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Hispanic Culture & Traditions

Learning a world language is not only about learning vocabulary and grammatical structures. Learning about the culture & Traditions are an essential part of language learning. Learning about culture & Traditions allows us to understand others, expand our horizons and enrich our lives. 

Below you will find videos that cover various topics about different aspects of the Hispanic culture & Traditions. Some of the topics include: history, food, sayings, customs, etc. 

Colombian Food Tour: Learn about traditional Colombian food as we travel through different cities in Colombia and try different things for breakfast, lunch, las onces, and dinner. This video is full of Colombian culture, Colombian food, and Spanish vocabulary.

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Tomar las Onces: Tomar las onces – to take the onces is a special tradition in Colombia.  For Colombians  las onces is a special time because they not only get to enjoy delicious food but it is also a time to spend time with family and friends. For las onces, Colombians have hot chocolate, agua de panela, tinto (Colombian coffee) accompanied with cookies or almojábanas, pan de yuca, buñuelos, pan de queso, sweet breads or pastries like milhojas or obleas. 

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How do Colombians Drink Hot Chocolate: I grew up in Colombia drinking hot chocolate only one way, and it wasn’t with peppermint or marshmallows. It will sound surprising to you but hear me out (or, in this case, watch the entire video before knocking it down). Us Colombians like to drink our hot chocolate with (drum roll pause) …  watch to find out. 

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Soroche: During my last trip to Colombia to visit my family, my husband suffered from a rough case of soroche(Altitude Sickness). He has traveled most of the world and had never had issues, but I should have known that Bogotá could affect him, especially with him being from The Netherlands (below sea level). Now we know that soroche truly affects him, and as we prepare for our trip to Quito, Ecuador (even higher altitude than Bogotá), we are taking precautions so he can enjoy the entire trip. 

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Ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia: Ciclovía literally translates into “cycleway.” Every week, the city of Bogotá creates a bike path by closing different streets throughout the city so that people can use the path to exercise. All forms of transportation are welcome as long as they are not motorized. Bikes are the preferred method of transportation in the ciclovía; however, you will see people skating, rollerblading, using scooters, or simply walking and jogging. 

The city of Bogotá implemented the Ciclovía. Although Ciclovías are now happening in many cities across the globe, Bogotá was the first city to implement it. 

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Cochahuaira: Cochahuaria meant rainbow for the Muiscas, representing the bridge between heaven and earth. This Ecovillage is located in a perfect place with an unobstructed view of Lake Iguaque in Gachantivá, Colombia. 

During our visit, Catalina shared that Lake Iguaque was considered a sacred place for the Muiscas. The legend says that this is where humanity came to be. The goddess Bachué came out of the lake with a boy in her arms. When the boy grew up, they became husband and wife, and their children populated the earth.

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Plaza Mayor de Villa de Leyva, Colombia: The Plaza Mayor of Villa de Leyva, Colombia,  has mostly stayed the same in the last 400 years. From an architectural point of view, this part of the town has been frozen in time for many centuries. This Plaza is not only the biggest in Colombia, but it is also one of the biggest in all of Latin America. The Plaza Mayor of Villa de Leyva is about 150,000 square feet. 

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La Chiva: In Colombia, a Chiva is a rustic bus traditionally used in rural areas to transport people, livestock, and merchandise. Although Chivas are still used in parts of rural Colombia, some have been upgraded as a vehicle to transport visitors on different activities and tours. 

The chiva tour in Villa de Leyva will take you around the city and stop at the most important places, such as museums, sculptures, etc. At each stop, you will learn more about the city’s history and importance. In addition, they also took us out of Villa de Leyva to a nearby mountain to be able to see Villa de Leyva at night. It was a lovely view.  

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Plaza de Mercado in Villa de Leyva, Colombia: The Plaza de Mercado of Villa de Leyva is not only a place to buy food and items. It is also a place that means a lot to the locals and where there is a lot of history and family traditions. You can buy fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, arts and crafts, clothing, household items, and more. The locals visit the Plaza de Mercado to purchase fresh produce directly from the campesinos. Visitors and tourists go to the Plaza de Mercado to taste a variety of fruits that may not be available in their homeland. In addition, visitors and tourists may buy souvenirs, crafts, and household items. 

Traditional Farmer

The Routine of a campesina in Boyacá,  Colombia: This video will teach the daily routine in Spanish. Doña Dionisia is a lovely Colombian woman who welcomed us into her house in the countryside and the mountains of Colombia. As she says, she is 100% campesina. Follow her routine from the moment she wakes up. You will learn how to discuss in Spanish the things that you do at the start of your day. You will also learn about the Hispanic and Colombian culture and what a campesino(a) does as part of the routine. New vocabulary in Spanish and lots of animals and outdoor activities to learn about. 

A day in the life of Dionisia, Rural Colombia. Mi Rutina. Comprehensible Input in Spanish

Rural Colombia House Tour: Let me show you this beautiful Farmhouse in Colombia; this house tour will show you how time has not moved for some places. The house is located in a very remote area of Colombia. See how some farmers live in Colombia.

Rural Colombia house tour 2021


Learning how to make Galletas de Maíz in the mountains of Colombia: Join us in this Vlog of our trip to Colombia to learn how to make traditional corn cookies. The class is taught by traditional baker Mrs. Rocio who comes from a family of Colombian bakers. This video is in Spanish. Use context clues to help you understand. 

Traditional Colombian Cooking Class - Boyacá - Colombia Day 4

Tamales Tolimenses: One of my family’s Christmas traditions is to make Tamales colombianos. More specifically Tamales tolimenses. El Tolima is a department or state in Colombia and my mom is from there. During the holidays we get together, season the meats, make the filling and the dough and assemble these yummy tamales. Generally it is something we do as a family and a week or two before Christmas. 

Tamales Tolimenses Colombianos,

Colombian Breakfast – Calentado Colombiano: This video will teach the daily Breakfast routine in Spanish using Comprehensible Input. Follow my routine from the moment I wake up. You will learn all the basic vocabulary needed to talk about your daily Breakfast routine and you will also see Present tense Verbs being used throughout the video. You will learn how to discuss in Spanish the things that you do when making breakfast. On this specific video we make Colombian Calentado which is a traditional dish in we use leftovers to make a delicious breakfast. 

My Breakfast in Spanish. Comprehensible Input Spanish. Present Tense Spanish Listening Activity

Almojábanas Colombianas – Easy Recipe: In this video, you will learn how to make almojábanas. A type of bread that is very popular in Colombia, especially in the region of Cundinamarca and Boyacá.  Almojábanas are another kind of cheese bread, very similar to pandebonos and pandequesos.

How to make Almojábanas (Colombian Cheese Bread), Comprehensible Input

El Ratón Pérez – What to do when you lose a tooth: Children around the world have different traditions when they lose a tooth. In most of South America, el Ratón Pérez visits kids when they lose a teeth. Watch this video to learn more about this tradition. 

El Ratón Pérez - Cultural Traditions - Culture Spanish

Regionalisms – How to say earrings throughout the Hispanic world: The word earrings has many variations in Spanish. It all depends on the context and the country you are at. Watch this video to learn the many different words that mean earrings in Spanish. 

Regionalism in Spanish, 3 different ways to say "earrings"

Jokes in Spanish:

Gol – A joke in Spanish: In this video you will hear a popular joke in Spanish that kids learn when they go to school. 

Laugh with a joke in Spanish with Teacher Catalina. Cafecito Episode 14

Spanish Sayings and Proverbs:

Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente – Spanish Saying. This saying is widely used in Spanish speaking countries.

Culture. Popular Spanish saying. Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente - Spanish

Lo prometido es deuda – Spanish Saying: This video will explain the saying “Lo prometido es deuda” what is promised becomes debt.  You will learn about this popular saying in the Hispanic culture, how is used and what it means. For me it means that when you make a promise, people expect results therefore it becomes a debt to whomever you promised something to.

Lo prometido es deuda, the popular Spanish Saying Explained