Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Spanish, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Thai and Spanish.

Greetings, cheerful viewers, and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Today, we will follow the notes of vibrant music to the picturesque country of Colombia to discover one of her most celebrated cultural traditions, folk dance.

The Republic of Colombia is located at the northernmost tip of South America, bordering Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. It is home to 45 million citizens and the world’s third largest Spanish- speaking population. Part of Colombia’s diverse geography includes the majestic presence of the Andes mountain range.

Each region of Colombia has its distinct combinations of cultural inputs from Native American, Spanish, African, Caribbean, as well as other European and Latin American origins. This is especially evident in its beautiful ethnic dances.

The Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia is an organization which was created to preserve the beautiful culture of Colombia through its folk traditions. It has participated in numerous events and folk festivals to showcase the country’s music and dances as well as the artists’ talents.

The Foundation has won several accolades, including a prize for best costumes as well as the folk dances award for seniors in the capital district of Bogotá over two consecutive years. We are honored to have with us today Ms. Mariela Silva Torres, co-founder and director of the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia to share about her organization and the country’s colorful folk dances.

How did the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia start?

Our group was created in May 2005. It is a group mostly for seniors, however, we wanted to be linked to young people because we want to share through the youth the legacy of our ancestors.

Could you tell us what is the main objective of the Foundation?

The main objective of the Foundation is to promote and develop the richness and the legacies of our ancestors through the generations so that they don’t forget we have cultural roots that have made us great and have made us known in other parts of the world for our rich culture.

Mr. Franklin Castillo is the co-founder of the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia. He explains why this wonderful organization pays particular attention to recruiting the older generation.

We are the ones who have the cultural roots, the culture. We have the legacy of what we have seen from our culture. We also want to form, to make a group of older adults to set an example for the youth, for the children who come so that they realize that seniors can dance all kinds of dances.

Among Colombia’s many geographically defined areas, each has its own unique music and dance forms that are the pride of the people. Ms. Torres first introduces to us a dance genre from the Pacific region.

The Bullerengue is a ritual dance.

The women’s costumes are completely white because that symbolizes purity. In their hair, on the head, they wear a “pepa” headdress that is the hairstyle of women from the Caribbean and Pacific regions. It is of African origin. The dress is white as I said before, with a very loose-fitting blouse, tight in the waist with bolero, a lot of lace, the skirt is very wide because it’s typical from this region of Colombia and they dance barefoot.

The men’s costume is also white, and has a white loose shirt, white pants just rolled up above the ankle. They are barefoot, wearing a red scarf tied round the neck. And their typical rounded hat.

To accompany the colorful costumes and rhythmic dances, the lively music is played on traditional instruments.

Let us now enjoy an enthralling performance of Bullarengue by the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia.

Stay with her, stay with her Shine during the night and stay with her

There is the beautiful moon And the morning star with her The stars surround her To make her look more beautiful

Stay with her, stay with her Shining in the night and stay with her Stay with her, stay with her Shine in the night and stay with her

I look to the light of the moon The stars and the shining star Walking on the beach They light my path

Stay with her, stay with her Shine in the night and stay with her Stay with her, stay with her Shine in the night and stay with her

My pretty house of palm What a lovely frame Stay with her, stay with her Where sweet birds sing And the nightingale is heard

Stay with her, stay with her Shine in the night and stay with her Stay with her, stay with her Shine in the night and stay with her

Indeed there are many kinds of folk dances in Colombia. Among them, Cumbia, along with Vallenato, are considered the national musical and folk dance style. Originating from the country’s Caribbean coast, Cumbia began as a courtship dance but has now come to symbolize freedom. Ms. Torres explains further about the Gaita dance style.

The Gaita is a variation of the Cumbia; it is performed in the Magadalena region and this choreography represents the rice harvest from the beginning, starting with the seeds until it ends with the harvest. The women’s costumes are composed of a loose skirt, adorned with lace and boleros. It is a costume of bright colors. Her earrings are very long.

She always wears a headdress. A headdress, and also wears as accessories the balai tool, which is part of the harvest. She matches with the man during the choreography. The man’s costume has a ‘guayabera’ or loose shirt usually in bright colors. It’s very loose-fitting. A scarf tied round the neck, a brimmed hat, the wicker basket that you see on his waist, called ‘catabro.’ There he puts the rice seeds, and from there the seeds are sown, are scattered. He also wears a machete that he uses at the time of harvest.

Please enjoy this festive Gaita dance performed by the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia.

The drum sounds so nice Keeping time with the Gaita The drum resounds so nice Keeping time with the Gaita

And so Totó shouts out I’m going to the party at the square And so Totó shouts out I’m going to the party at the square

I’m going to the party at the square I’m going to the party at the square I’m going to the party at the square I’m going to the party at the square

The drum sounds so nice And the Gaita spreads delight The drum sounds so nice And the Gaita spreads delight

And so Totó shouts out For Patricia to dance along And so Totó shouts out For Patricia to dance along

For Patricia to dance along For Patricia to dance along For Patricia to dance along For Patricia to dance along

The drum sounds so nice And the Gaita so charming The drum sounds so nice And the Gaita so charming

And so Totó shouts out I’m going to the land of Falco And so Totó shouts out I’m going to the land of Falco

I’m going to the land of Falco I’m going to the land of Falco I’m going to the land of Falco I’m going to the land of Falco

What a fantastic performance! What a fantastic performance! These spirited dances truly reveal the beautiful hearts of the simple and contented Colombians. We will continue with part 2 of our show next Tuesday with more varieties of dances from other areas of Colombia.

For more information on the Foundation for Folk Traditions Colombia, please visit:

Happy viewers, thank you for being with us today for A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. May your soul dance with the eternal melody of the inner music.

Happy viewers, thank you for being with us today for A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. May your soul dance with the eternal melody of the inner music.

On this Lunar New Year of the Tiger, I’d like to send my respectful wishes to Supreme Master Ching Hai. May Supreme Master Ching Hai have bountiful health to continue with her spiritual teaching. As well, I’d like to wish Supreme Master Television viewers abundant health in a new year full of love and happiness.

May 2010 herald kindness and hope for us and coming generations. Together let us build a greener universe everyday. Please try to be veg, go green, save the planet. Be veg, go green, and save the planet.

Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Spanish, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Thai and Spanish.

Greetings graceful viewers, and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Today, we will continue with part 2 of our two part program on traditional Colombian folk dances.

Each region of Colombia has its distinct combinations of cultural inputs from Native American, Spanish, African, Caribbean, as well as other European and Latin American origins. This is especially evident in its beautiful ethnic dances. The expressive dance styles accompanied by lively local music make dancing one of the most popular forms artistic expressions and entertainment for Colombians.

The Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia is an organization which was created to preserve the beautiful culture of Colombia through its folk traditions. It has participated in numerous events and folk festivals to showcase the country’s music and dances as well as the artists’ talents. The Foundation has won several accolades, including a prize for best costumes as well as the folk dances award for seniors in the capital district of Bogotá over two consecutive years.

We are honored to have with us today Mr. Miller Flores, artistic director of the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia to share about the country’s colorful folk dances. We have many Colombian dances. Many of these dances are choreographies that the teacher creates. They do research and motivate other people to participate and different groups.

From the Antioquia Region, we have the Ventarron, we have the Redoba. The typical costume of this region for the man is a poncho, handkerchief. The satchel, the machete, the straw hat, the white sandals that are typical of Antioquia. The costume of the woman is colorful and uses flowery lace, it has much embroidery and is very striking for the appearance of the dance itself. The Ventarron, is a dance that derives from peasants who came to the mountains, where it was very windy, and they wanted to represent that movement of the wind, represent it in the dance. From there comes the Ventarron dance.

We see how they lift up their feet to avoid the plants, to avoid the wind, to help themselves walk.

The Redoba is a dance of strength, of foot tapping, which has to mark the rhythm of the dance so that it coincides to the music.

Located in the Andean region, Tolima is one of the 32 departments of Colombia. Ibagué is its capital and is renowned as the “musical city of Colombia.” With this musical background, it is natural that the dances of the local people are lively and colorful. The music genre of this region is Bambuco and is characterized by its folk element that lends itself to the dance style that bears the same name.

We continue now with the dance from Tolima, the Bambuco. Here is a couple with the costumes that belongs to this region. The man has a Tolima hat, red scarf, green shirt, white pants, and for this dance they can dance barefoot or with sandals. Women have ornaments in their hair. We can see hers. The color doesn’t matter, it can vary, as long as it is very colorful. The shirt has decorations, the skirt is loose fitting for the movements. Also, she can dance barefoot or with sandals.

Now, let’s enjoy a typical Bambuco dance performed by the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia.

Our show on the rich traditions of Colombian folk dance will continue after these brief messages. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Vibrant viewers, welcome back to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television, as we continue our show on Colombian folk dances. The feeling of freedom is a typical characteristic of Colombian dances. The dancers are often absorbed in the rhythms of music, leaving the audience awed at the seamless flow of a rainbow of colors from their vibrant costumes. Mr. Miller Flores, artistic director of the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia explains the unique dance form found in the eastern plains of the country.

This dance, the Joropo, is very representative here in Colombia and abroad. We have here the typical costumes of women. A dance of flowers, white background, and colorful lace. It has to be very attractive and the flowers are like the leaves that fall in the spring. She also wears an ornament on her hair, on her head, this is an ornament of flowers and the dance is with sandals. The costumes of the men, wearing his veguero hat, he has a shirt or liqui-liqui, a pair of pants, a sandal of fake leather and with neoli sole.

There is a very nice story about this costume. Currently people use a very fancy liqui liqui, very nice. Very elegant. Looks like a formal costume and yes, the dance is like that because for a long time, dance researchers have realized that the peasants from the plains region used this rope I have here at the back which is called ‘vegueta.’ That’s why they are called ‘veguero peasants,’ because they were using the hat like that. This ponytail that we see here is made from the fique plant.

This is an ornament for the dance. It was slightly shorter and that was the typical costume.

We invite you to enjoy the following presentation of a Joropo dance by the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia.

To conclude today’s show, we would like to share Mr. Flores’ message about the importance of preserving cultural traditions.

I want to thank Supreme Master TV. With great pleasure, we did an assortment of dances, and we hope you have enjoyed it. I would like to send a message to all the viewers of this channel. We all support folk traditions not only of our country but from other countries on our planet, which is very rich in folk traditions, which every country has, we have to promote it.

We have to leave something to the people, to the public, so that they don’t forget their roots, they don’t forget their customs, where we come from, where we are from and that is very important for us.

Our heartfelt appreciation to the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia and all involved for your dedication to fostering the preservation of the unique artistic expressions of your country and introducing us to the amazing varieties of Colombian folk dances. May your beautiful work be graced with continued success.

For more information on the Foundation for Folk Traditions of Colombia, please visit:

Confident viewers, thank you for joining us for today’s episode of A Journey through Aesthetic Realms. Up next on Supreme Master Television is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, right after Noteworthy News. Praised be the inner splendor and divinity that resides in all beings.