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The major cities have tropical climates, but the country actually has the greatest diversity in climate in the Caribbean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AntonioR
It's the only place in the Caribbean where that is possible.
You mean in the Caribbean islands.
The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta is the highest coastal mountain range in the world and its on the Caribbean coast and has perpetual snow all year round. There's also a large desert on the Caribbean coast, La Guajira desert.
That's disputed by the black Americans in the videos above, they moved to Colombia in part to remove themselves from discrimination and tensions in the US, they say it themselves. I think that is quite telling.
Of course they have the Gringo label, and probably are reasonably affluent and educated, so can crack certain barriers that many local blacks cannot.
I was in Brazil and I experienced this myself and in fact local Brazilian blacks even told me that I will be perceived differently from them. The wallet always speaks loudly and even now a US passport is always a good thing to have.
Of course they have the Gringo label, and probably are reasonably affluent and educated, so can crack certain barriers that many local blacks cannot.
This is the main crux of it. As soon as black people as a whole start to value education more (like certain Asians) than emulating an imported gangster rap image the easier it is to crack those barriers.
However, it goes without saying there will always be the racist bigots that won't change regardless of the level of education of a black individual.
Of course a perceived wealth factor is also a powerful tool against those barriers.
That is because negro is a term associated with the African slaves, who are depicted in Colombian history as humble, hard working, decent, proud and key contributors to Colombias identity.
So if some one calls you negro, negrito do not be offended.... they are literally complementing you!
So when I look to see who the movers and shakers are in Colombia in the public and private sectors can I expect to see a large representation of "negro/negra" people. Or is it that those traits are only valued if they remain confined to low status occupations?
Given what outsiders see of Colombia it is usually a shock to find out that a large % of the population is black or of VISIBLY mixed black/white and indigenous ancestry. In fact I believe the 4th largest behind the USA, Brazil and the DR.
This is the main crux of it. As soon as black people as a whole start to value education more (like certain Asians).
And in fact substantial numbers of blacks do value education. Do you know that around 30% of US black females now have college degrees? And that around 30% of the US black population now out earns the median white household?
It is the bigot who always portrays blacks as a monolithic population of ghetto losers. 70% of the US black population is neither poor nor dependent on public handouts.
And the majority black islands include places with some of the highest literacy rates in the Americas.
Take it from some one who lives in NYC. This that you describe is an alien world to us. So please don't imply that it is typical of the entirety of the USA and that you must escape this country to avoid this.
The racism that we have here is more about institutional biases (access to employment in high end occupations, promotions, equitable pay, etc.) I can assure you that there is not one country in Latin America where the local blacks don't suffer tons of implicit negative bias. That you will not encounter as you will be seen as an American, and that will define how you will be treated.
I cannot recall any instance in NYC where I have been rudely treated by a white person, or thought that I felt any danger from them. That is aside from cops, but then the Latin ones, and even some black ones, can be not that different.
If you want a nirvana where folks don't look at some one's assumed ancestry, as indicated by their appearance, and not make judgments based on this Latin America isn't the place to go. I am not sure that this place even exists any where on this planet.
I don't think that Brazilians look at a Brazilian woman looking like Oprah and think that this is a media mogul. Americans have been exposed to her image for decades now. Just look at NBC's Thursday prime time line up.
Brazilians are fully aware that a sizeable cadre of successful black Americans does exist and so treat them differently when they visit. English speaking blacks in general get this privileged treatment, as most who visit will be educated and reasonably affluent, so will be seen as different from the local blacks.
So when I look to see who the movers and shakers are in Colombia in the public and private sectors can I expect to see a large representation of "negro/negra" people. Or is it that those traits are only valued if they remain confined to low status occupations?
And in fact substantial numbers of blacks do value education. Do you know that around 30% of US black females now have college degrees? And that around 30% of the US black population now out earns the median white household?
In both instances I would like there to be more and culturally more emphasis is needed as a whole on academic achievement. Unfortunately the glamourisation of gangster rap culture and its adoption of it across the world has held a lot of youth of all creeds back in the late 90's and 00's especially black youth. I consider myself someone who was held back by wanting to "fit in" in that imported culture back in London.
Raul Cuero is a massive champion for scientists back in Colombia. He's working with NASA on achieving the first colony on Mars! There is not enough Raul Cueros and there needs to be more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by caribny
Given what outsiders see of Colombia it is usually a shock to find out that a large % of the population is black or of VISIBLY mixed black/white and indigenous ancestry. In fact I believe the 4th largest behind the USA, Brazil and the DR.
And the majority black islands include places with some of the highest literacy rates in the Americas.
Colombian African heritage is probably 4th in the hemisphere. I would say it could be above Dominican Republic but behind Haiti.
Most of the Americas has high literacy rates above 90% except for Guyana, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Jamaica. Haiti has a 60% literacy rate.
I have no intention of going to the USA in the next 4 years ... but at some point I would like to travel to the South of the USA. I have only been to Florida in the southern part of the USA... but I am hearing and reading all this stuff about things that happen in the south of the USA that just seem really so strange to me to be happening still. Ex Hispanics being racially profile on a regular basis. People living very segregated still by choice ex the white or black areas of the town. It seems so very different then want I am use to. Also the landscape of some of these places seem really beautiful. As a Canadian these places are places we hear about on a regular basis on tv, moves and in the news.... but seeing is believing.
Another misconception about the South is hyper segregation. Jn fact, Northern cities are much more racially and economically segregated than large Southern cities, partly because the Southern cities experienced more of their growth post Civil Rights movement.
People in the USA usually are shocked to know that Colombia has such a high number of blacks and mulattoes because most Colombians that live in the USA are either mestizos or white.
In many Latin American countries that received (example: Venezuela) or are currently receiving (example: Chile) large numbers of Colombian immigrants, they are not shocked to know that there are many blacks and mulattoes in that country. This is due to a large percentage of Colombians that migrate within Spanish America are precisely black and mulatto. From what I know, in Chile many people think Colombia is basically a black and mulatto country (similar to the image people have of Brazil) and are shocked to learn that they comprise a minority of that country's population.
There are Latin American countries where Colombians are seen more as a mestizo and white people (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic), mostly because the Colombians that move to these countries tend to be either mestizos or white.
If anyone hasn't noticed by now, what people think most Colombians look like depends on the type of Colombians that dominates their migrant colonies outside Colombia.
Colombia doesn't have a powerful media industry in the Spanish American world. If anything, Colombia's image is shaped more by foreign media industries that often project the country as a warn torned country with a million kidnappings per day and people dodging bullets daily and everywhere. This is why what people think Colombians are like depends more on the type of Colombian that migrates to X or Y country and not so much on Colombian media portrayals or even Colombian reality.
Of course they have the Gringo label, and probably are reasonably affluent and educated, so can crack certain barriers that many local blacks cannot.
I was in Brazil and I experienced this myself and in fact local Brazilian blacks even told me that I will be perceived differently from them. The wallet always speaks loudly and even now a US passport is always a good thing to have.
And there's the exchange rate issue. One US dollar equals like 3,100 Colombian pesos.
One of the guys in those videos has set up an online business where he's consulting travelers, business people, and investors interested in Colombia. He looks them up with people like lawyers, real estate agents, etc. Being that he's being paid in US dollars, yes, he has a very comfortable life in Colombia.
This is not limited to African Americans, you'll find Europeans and White Americans doing the same thing. You'll also find Latinos who made it in the US, who return to invest money in Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic or other Latin American nations or to live well off. Dollars and euros go far. You also have retirees who move to Latin America (social security and pensions go a lot further there).
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