Getting Away - Vélez (Part 2)

Built in 1929, this church is embedded into
the Andes mountainside in Vélez.

Tucked up in the middle portion of the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes, Vélez sits at approximately 6725 feet. It was the second city in the "kingdom of Granada" and was discovered and founded by Captain Martin Galeano on September 14, 1539.  (As an aside, I wonder how accurate these dates are because back then the Captain did not have an iPod or other technical device to record things, and fighting off the indigenous tribes as well as the locals had to make getting pen to paper a little bit tough.)

The places we did not see in this charming city were: 1) the caves where the aboriginal folks hid out from the Spanish, reputed to have underground waterfalls, stalactites and stalagmites as well as fossilized remains of a chief; and 2) the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Snow, unique because it has an entrance on the side and it was the first church built here in 1560. Obviously this means another trip to try and see these antiquities.

Interior view of the church in Vélez.

Outside entrance view of College - photo by Isabel

But we did get a rather extensive tour of the National University College which was originally a Franciscan convent, established in 1549 and quite obviously of Spanish architecture. It was the idea and inspiration of General Francisco dePaula Santander to turn it into an educationally purposed place in 1824 and was fully approved as such by the Ministry of National Education in 1937. It was declared a national monument in 1973 under the government of Misael Pastrana Borrero. Although a huge building, covering more than two city blocks in both directions, the upkeep is lacking and I advised our guide that in one classroom the ceiling was showing evidence of black mold, "Muy peligroso!" I said. Not exactly helpful in a learning place.

My shot of interior courtyard of National College - immense!

I found some historical information about Vélez that indicated there was a road from here to the Rio Magdalena which served as a way to transfer goods between the city and onto ships headed downriver and off to Spain. According to this report, Vélez was suffering during the first 30 years from attrition as neither troops nor commoners were particularly delighted with the surroundings. But the discovery of gold in Pamplona circa 1560 created a new interest in living near a city and also closer to the river.

The statue of a huge guitar arm representing the influence of Tiple here and the guabina music have led to festivals that offer more of the same throughout the year. Since the 16th Century, Veleñas goods have been finding favor in and out of the city... here you can find both agricultural and crafts products in abundance. The fine art of turning sugar cane into sugar was mastered here enough so that Velenas preserves were, and still are, among some of the best. Baked goods, candy,  cheese, hams, canvas and sandals, along with leather goods including saddles are still sold extensively. Horse and mule breeding are among the top economic agricultural products.But the pressure for agricultural lands grew through the 17th century and so, like much of Colombia, it was learned too late that old growth trees are a greater function than just wood to burn or build with - the relatively new awareness of trees serving to anchor the steep hillsides is coming to Vélez as well.

Privately owned former home of First Colombian Pres. Parra

We visited the house of the First President of Colombia, Aquileo Parra, now owned by someone else. There is a house here in Barichara where it is claimed he was born but the provenance of that tale is uncertain; although he was born here, it's just not certain it was that particular house. At any rate, he was only President for two years (1876-78), but he was the first - Colombia's George Washington - and the first and only one from Santander. I could not say that the Vélez homestead reminded me of Mount Vernon, except that it has a magnificent view of much of the state of Santander.

The view from Parra's house today may be similar to 1876.

Our group in front of Parra's casa- Photo by Ana Elisa G.

We also visited the building that was once the business operations for the bocadillo and hat sales that Don Parra was famous for manufacturing. It was only five or six city blocks from his home on the hill, but what a climb after work!

Another short stop was to see an orchid farm. It is right across the street from the National University College tucked inside an old house, not dissimilar from Parra's workplace above. Everywhere you looked there were orchids of all shapes, sizes and colors. Many of which will only survive in the Vélez climate.

I really wanted this one but it is a local one.

Perhaps a familiar orchid to many... the one I chose.

Isabel's photo of this one was better than mine.

The fellow who was growing them said, "They need love and water, treat it like one of your children". Some of the group said they were a lot of work, but I was willing to try and gave myself a gift of one. As I am writing this, I can see it blooming with four (!!!) new flowers, so at the moment I am being a good Orchid mom.

COMING UP NEXT: Getting Away to Chiquinquirá - Please come back and enjoy more travels through Colombia!

Getting Away - Puente Nactional (Part 1)

Some members of our group in costume.

Following the 'Route of the Comuneros" our group made it's first stop in Puente Nacional, named for being the “National Bridge” where the first fight between the commoners (Comuneros) and the Spanish crown took place on May 8, 1781. In the state of Santander there were no shots fired and no blood was spilt (unless someone fell down from being drunk that day). So 231 years later, the people of Colombia dressed up in period costumes for both sides – the communeros and the aristocracy – and celebrated the success of that day and all the days that followed to bring them to where the city is today. This feat brought the people of Colombia their independence on  August 7, 1819.

Comunera & Aristocrat

Puente Nacional is also recognized as a great ecotourist stop at approximately 5300 feet in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes with over 680 beds and the ability to feed 2,000 people daily. While the hotel (Hotel Colombia El Dorado) we stayed at was clean and moderately comfortable, I cannot possibly imagine their restaurant being able to keep up with more than 20 people since our food was less than stellar in both timing and quality, a minor hiccup in our trip. Agriculture and growing of livestock seem to be the primary economic activities of the region, but to be honest I didn't have time to talk to anyone about this aspect of the area.

Dancers are rehearsing as we arrive in Puente Nacional.

Promoted across the country as the biggest ‘Feria’ in Colombia, a celebration of the First Comunera Victoria, (Primera Victoria Comunera) there were indeed visitors from Bogota, three hours to the south, and also from Bucaramanga, four hours to the north and plenty of other places as well judging from the license plates on the parked cars. Surely most of the 5,600 local townspeople and a good portion of the over 12,000 rural residents were also crammed into the town square to enjoy the activities. Almost everyone was wearing the Comunero costume of black skirt or pants, white blouse and a sombrero and some added the red necktie.

Meat hanging and other samples awaiting your pleasure.

We arrived on Saturday, May 5, about 9:30 a.m. after getting up at ‘screech o’clock’ to be on the bus by 6 a.m. If we had not stopped for a much-needed breakfast, we could have arrived even earlier in time to hear the Marching Band going through the streets at 4 a.m., attending the Rosary Mass at 5 a.m. and then joined in watching the students of numerous educational institutions parade past to the Lelio Olarte park where the formal ceremony began at 9 a.m. with the singing of the various hymns of Colombia – the national song, the state song and the city song. The park was named for the composer, Lelio Olarte Brown, born December 4, 1882 responsible for creating “Guabina, Guabina” well known throughout Santander, if not the rest of the world.

Technical college theatrical group in park plaza; city offices in background.

The Comuneros call for freedom from the foppish
fellow in the blue coat to the left (photo) threatening
more violent actions which never transpired - then or now.

 However, we did arrive in time to see the impressive theatrical presentation of the Comuneros and the Indigenous tribes facing off due to the conflicts caused by the Spaniard arrival along with the various religious leaders, the aristocracy and the troops wanting to control the lands and the people. The fervor of the Comuneros came across easily in today’s youth as the actors of the past.

Along with this energetic presentation, there were examples of old equipment for sugar cane production, leather making, forging metal, making coffee and brandy, pulling sisal for weaving and samples of various foods along with pottery and numerous other crafts for sale.

The Indigenous tribes wanted their lands back, but they
had to settle for not being under Spanish rule.

We left after lunch for a trip to Velez, which will be the subject of the next entry.

After our return from Velez that night, we all decided to get a snack before the Tiple (guitars with 12 strings playing a particular type of music) concert. While it was a nice concert and some lovely music, the day’s activities had worn me out and I was not alone in my desire to find a place to stretch out. Most of the group retired for the night and I didn’t have much time to read before my eyes were closing, even though the bed was only slightly softer than the floor.

NEXT: Velez – the first place in the world to give women the right to vote!

What is a Tiple?

You can be forgiven for not knowing... I didn't either until a couple of weeks ago. It is a particular kind of guitar which has an unusual configuration of strings, probably evolved from the Spanish guitars brought over by the conquistadors. You can read more about it here: Tiple


The instrument is about two-thirds the size of a standard guitar, unless it is something that has been created by some of the more enthusiastic tiple players, in which case the instrument might have been redesigned to accommodate electric formats. (See the concert photo below.)

The Tiple artist is usually a man, although there is a woman living in Barichara, now elderly, who was nationally recognized for her Tiple performances. One clue as to the kind of guitarist you are meeting is that it is not common, I was told, for a Tiple player to shake hands, especially with a man, because their hands must be exceptionally agile to play the notes as rapidly as they do and if a handshake is too harsh, it could mean a negative affect on a performance. The hands will feel soft, but muscular and the nails on the right hand are longer to provide the picking sound.

Here is a link to an Andes website - Folklore Los Andinos - where you can see pictures of the instruments, more details and hear some music.

Recently at the Casa de Cultura in Barichara a concert was held to hear Javier Enrique Gomez Noriega play a variety of Tiple songs. I readily admit I am no expert on guitar, much less on tiple. But seeing how much skill is required to play ALL 12 of the strings (and sometimes it evens seems as if they are all being played at once) you can appreciate what a real art form this musical effort is. What is also remarkable is that most Tiple players can play a musical line with both hands, first from the right hand and then repeated in a different octave with the right playing off the fret itself, making the strings of the guitar work through an incredibly wide range of notes.

You can see an example of tiple with Javier playing on the video link through YouTube below. I apologize in advance that the video is less than perfect. The lighting was terrible and I didn't have a front row seat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc_Zp3Grv_0

When Javier heard that I was writing a blog about tiple, he asked that I include his email address so that he can answer questions (tiplesolista@hotmail.com) and if you would like to talk to him in Spanish, he is willing to receive calls as well. I have his phone number, so you can send me a request and I will pass it on to you.

The man on the right is playing a more traditional Tiple guitar, but
the other two are playing electric guitars re-designed to play the Colombia
Tiple music with the edge of electric sound. The fellow on the left, Chepe Ariza,
 designed his own instrument and the sounds he created were
nothing short of astounding at the Posada de Campanerio, Barichara.

You can imagine from learning about tiple, attending a variety of concerts, going to art shows, meeting various artists, and my own creative activities why I am so entranced with Barichara. I don't know what the energy is here that draws artists into the vortex, but here we all are - laughing, dancing, singing, playing instruments, painting, weaving, making furniture, and chipping away at rocks to name just a few of the things going on...

There is one snippet of the group shown here playing during the 1er Festival de Musica Barichara at this site: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150153538245031&comments but it's not a great presentation, really. But you get a hint of what the music sounds like.