Bogota Film Festival 2009 - 26th year

The 26th edition of the Bogota Film Festival features many international films, including a tribute to India.

Check out

http://www.bogocine.com/xxvi/

Tourism Up in Colombia Once Again

According to Colombia Reports:

Colombian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism announced that tourism to Colombia increased 9.2% from January to August 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

819,613 foreign tourists arrived in Colombia between January and August, 2008, while 894.742 foreign visitors came to the country in the same period in 2009. On the other hand, more than 460,000 foreign travelers are expected to set foot on Colombian soil during the upcoming cruise season, which is 22,8% more than last year.

According to economic newspaper Portafolio, the Colombian association of travel agencies perceives a significantly increased income in the first semester of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, in spite of the 8% decrease in global tourism.

"We have perceived the same increase announced by the Ministry (of Trade, Industry and Tourism), which shows that the (travel) agencies continue to benefit, while airlines and hotels consider us their allies when it comes to the merketing of their tourist product, Mario Alfredo Nassar, a coordinator for the Colombian syndicate of travel agencies, said.

Tourism to Colombia started to soar as the security improved in and around the country's tourist destinations like Cartagena, Bogota and Medellin.

Video Metro Bogotá

See the new plan for the metro in Bogota

New Intermational Flights to Colombia

This picture has nothing to do with international flights, but is more interesting than another airplane.

From Colombia Reports:

Colombian Aviation authorities granted 20 new international routes permissions to Colombian airlines in an attempt to bring the ticket price down and boost international trips, newspaper La Republica reported Wednesday.

The permission, which will make the airlines less dependent on domestic flights, was granted to Avianca, Aires and Aero República.

Aires will add weekly flights from Bogota to New York and back, and daily frecuencies from Barranquilla, Cali, and Cartagena to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. It will also fly the Bogota-Sao Paulo, and Rionegro-Mexico City frequencies, with Boeing 373-700 aircrafts.

Aviaca will fly Bogota-Orlando-Bogota everyday, and Bogota-San Jose (Costa RIca)-Bogota. It will also add frequencies from Bogota to Sao Paulo, Fort Laudrdale, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Aruba, and Curaçao.

Aero Republica will add the fequencies from Bogota to Santo Domingo, Aruba, San Jose (Costa Rica), Panama, Sao Paulo, and Miami.

The report says that Colombia aviation authorities are brokering a bilateral agreement with Dubai for new direct flights between the two countries.

Bogota is one of the world's sexiest affordable destinations

Travel and Leisure, noted travel magazine, has pronounced Bogota one of the world's sexiest affordable destinations (and the "nest Buenos Aires"). Of course we always knew it - just check out any Shakira video!




http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-sexiest-affordable-destinations-2009/11?label=worlds-sexiest-affordable-destinations-2009

Here is what they have to say:
Bogotá, Colombia

Why Go Now: With its flourishing culinary and nightlife scenes, plus new flights from the United States on JetBlue, Delta, and Continental, Colombia’s capital is set to become the next Buenos Aires.

The Details: Bogotá’s historic center is La Candelaria, where the recently reopened Museo del Oro now houses a 6,500-piece collection of pre-Columbian gold coins and other works of art. And at the nearby Fernando Botero Museum, you’ll find more than a hundred sculptures and paintings by the artist. Just down the street, the 43-room Hotel de la Ópera (doubles from $215, including breakfast) occupies a pair of elegantly restored Republican-era town houses. In the Zona Rosa district, the Sofitel Bogotá Victoria Regia (doubles from $340) is a 102-room property near the city’s art galleries. Bogotá’s restaurant scene is booming—try Italian Gigi Trattoria (lunch for two $25) for house-made pastas and Club Colombia for regional classics such as corn empanadas and ajiaco, a hearty chicken-and-potato stew.

T+L Tip: On the edge of town, the restaurant Andrés Carnes de Res (dinner for two $90) puts on all-afternoon feasts of grilled steak.

Vamos Colombia Tour has a youtube channel now

Check out all the Vamos Colombia Tour videos, most introduced by Walter, on the Vamos Colombia Tour youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/WalterVamosColombia

where you can also see the most recent video,

New video with Walter at Bogota Gay Pride

Check out Walter at Bogota Gay Pride, with a video of the underwear fashion show at one of the gay pride events during pride week in Bogota. Now on the youtube page of Walter of Vamos Colombia Tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk9u8aWY2Uk

Gold and Coffee: 10 Day Escorted Tour in Bogota and the Coffee Growing Region, Colombia

For more details, including the daily itinerary, check out
http://vamoscolombiatour.blogspot.com/2009/09/gold-and-coffee-10-day-escorted-tour-in.html
and our facebook page for the trip:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=135715701766

Gold and Coffee: 10 Day Escorted Tour in Bogota and the Coffee Growing Region, Colombia

Vamos Colombia Tour, LLC is offering our latest trip: 10 Days of Colombian Beauty and Flavor in October, 2009 (escorted by Walter Rey)

Escorted 10 Day Tour
Detailed Daily Itinerary
October 22-Nov 1, 2009

Double Occupancy $1979, plus airfair to Bogota
Single Supplement $400

www.VamosColombiaTour.com

Thursday Oct 22 - Bogota
Arrive in Bogota; Welcome dinner.

Friday Oct 23 - Bogota
9 am. On an included city tour we visit the highlights of Bogota, including: La Candelaria neighborhood and Monserrate for a great view of the city.
La Candelaria is the historical colonial center of Bogota, and contains many political, recreational and historical sites. We will visit the Donacion Botero Museum, the Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, La casa de Marques, and the Plaza de Bolivar. We will then explore the one-of-a-kind Gold museum where there is a rich display of our pre-Colombian indigenous gold artifacts in many forms. There are some very good restaurants and coffee shops to enjoy as we stroll around, including a delicious French-Colombian bakery.
3 pm. Back to hotel, relax. Dinner is on your own. For special dinner, we recommend the following high-end restaurants (reservations required): Leo Cocina y Cava (gourmet Colombian, very upscale) , Donostia (Spanish-Colombian, with emphasis on fresh ingredients), or Itanos (Italian-Colombian). We can assist you with transportation arrangements.
10 pm. Optional evening at the bars. We will help you with arrangements.

Saturday Oct 24- Bogota Environs
9 am. Tour through the picturesque countryside of green rolling hills and small towns. An all day tour of the Sabana of Bogota. This includes the traditional towns of Calera with the great Mercado , Sopo with it great and only Alpina creamery where we can taste the sweets of the milk products with a Swiss twist. Guatavita where the legends tell us about the Indigenous Cacique who bathed in the lake wearing gold on all his body. Zipaquira has the well known cathedral carved out of the underground salt mines. We will end up at Chia for a 6:30 pm. For dinner at Andres Carne de Res which defies description. Dinner here is a uniquely Colombian fiesta, including full dinner, live music and entertainment. Dancing always ensues, so bring your shoes!


Sunday Oct 25 - Bogota
Free day. Sunday in Bogota offers many options which you can explore during this free day, including the treasure-filled Sunday market in Usaquen (known for crafts and antiques); bicycling through the major city streets closed to car traffic; strolling though the botanic gardens; or brunch buffet filled with Colombian delicacies in an aristocratic setting (Club Colombia followed by shopping in the upscale northern boutiques and designer stores).
Additional optional half day trip: 11 am we drive to the lovely town of Subachoque, to visit an orphanage that takes in and cares for children with HIV while trying to place them with families followed by lunch at a lovely hacienda restaurant in the farming community outside of Bogota. Will be returning around 4pm.
We suggest a lighter fare dinner at Crepes and Waffles.

Monday Oct 26 Coffee Region (Armenia city, Quindio department)
We will be flying to Armenia, principle city of the Zona Cafetera, or Coffee Region. We will stay at an old hacienda on a coffee plantation or farm, which has been restored with period antiques and modern amenities. We visit Recuca, a working coffee farm where the visitor can experience the history and production of coffee, including harvesting the beans right off the plant, and then sitting for a tasting of the local product.

Tuesday Oct 27 Coffee Region
We visit one of the highlights of the region, the picturesque town of Salento, with its beautifully painted main square and attractive streets containing crafts, shops and cafes. From there it is a short drive to the Cocora Valley, home of Colombia’s national tree, the Wax Palm, rising from the green hills into the fog above, making for an incomparable sight.

Wednesday Oct 28 – Coffee Region
Free Day. As an option, spend time relaxing at the Santa Rosa de Cabal natural hot springs for a warm bath in a beautiful natural setting. A dip in the pool at the hacienda is an inviting alternative.


Thursday Oct 29 Coffee Region
Free day. Some options include a ride down the river on a balsa raft, a visit to the natural gardens with a butterfly encounter, or visiting other quaint and traditional towns, for example Manizales, famed for its beauty.

Friday Oct 30 – Fly to Bogota
Relax in the morning at the hacienda, and return to Bogota in afternoon.

Saturday Oct 31 - Bogota
Free Day We can provide additional suggestions for shopping or other activities.
Evening Halloween party at Teatron

Sunday Nov 1 Bogota; tour ends
Return to USA

Jazz Festival in Bogota September 2009

As reported in Vive.in (with pictures of Colombian musicians taken in Barranquilla for Carnaval)

Inaugurated in 1988, the Jazz Festival of the Teatro Libre in Bogota has been positioned as one of the earliest and most prestigious in Latin America. Since then, with the exception of 1993, has taken place annually.

As has become customary, during the month of September, the Festival will offer seven to eight concerts of solo artists and groups from diverse areas: Latin America, United States, Europe, Africa and, of course, Colombia.

Similarly, during the Festival are conducted workshops conducted by guest artists. Besides promoting and developing jazz in Colombia, has given rise to various festivals in other cities. Throughout its history, the Festival has invited more than 37,000 spectators

This year's festival will feature artists from the likes of Brad Mehldau U.S., who with twenty albums, eight of them leading by more than ten weeks, the list of Billboard magazine's jazz, has become one of the most surprising and interesting jazz pianists today.

It will also be after twelve years, the saxophonist Kenny Garrett, flagship of the acoustic jazz tradition.

One attraction is in Havana Report, which comes from Cuba, yet the sound of Afro-Cuban jazz, which the pianist Ernan Lopez-Nussa part.

And among many other artists from Italy Luigi Bozzola, will come with all that load of acid jazz, with its strong core of the acoustic explorers of all persuasions, integrating the new generation of musicians that guide modern jazz in that country.

Since 3 September, the Free Theater opens its doors to present an entire show of the best jazz and continue its tradition within the scene of festivals of this type.



BRAD MEHIDAU (USA)
Auditorio Leon de Greiff
Thursday September 3, 2009



REPORT HAVANA (Cuba)
ZAPEROCO (Colombia)
Free Theater Chapinero
Friday September 4, 2009



KENNY GARRETT (USA)
Auditorio Leon de Greiff
Sàbado September 5, 2009
Buy tickets ...



DUO Bozzolo (Italy)
MARIAZU (Colombia)
Free Theater Chapinero
Thursday September 10, 2009



JORGE EMILIO FADUL & THE CARIBBEAN PARADISE ORCHESTRA
Free Theater Chapinero
Friday September 11, 2009

To view all programming visit http://www.festivalinternacionaldejazz.com/
Original article in Spanish at:
http://bogota.vive.in/musica/bogota/conciertos/agosto2009/EVENTO-WEB-FICHA_EVENTO_VIVEIN-5930167.html

Delta-Avianca Code Sharing to Resume

Travel to Colombia may get even more convenient with codesharing restarting between Delta and Avianca (the Colombian airlines). This will permit travelers to fly from many US cities to several Colombian destinations with just one ticket and without having to recheck bags on the connections.

Check out
http://airlineroute.blogspot.com/2009/08/delta-avianca-codeshare-resumes-07sep09.html

Tourism in Colombia on the Rise Still 2009

From the Colombia Reports website:

Colombia's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism expects the country to receive 2.8 million visitors in 2010, a record figure representing an increase of 15 percent over 2008.

This projected rise is based on the proportional increase of arriving travelers listing recreational and business purposes for travel in Colombia.

According to the Ministry, Argentina is one of the countries generating the highest number of visitors to Colombia, ranking 6th in the world in the period from January to June 2009. In the same period, Colombia received more than 638,000 visitors, a growth of 10.3 per cent over the same period in 2008.

Favorite Colombian destinations of tourists, in order of importance, are: Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla and San Andres. Destinations that have grown most in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008 are Medellin (33.5 per cent), Bucaramanga (27 per cent), and Santa Marta (14.4 per cent).

The figures for January-June 2009 have reinforced the growth trend observed earlier this year, when official reports of the World Tourism Organization marked a growth in tourist arrivals of 7.5 per cent during the first two months of the year, contrasting with a 7.7 per cent decline of tourism worldwide.

Tourism is currently Colombia's third largest export, behind oil and coal, according to Minister Luis Guillermo Plata.

Barranquilla Jazz Festival, 2009

Barranquilla will celebrate the biggest International Jazz Festival in Colombia with world-class artists ranging from Latin Jazz, Salsa, Flamenco, Colombian Jazz and Jazz-Fusion. Barranquijazz takes place September 9 to 13, 2009.

There will be several Jazz Festival in Colombia next week but Barranquijazz is the most important of all, followed by the Medellin Jazz Festival.

What began as a project of some music lovers in 1997 turned quickly into one of the annual highlights of Barranquilla. The world's biggest jazz and Latin jazz artists have attended Barranquijazz.

This year the Caribbean city will host Mark Walker (United States), Papo Vazquez, Dave Valentin, Omara Portuondo and his orchestra (Cuba), Jaume Vilaseca quartet (Spain) and Rik Mol (Netherlands) among others.

Music lovers can enjoy the jazz vibes at the Teatro Amira de la Rosa, Plazoleta Teatro Amira de la Rosa, Plaza de la Paz, University del Norte, stadium Romelio Martinez and the Salon Jumbo del Country Club.

For more information and the whole program, check out http://www.barranquijazz.com/