Colombia has been invited as a guest of honor by the Smithsonian Institution to be a part of the Folklife Festival which will take place from June 30 to July 11 in Washington D.C., El Tiempo reported Tuesday.
The 100 Colombian representatives, who are skilled in traditional crafts and trades, will take part in the exhibition, which will display their culture and the way that Colombians make the most of the natural resources.
Potters, dancers, singers, jewelers and instrument-makers will also give live demonstrations of the heritage and cultural diversity which is determined by Colombia’s complex geography said Culture Minister Mariana Garces.
Curator of the event Margarita Reyes explained that an ethnographic, anthropological, environmental and ecological investigation was carried out by the Erigaie Foundation in order to define the concept and narrative of the exhibition.
From this, they decided on the concept of a journey through six cultural ecosystems in Colombia; the Andean high plain, the coffee region, the Mompos depression, the Pacific rainforest, the southeast plains and the Amazon rainforest, as well as urban centers Bogota, Medellin and Cali where there are mixes of cultures.
As an example, an expert in the making of “ruanas” (Colombian ponchos) will knit them in the fabricated Andean high plain ecosystem to show the close relationship between the profession and the geography of the department of Boyaca.
To facilitate communicate between the visitors and the participants, 20 translators will be present.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum and research complex and receives funding from the U.S. government.
