significant religious and social milestone, often celebrated with formal white dresses and large family gatherings. Daily Life and Interests
If I close my eyes, I can still taste the geography:
Growing up as a girl in Colombia is a sensory-rich journey where the boundaries between home, family, and celebration are beautifully blurred. It is a childhood built on the pillars of respeto (respect), educación (education), and an unshakable cohesión familiar (family cohesion). The Rhythm of the Home
The most powerful force in the Colombian household, however, is the matriarch. your abuela (grandmother) was a healer, a judge, and a historian. She knew which herb ( matica ) cured a stomach ache and which remedio chased away the evil eye ( mal de ojo ). as a little girl growing up in colombia
For the large Catholic majority, the First Holy Communion (usually around age 8 or 9) is a massive event. Little girls wear miniature white wedding-like dresses and veils, followed by large family parties. 🍲 3. Sensory Memories: Food and Sunday Rituals Paseo de Olla (The Pot Gathering):
I did not know I was living inside a cliché. I did not know that to the rest of the world, my backyard was a stereotype of cocaine cartels, violence, and magical realism. To me, it was simply la casa .
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Today’s young Colombian girls are growing up in a country that is actively transforming. They are encouraged to be proud of their roots while aiming for the global stage. They see Colombian women breaking barriers in politics, science, literature, and sports. The modern Colombian girl is raised to be strong, expressive, and fiercely determined, backed by the enduring support of her community. An Unbreakable Bond We know because we have to preserve it in our memory
: On December 7th and 8th, girls join their families to light colorful candles on sidewalks and balconies to honor the Virgin Mary, a tradition that signals the start of the holiday season. El Niño Dios
If there is one rule for a little girl in Colombia, it is that affection is not optional—it is the currency of existence. From the moment she wakes up, she is immersed in a culture of physical touch.
Music is not something saved for special occasions; it is the oxygen of daily life. Long before you learn to read or write, your feet learn the syncopated steps of cumbia, the joyful bounce of vallenato, and the infectious energy of salsa. You watch your mother, aunts, and grandmothers move effortlessly around the kitchen, hips swaying to the radio while mashing plantains or stirring a massive pot of sancocho. Through these rhythms, you inherit a physical language of joy, resilience, and expression. A Matrix of Matriarchs
you internalize that you are made of the same stuff as the mountains (the Andes) and the same flow as the rivers (the Amazon). You are a product of mestizaje —the mixing of Indigenous endurance, Spanish structure, and African rhythm. Daily Life and Interests If I close my
, and coming home to the smell of rice, beans, and fried plantains ( Sunday Traditions:
Our house in a small pueblo outside Bogotá had no central heating. It didn’t need it. The cold came straight from the páramo , biting my ears as I walked to school in a navy blue skirt and wool tights. But the cold was a friend. It meant my mother would make chocolate santafereño —thick, with cheese melted at the bottom of the mug and a chunk of almojábana floating like a treasure.
This is the ultimate rite of passage marking the transition from childhood to womanhood. Traditionally, this is the milestone where a girl is "officially" permitted to wear high heels and makeup. Families often throw massive parties where the girl wears a grand ballgown, dances a waltz with her father, and receives a symbolic change of shoes from flats to heels. First Communion:
Eventually, like so many Colombian children, I grew taller than the guayabo tree. I learned English. I learned to code-switch between the warm, lyrical Spanish of the interior and the flat vowels of the north.