To be a little girl growing up in Colombia is to live between warmth and complexity—deeply rooted in family, festivity, and flavor, yet often navigating economic and social realities with early maturity. The experience varies vastly by region and class, but common threads include a strong sense of community, pride in local traditions, and the lasting influence of la familia as a safe haven.
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To grow up as a girl in Colombia is to be surrounded by a powerful matrix of women. While Colombian society historically carries a thread of machismo, the domestic and emotional heart of the home is fiercely matriarchal. Grandmothers (abuelas) are the revered pillars of the family, holding the secrets to both traditional recipes and ancestral remedies.
Living in the birthplace of Gabriel García Márquez, you quickly realize that "magical realism" is not a literary genre—it is a daily reality. As a little girl, you are raised on a diet of Catholic traditions heavily intertwined with folklore, ghost stories, and neighborhood superstitions. as a little girl growing up in colombia
Every morning begins with a sensory awakening. The rich, intoxicating scent of freshly brewed Colombian coffee fills the house, a testament to the country’s world-renowned heritage. For a young girl, breakfast is often a comforting affair featuring an arepa —a thick, round cornmeal cake—served piping hot with a generous spread of butter or melting queso campesino .
Education is highly valued, but expectations can vary:
But at school, the nuns divided us by our estrato —the invisible ladder of class that every Colombian child learns to climb before she learns to read. The girls from the north of the city had lunchboxes from Miami. Their hair was blown straight. They spoke English with a gringo accent they practiced on Saturdays. The girls from the south—like me—brought mecato wrapped in newspaper. Our hair curled in the humidity no matter how hard we brushed it. To be a little girl growing up in
Growing up in Colombia means growing up with stories of magic,, influenced by the country’s literary tradition. From tales of La Llorona to the vibrant, surreal beauty of the Amazon or the colorful streets of Cartagena, imagination is always active.
Sundays are sacred. They are reserved for large, boisterous family gatherings centered around long tables filled with traditional food, such as a hearty sancocho (a thick, comforting meat and vegetable stew) or bandeja paisa . These gatherings are filled with lively conversations, laughter, and often, impromptu music and dancing.
Childhood in Colombia is an assault on the senses in the most beautiful way possible. No matter if you grow up in the chilly, mountain-ringed capital of Bogotá, the humid coastal streets of Cartagena, or the lush green hills of the Coffee Triangle, your earliest memories are tied to nature and food. Share public link To grow up as a
However, growing up in Colombia also means developing an early, nuanced understanding of resilience. Depending on the decade and region of her childhood, a young girl may have grown up under the shadow of social political unrest, economic volatility, or the remnants of the country's turbulent past.
: This memoir by Maria Luisa Morales follows her life from a five-year-old in Santa Teresa, Boyaca, through the trauma of being displaced by war and eventually forging a new life in the United States. Personal Narrative: My Experience in Colombia