A multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Colombia
Colombia is the country of mixed race, but also of ethnic diversity. According to the latest census by DANE (the Colombian statistics entity), in 2018, 87.6% of the population considered themselves mixed-race or white. Whites are mainly of European (mainly Spanish) or Middle Eastern origin. Mestizo, literally "half-breed", indicates both Amerindian and white ancestry. The rest of the population defines itself as having a particular ethnic origin: Afro-Colombian (9.34%), indigenous (4.4%) or Roma (0.006%). These figures are based on individual self-perception, and some Indigenous people prefer to think of themselves as mestizos, due to the persistent racial prejudice their community suffers from on the part of part of society. Despite stubborn racism, mentalities are evolving towards a more inclusive and egalitarian society. The progressive 1991 Constitution recognizes Colombia as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural state. A Colombia that is no longer afraid of its diversity, and is even proud of it, at least in words. The Constitution thus protects the collective rights of three ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the State - Afro-Colombians, Indigenous and Roma - who can therefore legally live and express themselves according to their own languages, beliefs, customs and traditions.
Indigenous peoples. When the Spanish arrived in what is now Colombia, it is estimated that there were between 1 and 6 million Amerindians, belonging to three linguistic groups: Arawak, Carib and Chibcha. 90% of the indigenous peoples were decimated within a few decades, due to forced labor and, above all, diseases imported from Europe. Today, the indigenous people number almost 2 million, belonging to 115 ethnic groups. They are mainly found in the departments of Amazonas, La Guajira, Vaupés and Vichada, Chocó, Cauca, Sucre, Córdoba, Nariño and Putumayo. Areas where Amerindian communities enjoyed relative isolation are not resisting modern society, which is tending to standardize lifestyles. In the depths of the Colombian Amazon, some twenty isolated groups have been identified who have had no contact with "civilization" for tens or hundreds of years. How long can these nomadic peoples remain isolated in the face of agricultural advance, deforestation and the whims of evangelical sects (such as the New Tribes Mission) seeking to contact them to "save" their souls as in colonial times?
The largest indigenous group is the Wayúu, with 380,000 members, i.e. one in five indigenous people in Colombia. They live on the La Guajira peninsula, on the border with Venezuela (where their population is estimated at 413,000). They are the only indigenous group not to have been conquered by Spanish settlers. They remain a proud and feared people. Organized into clans, the Wayúu have preserved their ancestral traditions(el encierro, la dote, etc.), while remaining involved in the economic activities (legal or clandestine) of this border zone. In the Caribbean region, we also find the Wiwa, Kogui, Arhuaco and Kankuamo, scattered in communities in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. On the Pacific coast, the Emberá and Wounaan are in the majority. In the Andean region, they are the Muisca, but there are also other ethnic groups, such as the U'was, Guambiano, Misak, Pijao... In Amazonia, the Tikuna, Huitoto, Coconuco, among others, live, and in the Orinoco basin, the Tunebo, Tiniqua, Piapoco... The 1991 Constitution recognized the collective rights of indigenous peoples over certain lands, ancestral or otherwise, via the resguardos indígenas . This administrative and socio-political entity manages collective land according to indigenous law. The guardia indígena (indigenous guard) is responsible for ensuring that these rules are respected, and for controlling the territory against incursions by armed groups. The latter use the sometimes vast lands of the natives for their illicit activities (coca cultivation, gold mining, etc.).
Afro-Colombians. These are the descendants of African slaves brought over during colonial times to replace the indigenous workforce. Today, Colombia is the3rd country in Latin America with a large black population, after Brazil and Haiti. Nearly 10% of the population considers itself Afro-Colombian, but several community organizations put the figure at a more realistic 25%. Blacks and mulatos (mestizos of Afro-European descent) today live mainly on the Pacific (90% of the population) and Caribbean coasts, as well as in major urban centers such as Medellín, Bogotá and especially Cali. They are in the majority in San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. In the archipelago, the 25,500 inhabitants with Afro-Anglo-Antillean roots are known as Raizales. The cultural and linguistic characteristics of this island people are clearly different from the rest of the Afro-Colombian population, with a language and culture close to that of Jamaica and Barbados. Another officially recognized black minority: the Palenqueros. Originally from San Basilio de Palenque, they are direct descendants of the Cimarrones (Maroons), slaves who fled from the Spanish haciendas to form an independent kingdom at the end of the 16th century. They number 6,600, with their own culture, language and way of life. On May 21, Colombia celebrates the Día de la Afrocolombianidad, in tribute to the cultural contributions of the Afro-Colombian population, officially freed from slavery in 1851.
The Roma. The comunidad gitana (or Pueblo Rom) arrived in colonial times, fleeing persecution in Europe. Los Gitanos formed caravans that criss-crossed the country, carrying goods for sale and prophecies, such as those of Melquíades, the magician in Gabriel García Márquez's masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude. The worsening of the armed conflict from the 1980s onwards forced them to settle down. They formed kumpañy groups in towns such as Cucutá, Girón, San Pelayo (Córdoba), Ibagué (Tolima) and Bogotá, as well as in the department of Nariño, where a certain nomadic tradition still persists. There are thought to be 3,000 Gitanos in Colombia today, many of them dedicated to trade and copper craftsmanship.
More recent migrations have enriched Colombia's ethnic mix and diversity. In the north of the country, particularly in Barranquilla, a large number of immigrants from the Middle East arrived at the end of the 19th century and especially in the middle of the 20th century. These Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian and Palestinian traders, all known as Turcos, played an active role in the region's development. Barranquilla has also received Jewish immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Germany. In recent years, many Venezuelans (and Colombians long settled in the neighboring country) have been crossing the border in the hope of finding a better life in Colombia, to send money, food and medicine to family back home. It is estimated that over 4.5 million Venezuelans have left their country since Nicolás Maduro came to power in 2013. Half of them have settled in Colombia. In February 2021, in response to this massive influx and in the midst of Covid's health crisis, a "temporary protection status for Venezuelan migrants" (EPTV) was granted to more than 1.7 million refugees. Issued for ten years, this special visa offers the possibility of working legally and benefiting from the health system. Other immigrants include Cubans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, as well as Spaniards, Italians and French tempted by a new life. Between 3 and 7 million Colombians live abroad, mainly in the USA, Spain, Ecuador and Chile.
A young and urban population
In Colombia, 40% of the population is under 25, and the median age is 31 (42 in France). However, the number of children per woman is steadily falling, from 6 in the 1960s to less than 2 today, but with major differences between regions. The population is concentrated mainly in the Andean region and on the Caribbean coast, leaving large uninhabited territories such as the Llanos and Amazonia, with less than 1 inhabitant per km². Nearly 80% of Colombians live in urban areas, notably in one of the 7 metropolises with over 1 million inhabitants: Bogotá (11 million), Medellín (4 million), Cali (3.2 million), Barranquilla (2.1 million), Cartagena (1.4 million), Bucaramanga (1.2 million) and Cúcuta (1.1 million). The rural exodus gained momentum in the 1950s and 60s, with the civil war and then the armed conflict. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 7.5 million Colombians were victims of forced displacement between 1985 and 2017, most of them Afro-Colombian and indigenous families. In 2021, a further 73,000 Colombians fled their homeland under pressure from multiple armed groups (+181% on 2020).
Languages alive and well
Colombia is the world's second-largest Spanish-speaking country, behind Mexico and ahead of Spain. It's an American Spanish with linguistic characteristics quite different from Spanish from Spain. The Spanish spoken on the streets of Bogotá has the reputation of being the purest (or neutral) in the world! Given the country's complex geography, there are many regional accents and peculiarities. There are even a dozen dialects: costeño, spoken on the Caribbean coast, close to that spoken in Panamá or Venezuela; Pastuso, in the Pasto region, quite similar to the Spanish spoken in the Ecuadorian Andes; Paisa from the Medellín region; Valluno from the Cali region; Rollo from Bogotá; llanero from the Llanos; Cundiboyacense spoken in Cundinamarca and Boyacá; or Santandereano in Santander.
There are also 68 native languages in Colombia: 65 indigenous languages (many of which are in danger of extinction), two Afro-Colombian languages, and Romany, spoken by the Roma people. The Afro-Colombian languages are Palenquero, a mixture of Spanish and African languages, spoken in San Basilio de Palenque, and Anglo-Caribbean Creole, spoken in San Andrés and Providencia. While the education system is supposed to be bilingual in some territories, national curricula rarely incorporate indigenous cultural elements. On the contrary, they tend to remove them from their traditional habits and customs, and incorporate them into a Westernized society.
