Colombian Foodways

Colombian cuisine varies greatly by región. Much of the foodways rely on local products and have developed from long-standing traditions. Common food products include potatoes, corn, beans, pork, beef (especially veal), fish, yuca, and a variety of fruits and spices. The foods depend greatly on the availabilty of products and the knowledge of the cook. Many current recipies are the result of the meshing of different cultures, such as in the Eje Cafetero where African traditions and European-influenced cuisines combine to create the regional specialties.

PARTICIPANTS

Alba Herminda Beltrán, cook, hat maker, Gachantivá
Alba Betrán uses the palmiche palm, which grows in the Andean Highlands, to make tapia pisada hats in a style that dates back to colonial times. She also uses the tapia pisada technique of braided palmiche woven with fique strands to make placemats, bags, and coasters. In her kitchen, she prepares the traditional highland wheat arepa. In her farm, Alba grows blackberries and tomate de árbol (tree tomatoes) to help support her family.

María Florinda Coy Castilla, cook, basket weaver, Sutamarchán
Florinda Coy comes from a family of weavers. She works mostly with the fique plant, a type of sisal that grows at most altitudes in Colombia, but yields the longest and smoothest leaves in the highest regions. Florinda is also familiar with the craft and medicinal uses of various other plant species that grow in her community. And from her grandmother, she learned how to make dyes from such materials as stones, flowers, trees, and other plants. She is the coordinator of the association of artisans in Sutamarchán.

María Yolanda Franco García, cook, Medellín
Yolanda has been in the food business in Medellín for over fifteen years. She is experienced in making regional foods, such as papa rellena, chorizo, and fríjoles, She works with her husband, who owns a snack shop, and she can make almost 500 arepas every weekend.

Joel Pérez Chávez,cook, Villavicencio
Joel Pérez Chávez specializes in preparing la mamona, the traditional style of roasting meat in the plains. He began working in the plains at the age of 13, but after having an injury, he learned roasting techniques to avoid the dangerous work of the cattle yards. This cooking style is difficult to master and is generally used for festivities and business events.

Mery Margoth Gándara de Barrera, cook, Mompox
Doña Mery is a culinary expert. She owns the restaurant El Comedor Costeño on the banks of the Magdalena River in Mompox. She offers a variety of dishes, such as mote de queso (a cheese and vegetable soup) and la viuda de pescado (a river fish), accompanied by arroz con coco (coconut rice), which are all traditional to the Momposino Depression and to the Caribbean coast in general.

Rufa Herrera de Perea, cook, Medellín
Rufa Herrera is well known for her Pacific rainforest-style of cooking. She prepares dishes, such as arroz con coco, caldo de guafuco, and patacones. She moved to Medellín to work in hotels and restaurants where she has since learned other types of cooking.

Joel Pérez Chávez,cook, Villavicencio
Joel Pérez Chávez specializes in preparing la mamona, the traditional style of roasting meat in the plains. This cooking style is difficult to master and is generally used for festivities and business events. He began working in the plains at the age of 13, but after suffering an injury, he learned roasting techniques to avoid the dangerous work of the cattle yards.

Álvaro Rey Almeda, cook, bread oven mason, San Martín
Álvaro Rey, known as Don Kino, owns a bakery that specializes in pan de arroz, delicate bread rolls made from rice flour, which reflect the relatively recent introduction of rice as a plains crop. Kino's wife learned the trade from his mother, and now the family is well known for the bread they bake and sell daily.

Carlos Humberto Rivera Vargas, cattle ranching craftsman, San Martín
Carlos Humberto is renowned for his saddle making skills and specializes in creating different tools for ranchers and farm workers. His labor-intensive work is distinguished by its detail and high quality.

Raquel Andoque Andoque, Andoque ceramicist, weaver, cook, singer, dancer, Araracuara
Raquel specializes in weaving chambira fiber for bracelets and chinchorros (traditional hammocks). In her Aduche community, she is also involved in ceramic making, food preparation, childcare, and chagra, or gardening.

Virgelina Gómez Rodríguez, Uitoto ceramicist, weaver, cook, singer, dancer, Araracuara
Virgelina Gómez specializes in weaving with chambira, a palm native to the Amazon Rainforest. From her mother, Virgelina learned her skills in weaving, ceramic making, food preparation, and other traditions of her Uitoto culture. 

Yaneth Tanimuka, Uitoto ceramicist, cook, singer, dancer, Pedrera
Yaneth Tanimuka is a maloquera, or person in charge of the maloca or ritual home. She is also a representative of the women’s council, ACIMA (Asociación de Capitanías Indígenas del Mirití Amazonas) where she works towards sovereignty and a sustainable way of life for the Tanimuka people.

María Rosa Yucuna de Valencia, Yucuna ceramicist, cook, dancer, singer, Araracuara
María Rosa comes from a family of ceramists. From her grandmother and mother she learned her skills in ceramic making and currently teaches her granddaughters to make traditional pieces.

Celmira Otero Llanos, cook
Jaime Otero Llanos, cook
Celmira and her brother, Jaime Otero, are well known in Cali for their macetas de alfeñique, hand-made candy ornaments, traditional to Cali, arranged in the form of a bush and made for the día de los ahijados (Day of the Godchildren). The family has passed down their recipe through the generations. Jaime is also known for preparing regional fried specialties, such as aborrajados, marranitas, and empanadas.