Colombiamoda and Agua Bendita

Colombiamoda, Colombia’s fashion week came and left us last week. Colombiamoda is Latin America’s biggest fashion week and it happens to be here in Medellin, which is considered Colombia’s fashion capital. Designers from mostly Latin America, Europe, and of course Colombia, come to present their new collections here. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to one of the shows, and lucky for me it was one of my favorite bathing suit brands, though they showed clothing too. The brands name is Agua Bendita and its designers are two Colombian sisters from Medellin. The bathing suits are now being sold in the United States as well ☺. They are known for their wild pieces and out of the ordinary designs. I don’t think you will find a plain white or black bathing suit in one of their stores, ever. Which is why I love them, fun bathing suits are my favorite!

The Agua Bendita’s show was amazing! The brand’s name translates into “Blessed Water” so the show was made as if we were under water. Water was sounding in the background before the show started, and of course while it was going on. The runway was made to look like the ocean and the models came out of a beautiful waterfall with the brands name on it. The bathing suits were definitely something to go gaga over! I noticed there were three different trends in the one show. The first set of bathing suits were very rocker inspired, black with a little shine and rocks and stones to give it that extra rocker touch. Light pink, blue and stars were the main theme in the second set. It made me think of 4th of July style a little, with the stars and the blue. It was the sweetest set of them all. Coming down the runway as the last set of the show were bathing suits with an earth tone to them. The main colors were red, orange, brown, and beige. Luggage was also shown along with the bathing suits and clothing in this last set that made me think of a tourist on a safari in Africa. One of the cover-ups had a huge lion on it, which I loved! Maybe that’s why I thought of an African safari! When all the models were gone a famous Colombian singer named Maluma got up from the crowd and started performing. While he performed, all of the models came out along with the two designers to end the show!

P.S. The pictures aren't great because the lighting and everything but I hope they still give you an idea of what it was like.

Mi Nacional!

Last Sunday and yesterday were the two final games of the Liga Postobon, which is a soccer tournament where my families favorite soccer team and mine was playing. The team is from Antioquia, which is the department where Medellin (its capital) is and its name is Atletico Nacional. The other team was Santa Fe, which is from Bogota, the capital of Colombia. People from Medellin and Bogota have kind of a rivalry between each other for different reasons, the cities I mean. This rivalry made the game a little extra exciting! Well these games are always really exciting because Nacional’s fan base is pretty intense! The streets and every restaurant and bar in Medellin were decorated on both days of the final. The final took place first in Medellin, making the soccer stadium unbelievably full, crazy, and fun! The second day was in Bogota making the parque Lleras, a place with bars and restaurants in Medellin, complete chaos full of cheering fans! It was also really nicely decorated; unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of those decorations, but trust me it was! The first game was a bit upsetting because neither team made any goals and we really wanted Nacional to win since the second game was not in our home stadium. Santa Fe fans were convinced they were going to win the second one because it was a home game for them; they were giving themselves the point to their winning record saying they had won without the game even starting! Little did they know that Nacional was going to beat them 2-0 right in their home stadium!! Medellin last night was full of fireworks, people celebrating outside, and to my surprise, throwing soap and flour to each other! Why flour to celebrate? I have no idea but it seems fun! Soccer games are always fun here in Colombia, even if you don’t enjoy the game I can assure you, you will enjoy the celebration!

Santa Laura Montoya

Colombia is a country that is 90 percent catholic. We had our first Colombian saint canonized on may 12th 2013. I know it was a while ago but I had not been able to post about it! Every one was very excited tuning in to the channel where they were showing it on TV in Rome. The anthem of the department she was form was sung this morning. She happens to be from the same department my family is from! Her convent was in the city we are from and she is from a small town just outside of the city or near the city but in the same department, which is like a state in the US. She died in 1949 and my grandma was born in 1945; she says she met her but seeing as she died when my grandma was only four years old we all have our doubts on if she really remembers her! My grandma was also a volunteer in a retirement home where Madre Laura’s convent was. Everyone is very proud to have her as the first Colombian saint and even more proud of having her be from our department and especially to have had her serve in our city!! I went to the convent where she served. Every thing was very beautiful and inspiring. All over the convent were wheelchairs and crutches and other things for disabilities which people who believe she healed them would give her whatever was keeping them back. There are also messages all over the walls that say thank you to Madre Laura for the miracles she made for specific people. As you can see in the pictures there are baby pacifiers and hats, that part kind of broke my heart but was glad she could help them. I also thought it was so cool to see the old fashioned wheel chairs and the other objects that were there from the past century. There were pictures hung all around the convent with some of her most well known quotes. I put my favorites up. I was able to go to the room where she lived the last years of her life and where she died. She had a baby Jesus on her side and she always kept him there. There are a lot of her old belongings, like her shoes, her silver wear, and just everything she used in her daily life. Her bible was there and her rosary, and I think a piece of her hair, that was a little creepy… There are flowers everywhere and there is a picture of her made in all flowers. That’s common here in Colombia to make figures all in flowers which is popular during a big festival here later in the summer. Santa Laura was a great woman and we are all very proud to have her as our first saint!

Uncle's Beatles Birthday

Colombia loves the beatles too! Who doesn’t? They are my uncle’s favorite band of all time so for his 50th birthday party my aunt got him a Colombian band that impersonates the Beatles. They look just like them they sound just like them and they walk and talk just like them too! They get in character through and through. John Lennon or well the one that impersonates him had his girlfriend there and she was also in character she was dressed like his actual wife! My uncle got up there with the band and it was so cute seeing him sing with them and knowing all the songs word for word and he looked so happy!! Later that night a person that impersonates Juan Gabriel was there too and he was hilarious and also like the real guy. I think my uncle’s brother got him that one. My aunt is great at decorating and made strips of black and white cloths with the Beatles on it and the four guys in their typical pose crossing the street which she actually got from some pajamas my cousin got for him when she was at Liverpool a few years back. She had it made somewhere, which I think is so cool they just do those types of things here. They make whatever you want. You will literally find someone for everything here! Like the cake which was so nice with the Beatles name at the top and there was the number 50 going down a little bit, then his name and at the bottom was a guitar and some red strip of I don’t really know what but it was all edible and so delicious. The white part is not frosting its something else that tastes really good I’ll find out exactly what it is later. This was all in Plancha Karaoke Bar, which is a new bar my cousin opened with some friends. It’s in el Parque Lleras, which is a section of Medellin that is full of bars, nightclubs and restaurants. We all had a great time! And the best part is that a night like this in Colombia is just the norm of every weekend. Every holiday and every excuse they have to have fun they take it, they don’t need any begging to have some fun! And that is the whole country it’s just part of the culture. Oh and the drinks where great too. They all had the funniest names! Plancha music is like for heartbroken depressed people so the drink names reflected all of that perfectly. They had the common names for the drinks underneath in parenthesis so we would know what we were ordering! For example I ordered a martini and the name they had for it was corta venas and it means wrist cutter. After the bands left every one started singing karaoke since it is a karaoke bar! The whole plancha music for depressed people sounds, well, depressing but its not haha the songs are mostly funny, when you’re not depressed… :P This was the band, check out the old guy on the left. We’re not really sure which one he was supposed to be! My uncle singing with “John Lennon” Then becoming him The cake Juan Gabriel being Juan Gabriel Enjoying the karaoke