Palenque

In the first place I would like to say how much I like both forms of art. It's very interesting to know these kinds of music and dance that represent the history and tradition of towns. Alegres Ambulancias and the Alvin Ailey Dance company show us ,using dance the Afro influence in the dance; they have similarities like the drums and some body movements because of their common ancestors. However, palenqueros dance was created by Africans living in Colombia, that's why it has elements of cumbia and cantadoras. In the other hand, the Alvin Ailey Company's dance was created for Africans living in North America, this is the principal reason of the differences between them.

Task 4

This is the video that me and my group made, it is a guide of costeño's vocabulary. I hope you like it :)

Hollydays in other countries

English was used in the blogs to talk about each culture. They did it in this language because is the most recognized worldwide so if they want t transmit their culture, English allows them to get to more people than their mother tongues. 

In the post they talk about rituals related to their religion, is very interesting to see how different could they be and how funny they are. I learned that even when the religions are different and people believe in different gods, join with your family and friends to celebrate is a common trait between them. 

PLUS, I did not know about the Holi festival in India, but it was my favorite, I really want to have those beautiful colors.

Personal culture

How have either a sport, hobby, or music shaped your own personal culture?

I think that music have shaped my own personal culture. I really enjoy listening to rock, it´s like energy for me and , even if some people think this is a genre made of violence and bad feelings, is not like that, at least not all the time; as any other genre, there´s lyrics for every kind of person. 

Rock has influenced my personal culture because, even when I respect other genres as "reguetón" and "vallenato", I don´t feel very comfortable listening to them so that made me enjoy being at home and not to go to discos or that kind of places. The way I dress and speak has traits of the groups I listen and the people who share my likes.

Economic empowerment for women

Read 3 profiles of Costenas through Kiva, a microfinancing organization that lends money to people around the world. Blog about which one you would lend money to.

I would like to lend money to all of them because I admire women with courage and initiative to be independent. Now, If I have to choose one that would be Erika, because she's the youngest and her business seems to be the one that needs more help. Another reason is that the other women have at least one person to support them (husband or sons) and she doesn't.

Afrocolombians

I was very shocked after seeing this video, because I thought that racism was not a problem in Colombia, however, I'm in total disagreement with this kind of discrimination. Every person has the same rights and must be treated with justice and respect.

As Colombians, we are "mestizos" which means that we came from the combination of indigenous,  Europeans and Africans . It´s just unacceptable to  mistreat  Afro communities because that means to discriminate ourselves and our important and beautiful African heritage.

Kenyan Matatu Drivers

1. How are matatu drivers treated in his experience with the BBC? 

This documental shows another face of matatu drivers, the good one. They present these people as hardworking men who don´t have any other option to get some money for their families, is interesting because usually we don´t care about the life of people who make the "simplest" jobs, even if ,without them, our daily routine will be upside down. This is the case of these drivers, they have to break traffic rules and pay bribes in order to get the cash they need. However not all of them want to do this, as Kariuki, many of these men want to make the difference and chase their dreams, this is the side of matatu drivers that BBC wanted to show in the program. 

2. Do Barranquilleros have the same negative opinion of mototaxistas as the Kenyans have of matatu drivers?

I think that some Barranquilleros actually have the same negative opinion of mototaxistas. This probably happens because some of them violate the speed limit and don´t stay in the places of the road specially designed for them. Another reason is for the killings and gangs in the country, the hitmen usually go on a motorcycle, so people may think that all mototaxistas are criminals.