Culture

MUSIC FESTIVAL IN COLOMBIA

Most people in Colombia prefer to

attend a national musical festival than international musical festival. Colombian people prefer to support and spend money on our festival than other festivals around the world, because Colombians don`t like to attend alone to the festivals and they would rather assist with a group of friends in order to be happier than alone. In our Country we have a lot of Festival of National Musical from different regions: Vallenato Node

“Vallenato Legend” Festival

Its first version took place in 1968 and it is held on April 26th -30th every year. It is staged at “Consuelo Araújo Noguera” Leyenda Vallenata Park, in the Colombian city of Valledupar, capital of the department of Cesar, though earlier it was held at “Francisco El Hombre” stage at “Alfonso López” Square. The Festival is organized by Fundación Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata.

Pacific Node “Petronio Álvarez” Festival of Colombian Music from the Pacific It started in 1997 and it is held in the city of Cali in the Colombian department of Valle del Cauca. It takes place annually, in August, and IT is organized by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo de Santiago de Cali. It is considered as the most representative Festival of that region of the country. “Petronio Álvarez Festival”

Caribbean Node The Festival began in 1985. It is held every year during four days in October in Palenque de San Basilio or San Basilio de Palenque, small village close to the village of Mahates, on the foothills of Montes de María, 50 km Southeast of the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias, department of Bolívar. It is organized by Corporación Festival de Tambores y expresiones culturales de San Basilio de Palenque. It is framed in the ethno-educational program of the global ethno-development project of Ma Kankamaná de Palenque Community Council.

With the suport of the Ministery of Culture of Colombia, we have a lot and important festivals in our Country that represent our Culture and our beliefs, and a lot of people around the world come to Colombia in order to attend and know how are our festivals and the hapinness in Colombia

PARK FESTIVALS

From a long time were created the

park festivals in Colombia, these are

cultural events that are made in

Bogotá during the year. Especially

these are concerts of different kinds of

music for everybody, and there are

major artists invited from different

musical genres. Also, there are dance,

folklore, crafts and Colombian cuisine.

The main characteristic is they are

free events and open for all

audiences; these events were created

by The Mayor of Bogotá to promote

culture and make people enjoy a good

free time.

Park festivals are an excellent option

to enjoy culture in Bogotá, there are

many national and international artists

invited. This allow citizens of all

classes, ages and educational levels

meet in parks and outdoor spaces for

enjoying art and music, and give an

example of coexistence.

There are six interesting music

festivals for all tastes that meet in

each edition to thousands of

spectators.

Rock al Parque

It is one of the most important festivals

in Latin America. It started in 1995 to

show the public the rock bands of

Bogotá and help them grow. Along

time, it don’t only became a rock

music event, also joined other genres

as metal, punk, ska, reggae,

alternative music and now colombian

music mix.

Jazz al Parque

Thanks to the good results of Rock al

Parque, in 1996 the jazz festival

started to diffuse this music genre

between Bogotá citizens. This is an

important space to show the university

and local bands.

Hip Hop al Parque:

Its objective is the diffusion of the

urban street rhythms and artists of

the city. Also, there are dance

competitions, freestyle and graffiti.

Salsa al Parque

It is the most latin festival with a lot

of tropical flavor in Bogotá, where a

lot of citizens enjoy this space to

hear the best singers of this genre

and enjoy dancing.

Opera al Parque

It started in 1998 to create culture

and diffuse this kind of music to all

public. Its concerts and recitals are

for reduced public and in

auditoriums designed especially for

this kind of music.

Colombia al Parque

It's an event that brings all music

genres of the country: Cumbia,

porro, bambuco, música llanera,

carranga, etc. Also, you can enjoy

the typical dances of different

regions, crafts and Colombian

cuisine.

The park festivals are a good choice

to enjoy musical and cultural events

for all tastes in Bogota and without

spending much

money. It´s

important to seize

the cultural spaces

that the city offers

us!

SILVIA TCHERASSI BIOGRAPHY

Silvia Tcherassi was born in

Barranquilla on August 21, 1965. In

1990 created her own company called

Altamoda. In 2003 she was invited to

the fashion week in Milan. In 2004

Tcherassi

was

honored by

the the

French

ambassador in Colombia, Daniel

Parfait, with the Order of Arts and

Letters, which the government gives to

foreign and French. In this same year

she was invited to attend the fashion

week in Paris. She has stores in

Colombia and the United States with a

brand that bears his own name. Silvia

Tcherassi also has a hotel in

Cartagena, which is part of Tcherassi

Hotel Collection, the hotel Tcherassi

and Spa, which was included in 2010

by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the

best new hotels in the world. The

same year she released her book,

"Elegancia sin esfuerzo". In March

2011

announced that she will launch a shoe

collection for Payless ShoeSource.

Silvia Tcherassi is married to Mauricio

Espinosa.

They have two children, Mauricio and

Sofia Espinosa.

Tcherassi is a spokesperson for

UNICEF's campaign against the use

of landmines, more art, less mines.

Her style has been defined by the

Dizionario della Moda as eclectic, her

clothes, as having the delicateness of

a ballet dancer, while at the same

time, the strength of a rock star. Her

prêt-à-porter gave rise to the concept

of demi-couture while her wedding

gowns have become the perfect

vehicle for her creative talent;

recognized by the invitation to have

one of her pieces at the “Unbridaled:

The Marriage of Tradition and Avant

Garde” exhibition in Paris. Her

approach to fashion has made her

deserving of important international

recognition, including her receipt of

the prestigious designation of

“Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des

Lettres” by the French Government;

an honor bestowed on leaders of the

international arts community for their

“contribution and commitment to

cultural service.”

Inspired primarily by Giorgio Armani,

Tcherassi has been described as

"revolutionizing the Latin American

fashion scene in a definitive way". Elle

magazine has described her dresses

as "tempting". She once said, "My

creations are absolutely designed to

serve a woman, from 18 to 50 years

old." Her collections has been

showcased in the catwalks of Milan,

Paris and New York.

MOVIES

Learning Foreign Languages with Movies

Nowadays, movies are a really

good tool to teach and learn a new foreign language. Teachers who teach a foreign language use these films in order to introduce their students with a different culture, accent and attitudes of foreign countries. It is relevant to say that authentic materials like movies help learners to acquire a better accent and pronunciation in each word or sentence they use. In other words the usage of foreign movies in the classroom give the students the opportunity to learn new vocabulary, new structures and listen to native speakers that

can help a lot in the acquisition of a new language.

The goal of many foreign language teachers is always to transmit to their students the knowledge and the best way to learn a new language as easy as possible, taking into account that learning a new language is really hard and everybody learns in different ways, For example, it is said that, in some cases when you reach adulthood it is a little more difficult for you to learn a foreign language, even if you practice grammar, vocabulary, speaking and listening, people tend to forget almost everything when they stop practicing for a month. On the other hand, children have more capacity to learn and understand a foreign language. That is why, foreign language movies are recommended as a good way to teach a second language, so that students can practice their listening and comprehension.

Students studying a second language can be assigned a number of films with themes relating to words they are expected to learn. Or they can

pick up the words, idioms, slangs or structures, from the movie that the teacher wants to teach them. This is a good strategy, because they can learn different ways to use them depending on the context.

In conclusion, I recommend watching movies in their original dialect, as a good resource for teaching, because students will learn a second language naturally and easily, taking into account that they will find class pleasant where they can learn the new language throughout watching a movie that they really like.

.

MUSIC

The most successful singer of the history: Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney was

born on June 18 of 1942 in Liverpool England. He is a musician, songwriter and businessman. McCartney was named for the BBC like the “greatest composer of the millennium”. He has won 60 gold discs and his song “Yesterday” has been played more than 7´000.000 times on American radio since 1965. His fame has been gained for belonging to the most successful band of the history “The Beatles”.

When Paul McCartney was 15 years old, he met John Lennon and formed a great working relationship creating the band “The Beatles” later George Harrison and Ringo Star joined them. One of the most important album was called “Revolver”. In this album there are three of the best songs of the successful band “yellow submarine”, “I want to tell you” and “She said, she said”. Another important album according to critics was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with songs like "with a Little Help from my Friends", "Lucy in the Sky with diamonds” and "Getting Better". In the 70’s and 80’s, after the break of the Beatles,

Paul McCartney continued his musical career forming “The Wings” with Linda McCartney and Denny Laine.

The most important album of the band was “Band on the run” with one song called like the album and “Jet”. After 1980, McCartney launched his solo career where he sang genres like rock, classical and electronic music.”Here today”was a song added in his album “Tug of war”

where he did a tribute to his best friend, John Lennon.

All in all, Paul McCartney is a living legend that you can enjoy.

On his tour “On the run”

Paul came for first time

to Colombi

a. If you wanted

to see his

show, you had to pay minimum

$85000 and maximum $863000. Music critics said it was the best concert of the history in our country.

Was one of the best rock bands

of the World since 1965 until 1985. They were known by their psychedelic music and their philosophical lyrics. They are considered one of the commercial successes and one of the principal influential rock bands IN history. They sold near of 300 million of album around the world and their best decade was the 70's. Pink Floyd’s name was a tribute to two blues musician: Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. The first band's name was The Pink Floyd Sound, but across the time, the name was changed to only Pink Floyd. The original members in 1965, were Roger Waters (bass player and singer), Nick Mason (drummer), Richard Wright (keyboard player and singer), Bob Klose (guitarist) and Syd Barrett (rhythm guitar and principal voice). Their main composers were Roger Waters and Syd Barrett. Bob Klose left the band because parents pressure to learn blues. This separation converted the Band in four members, but the main voice, Syd Barrett, left the band because his

excessive use of drugs. He was replaced by David Gilmour until the end. Due to the departure of Syd Barrett, Roger Waters was the main leader to the band, since 1968 until 1985 when the band was separated due to legal problems interns.

The most important success album to the band is "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973) where their lyrics were inspired in Syd Barret's mental illness a few years ago. Breathe, Money and Time were some important songs in that album.

The Wall (1979) has been converted in inspiration to new artistS around the world. It’s a true classic to the rock music in the

world and source to inspiration to protest by the system, education and wars. It was the eleventh album and maybe the most important to influence us, the fans. Roger Waters created a fictional life inside The Wall, where the bricks are his Father's death, his Mom's overprotection, the oppression of British education, his love failures, his pressure by be a public figure and his drugs. They teach us to break the wall to not self-destruct. It was described, as one the best works in the history of the rock and obviously of the band. It was the bestselling album in the decade of 70's, with about 23 platinum albums. “Another Brick in the Wall", "Mother", "Goodbye Blue Sky", "Hey You", “Comfortably Numb", "The Trial" were some important songs in that album.

Some years later, Roger Waters made the film Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) and to many people is considerate to masterpiece, due to the connection between Pink Floyd’S music, the images, the cartoons, the Roger Waters’s trauma and the actors.

In 1985, Roger Waters declared to Pink Floyd extinction, but David Gilmour and Nick Mason continued with the band until to Roger Waters sued, for name rights.

A few years ago, every Pink Floyd gathered again in the concert Live 8 (London, 2005) and it was the last time to Pink Floyd performed a concert for the world.

Pink Floyd was one of the best rock bands of the World, with about 23 platinum albums. They sold near to 300 million of albums around the world. It’s a true classic to the rock music in the world and source to inspired.

SPORTS

SURFING

Surfing is a surface water sport in

which the athletes (surfers) ride a

tablet called “surfboard”, then the

waves in the sea carrying the surfer

towards the coast.

This sport is practiced mainly in the

ocean because it is necessary to

have availability of high waves, but

there are places like big lakes and

rivers where is possible to practice

too. The most important element for

practicing this sport is the surfboard.

Originally it was made of solid wood,

but most recently surfboards are

made of polyurethane, fiberglass,

and polyester resin, typical length of

recently surfboard is between 1.8m

and 3m, its weight is between 45kg

and 90kg.

There are two basic steps for

practicing this sport: first, when the

waves come to the surfer, he should

lie on the surfboard, once beginning

the sliding, The surfer should to

stand on the surfboard, the

movement of waves is in charge of

allowing his displacement. Therefore,

when the size of waves is bigger, his

movement and speed will increase.

On the surface of surfboard it´s

applied wax for permitting grip at

moment the surfer is standing on it.

Also the surfer has a leash, it is like a

belt used for fixing the tablet to the

body (leg) of the surfer.

If you have the interest of living a

new experience and feeling too much

adrenaline, probably learning and

practicing Surfing can be a good way

to achieve it. The only thing that you

must do is take a rest, go to coast

and begin to know and to practice

this extreme sport.

PLACES TO SURF

The places where you can practice

surfing are on the beach, in the pool or when you are a beginner on the sand. Then, when you improve your skill in surfing, start to visit the different beaches of Colombia and around the world.

If there is one thing that characterizes the surfers, it’s a restless spirit and a desire for adventure. Thankfully, in Colombia you can satisfy the thirst for adventure while surfing by discovering areas rarely touched by a board. The spots to practice surfing are really exotic and healthy, where you just don’t enjoy sports, but also the atmosphere, also and these places are crowded with people from countries around the world.

Australia is home to some of the great waves on the planet, and some of the hottest surfers. If you are looking to take a trip somewhere and want plenty of coastline to choose from then Oz is the go! You have three choices - east, south or west. There is no surfing in the north mainly because of the stingers (jellyfish) and salt water crocodiles.

Sunset Beach is an island located in North Carolina, the USA, and provides top-rate surfing opportunities for experienced and highly skilled surfers. Its huge and powerful waves mean this is no place for beginners! Experienced surfers can enjoy trying out classic tubing waves which occur frequently here. The professional surfing competition, the Pipe Masters, is held here annually. The best time to surf at Sunset Beach is between November and March.

Hawaii is one of the most traveled surfing destinations in the world. Because of the virtually never ending coastlines and numerous secret beaches and surfing spots. Surfers from all over the world travel to this state just to experience what surfing

is really all about. Besides, surfing was originated in Hawaii.

It is a fantastic place for a surf vacation or regular holiday, and although it’s not the place for the novice surfer, it is still a great place to visit just for the spectacle of surfing.

These are the best places to know and enjoy surfing. If you are planing a five day trip or a week trip, and you want to surf and visit most of the spots we suggest you to take a tour. There are different companies that can provide you different services, boat trips and tours this way you

won't waste your time, you will feel more safe and you will be able to surf

all the spots in the country in one week, the guides know the best spots according with the conditons and weather, you will be able to know not just the hotel surf spots, but also you will visit all the different areas and also other tourist destionations inside of the country. The country is very small and the roads are in perfect conditions you will enjoy your time traveling with a guide and transportation.

TRAVELING SKY SPORTS ON THE BEACH

Didn’t you think sometimes your

vacations are too relaxing but not enough exciting?, Well, if you are kind of like getting bored when you’re in a peace and quiet beach for more than a few days, these recommendations could be perfect for you:

Tandem Jumping in Brazil

Tandem is probably the easiest way to introduce yourself into the flying-extreme sports, it’s a pair-skydive where you’re in companion of a instructor, tied up to him by a safety belt, these jumps are from a height around 12.000 ft, the free falling spends around one minute

and then you hang during around 5 minutes enjoying the beautiful landscapes, Is important not to be so heavy (170 pounds max weight). Price: from USD 180. Place: the beach of Barra de Tijuca, near the city of Copacabana.

Parasailing in Punta Cana

This easy way of flying seems more like to be hanged in a kite, but the kite is a variation of a parachute. Is necessary to have a good wind but Dominican Republic has the perfect weather all the year. When you are on the top the only thing you listen, it’s the wind, so you just can relax in the sky; certainly there’re parachutes for 2 or 3 people. Price: from USD 50. Place: Punta Cana – Dominican Republic.

Skydiving in Mexico

Just for experts, this is probably one of the most exciting experiences. Mexico offers a lot of alternatives of skydiving associations in cities like Guadalajara and Celaya; if you want to train on parachuting, the course to get a license includes 7 jumps plus around 8 hours of in-floor instruction. After getting your license you’ll be able to skydive anywhere in the world. Price: USD 300 per Jump, equipment included. Place Guadalajara / Celaya – Mexico.

There are nice options to try Sky extreme sports, just select one according to your experience and your need of adrenaline; Latin America has great landscapes and the perfect weather to enjoy this kind of adventure. So, you don’t need to go far away to find them.

Honeymoon in Punta Cana

Punta Cana is the best place for a

honeymoon. You can do a lot of activities. This place is very romantic and you will enjoy all the time with your partner and the food is delicious. The most beautiful

beach in the world is the perfect place to relax. If you are going to plan the

best honeymoon, we are going to say

some tips to have in mind.

In Punta Cana you find different kinds of food. The average restaurant is not expensive, but it depends on when you want to eat. You find international buffet restaurants and menu restaurants. If you prefer to go

to menu restaurants, it is advisable to make a reservation because these restaurants have a high demand. But if you have a touristic plan, don’t worry because generally when you buy a plan, all is included.

If you want something different in your honeymoon, the beach in Punta Cana is very romantic for horseback riding. While you and your partner are horseback riding, you can see the beautiful ocean. Most resorts have excursions and include lessons, but if you prefer relaxing activities, you can go alone with your partner. If you and your partner are adventurous, you can go on a touring by helicopter trip to see the beautiful beach.

Punta Cana is a perfect resort for honeymoon. In the most at the hotels you can find a places and plans to relax: Jacuzzis, swimming pools, snorkeling gear, bars, spa

and sports. Enjoy water sports; if you practice snorkeling, you will see the attractive animals in the ocean.

You can find different places to go on

honeymoon, but if you go to Punta Cana, it is going to be fantastic and the best adventure of your life. You are going to live a different

experience with your partner. Enjoy

this trip and repeat this adventure….

If you love the sea: you can swim and feel the sea waves lulling you. However, if

you additionally like sea life, you can have a relaxing time

snorkeling putting on your snorkel and float, and while you

do, you can see the wonder of the wild life under the sea.

Relaxing activities near the Beach

When the days are running of the same old grind,

it’s the time for a long weekend on

the beach. The sun on your face,

the sand under your feet, and

beautiful people around you…

nothing more relaxing than a

beach vacation. You can do a lot

of things for having repair time in

the beach.

You have many things to do, and

you can choose them according to

your preferences and likes. That

means, if you are an activity

person or calm and quiet, maybe

you love the sea life or the nature

or you only want to change your

routine and have a relaxing and

repairing time; you have a special

thing to do at the beach.

Relaxing time!

By in the other hand, if you are an activity person maybe you

like sports, there’s no better place than on the beach to do it. It’s

the perfect combination, relaxing time, sports and sun.

Meanwhile you enjoy a sunbath, you can exercise your body

and get a great skin color; there are too many beach sports as

soccer, volleyball, ultimate, running...etc.

As a matter of fact, if you only need a relaxing time, you can spend your beach time taking a sunbath,

catching up on your reading or making sand castles. And remember: taking a sunbath is good for your

health; the sun helps to set the calcium in your bones. Another advantage for the sunbath is its

psychological benefits, making you feel better and happier. Finally, a good sunbath gives your skin a

wonderful color that makes you look more attractive…

A lot of people have found the beach as the best place for vacations. Therefore, you can be an active

person or more quiet, but you always have terrific things to do at the beach!.