Held each year in Brussels’ iconic Bois de la Cambre park, the cultural and gastronomic event Colombia Village is celebrating its tenth birthday this weekend. Featuring music, food, culture, and other activities, the event is an important fixture in the vibrant Latino cultural calendar each year.
This weekend's hot weather only adds to the feeling that the Brussels park has been transported to South America.
The event is held each year to commemorate Colombia’s National Day, which marks the country’s independence from Spain. Far from just a celebration of Colombia, it has slowly evolved into an event celebrating all of Belgium’s rich Latin culture and multiculturalism.
From dance classes to food stalls and pumping cumbia music, the organisers believe that up to 13,000 visitors come to the event each year, attracting Brussel’s large South American community, as well as other Brussels residents.
André Cárdenas, more commonly known as DJ Andrex, has been helping to organise the event for several years. Over the last few years, he says that the celebration has expanded significantly.
“The event is growing a lot. A lot of people come to the fiesta, the message is getting out and people like everything tropical. Now, Latino is worldwide and people are coming more, and so we can make more links with the people who live here so that they get to know our food, culture, dance, and folklore,” Cárdenas told The Brussels Times.
Credit: Dylan Carter/ The Brussels Times
This year’s fiesta is bigger than ever: dozens of food stalls, workshops, and other activities occupy a large space within the park, featuring food and drinks from across South America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, and more.
Brussels’ Latino community has been growing steadily in recent years and the logistics coordinator for the event, José Leonardo Ataya, says that the event is now almost a necessity.
“It was the need of Colombians so far from our home to be able to throw our party, with our crafts, our gourmet food, typical food from many cultures which exist in Colombia. Obviously, it is so that, one day of the year, we can feel that Belgium is like our home,” Ataya said.
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Colombia’s National Day is an important event for most Colombians, says Cárdenas. Giving Colombians a flavour of home in Brussels is also an important means of exposing local Belgians to new cultures and bringing together the community.
“We organise this event in a way that all people who come from Latin America, not just Colombians, can come and show their gastronomy, their culture…the people at the stalls are people who live here in Brussels, who already have their nationality here. This party is about bringing Latinos together,” he said.
Brussels' Latino flavour
Outside of the event, the organisers describe an active social and cultural life for Latinos in Belgium. Colombians and other Latinos are attracted to Belgium because of the work opportunities and are said to be extremely hard workers. In their social and cultural life, the Colombian community revolves around some Latino bars which have maintained a presence for over 30 years, such as the Salsa Bar Cartagena, which first opened its doors in 1985, close to Manneken Pis.
Music is also an important part of the Colombian community. Event organiser Cárdenas is at the basis of several Latino events across the city, bringing people from across South America to celebrate together. He says that Colombian and Latin music is becoming increasingly popular in Belgium and internationally.
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The event is set to continue to grow in the coming years. According to Ataya, the organisers want to spread it to other areas in Brussels, as well as to host the festival in other cities.
“We are planning to expand into other regions of Belgium, to be able to spread this same solidarity, which is what Colombia village is all about,” the Colombian national said.
It is not too late to take part in the Colombian festivities. The last day of the celebrations is on Sunday 17 July, with the party set to continue into the evening, as guests will be treated to live music acts and DJs. Details can be found on the event’s Facebook page.
