Colombian History with a Side of Fish

In February I had the good fortune of having to travel to Colombia 0n business.  I am always down for a trip and as I had never been to Colombia I was eager to see what awaited me there.   My division at Phelps Stokes (the NGO I work for), Programs for Latin America and the Caribbean, works primarily with Afro-descendant and Indigenous populations, to provide more access to education and in turn support the development of  young leaders from those communities.  In 6 days I visited Bogota, Quibdo and Cartagena.  Bogota, while I didn’t get to see too much of it due to meetings, appears to be the standard capital city in the developing world with the requisite government buildings, churches, etc. and the wealth concentrated in one area while large parts of the rest of the city struggle for basic services.  It was nice and I know it deserves another visit at some point.  After Bogota came Quibdo, the capital of the state of Choco, located on the Pacific coast.

You know you’re in Choco when you get off the plane because you are met with the most humid air you’ve felt in your life.  It is HOT with dense forest and more biodiversity than most parts of the rest of the world.    It is wealthy in all kinds of resources, especially human, and I had the opportunity to spend some time with some impressive student leaders at the university.  Choco has the highest density of Afro-Colombians in all of Colombia (which may explain why it has been so neglected by the federal government…but that’s just my opinion) and one could easily mistake Quibdo for any city in West Africa.  Choco is essentially cut off from the rest of the country and has no decent roads connecting it to the capital and barely to either Medellin or Cali.  The safest way to arrive definitely by air.  But once there, it is a bustling town sitting on the banks of the Atrato River where gold is the preferred product as opposed to fish.   I spent only one day and night in Quibdo but it felt like I was home and I look forward to my next trip there.

After short stint back in Bogota, we departed for Cartagena, the “pearl of the Caribbean.”  What an enchanting city!  The colonial zone is exquisite with wonderful little boutiques and EXCELLENT restaurants all surrounded by the muralla or fortress walls.  I ate quite well here!  And while I thoroughly enjoyed Cartagena it was a day trip to San Basilio de Palenque that truly captured my heart.  Palenque, as it’s more commonly called, is a village of about 3,500 about an hour(by car) from Cartagena that was founded by escaped slaves in the 16th century.  Once you turn off the main road you must travel on a dirt road into town.  Water is delivered  periodically to a tank that sits on a hill just outside of town.  Gravity brings the water to town, not any mechanized plumbing system or anything like that.

Palenque is surrounded by foothills that made it difficult for the slave owners to find them and thus over the years residents of Palenque have managed to maintain Palenquero as their common language, although fewer and fewer are able to speak it.  It is a dialect  based on the Kikongo language of the Congo and Angola with Portuguese influence.  Spanish speakers cannot understand it when it’s spoken.  We had an opportunity to visit the local school and meet with some teachers there.  Truly dedicated individuals who could just as easily work in Cartagena or any other town outside of Palenque, but they choose to work there.  Unfortunately the students were released early that day so we did not meet any of them.  Following the visit to the school we stopped by the house of a man who is the original singer for the group Sexteto de Tabala.  They have performed here in Washington at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and have traveled the world sharing their music with others.  Musician man accompanied us to our pre-arranged lunch at a local dining establishment.  Tourists do not frequent Palenque so for a group of about 6 like us, you had to call ahead to make sure they were ready for us.  And don’t expect a menu…you get what you get. I must admit that my culinary expectations were programmed to low.  Afterall I had to wash my hands in a tub of sudsy water next to the “kitchen” since there was no running water.  In the US I would be hard-pressed to eat in a restaurant like that, but for whatever reason, whenever I travel my defenses are down and I prefer to absorb the experience rather than complain about it.  We sat down for lunch in the 90 degree (in the shade) heat and awaited our 1st course.  A scorching hot chicken soup with vegetables.  Needless to say I was sweating like mad after that.  Following the soup came what I have officially declared as the best fish I have ever had in my life, Cachama.

As you can see, it was served in its entirety with rice, veggies and plantains on a banana leaf.  I took the first bite and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.  Next thing I knew I was scraping fish bones in search of more meat.  It was over too soon.  This scrumptious meal was accompanied by an historical account of the settling of Palenque by the 80+ year old musician (I can’t believe I didn’t get his name) and our guide for the day, Manuel.  Musician man shared with us that he only learned Spanish when he was around 50 years old or so.  Prior to that he spoke only Palenquero.  This place is absolutely fascinating and totally unique and I cannot wait to return…and really can’t wait to eat that fish again!  Until next time people!

Tags: Afro-Colombians, Bogota, Cartagena, Colombia, culture, fish, food, Palenque, Palenqueros, Quibdo, travel

Category: Featured Articles: Food Politics, Food Politics, Mexico, Lat & South America, Travel & Culture