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.
Growing up as a girl in Colombia is an experience rooted in deep family ties, vibrant cultural traditions, and a complex landscape of gender expectations. While modern Colombia is rapidly evolving, the childhood of many girls is still shaped by the concepts of respeto (respect) and cohesión familiar (family cohesion). Family and Social Foundations as a little girl growing up in colombia
: Research in the Journal of Comparative Economics indicates that in early childhood, Colombian girls often outperform boys in developmental measures and social-behavioral skills. Our house in a small pueblo outside Bogotá
: Growing up, girls are often taught to be careful and diligent, traits that come naturally in many traditional communities, such as the pot-making children of Ráquira. 2. Traditions and Celebrations But the cold was a friend
Colombia in the 90s and early 2000s was a complicated quilt. , I learned early that adults spoke in two tones: one for inside the house, and one for when the news came on. I learned to read the tension in my father’s jaw when he heard a motorcycle engine too loud, too late.