FICCI: Cartagena International Film Festival 2011

The ever more popular and well organized Cartagena International Film Festival is set to get underway February 24-March 3, 2011. It will feature films from Colombia as well as all over Latin America and the world. The country of Mexico is features as the country of honor this year.

The Colombian film "Los Colores de la Montaña" (The Colors of the Mountain) will be shown on the opening night of the 51st annual Cartagena Film Festival.

The film, which is directed by Carlos Cesar Arbelaez, has also been nominated for the Official Fiction Competition.

From the website: http://ficcifestival.com/int_peli.php?id=167
Sinopsis
Director Carlos César Arbeláez avoids falling into the all-too-easy trap of preying on our natural protective instincts and resorting to emotional manipulation in this, his first feature film, which offers a moving, but credible portrait of the Colombian conflict through the eyes of three children from La Pradera, a village in the Antioquia mountains. In the foreground we watch as the children lose their ball in a minefield, while the real tragedy unfolds in the background when the villagers find themselves trapped in enemy crossfire.

The closing night is an animated film, Chito y Rita. From the website's summary:
Sinopsis
A wonderful feature animation for adults that tells the epic story of Chico, a young pianist with big dreams, and Rita, a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Set in Havana of the Forties, the bolero sets the tone for what Fernando Trueba describes as a homage to Cuba, its people and its music, and a tribute to love stories and filmmaking. Some 70 musicians and actors were involved in the making of Chico & Rita, including acclaimed Cuban musicians like Bebo Valdés, who retires on this high note having passed the milestone of age 90. Fruit of the successful collaboration between director Fernando Trueba and the artist Javier Mariscal, Chico & Rita has received excellent reviews from critics and musicians the world over. “Love is a song you will never forget” is the tagline of this movie which bagged first prize at the Holland Animation Film Festival.

The main website is found at http://ficcifestival.com/index.php

Gay Film Festival in Bogota Aug 13-20, 2009

Bogota's gay film festival, called "Ciclo Rosa" features gay and LGBT films from around the world in various languages.

The films are from such countries as France, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal, Argentina, Israel, Switzerland, United States and Brazil.

It takes place August 13 to 19, 2009, at various locations around the city of Bogota, Colombia. After that, it moves to other cities in Colombia. This is the 9th year of the festival.

Detailed information can be found (in Spanish) on the website:

http://www.ciclorosa.com/

Vamos Colombia Tours prepares for new Calendar for 2010

Vamos Colombia Tour introduces are three newest friends, William, Daniel and Alex, seen here in the hills of Sylvania, outside of Bogota. Behind them are fields of "Tomate de Arbol" a delicious Colombian fruit. Look for them in our next 2010 calendar, coming soon.

Vamos Colmbia Tour Celebrates Gay Pride in Bogota with IGLTA party

Gay Pride has come to Bogota Colombia with a bang!
Friday, June 26, 2009, Vamos Colombia Tour hosted a gay pride party in Bogota, Colombia, to celebrate with guests, friends, supporters, sponsors and others in the travel industry. The event also served to introduce IGLTA (International Gay Lesbian Travel Association) to the community in Bogota, Colombia.

VCT thanks its sponsors for the event for making it possible, as well as all who attended. The event was held at the High Park Hotel, Bogota's only hotel dedicated to the LGBT community. As you can see in the photos below, models demonstrated some of Bogota's home-grown fashions which are made locally with the gay community in mind.

The owners and a guest at High Park Hotel, Bogota, Colombia, with Walter Rey (in tie) of Vamos Colombia Tour:

Gay Pride in Bogota, Colombia, 2009

Gay Pride arrives in Bogota Colombia in June of 2009, and Vamos Colombia Tour is there!

The theme is "Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity is NOT a Game"

This year's gay pride parade promises to be a big as ever, and the LGBT community in Colombia has a lot to celebrate. In the past year, the courts in Colombia have expanded gay rights (including the right to give benefits to your same-sex domestic partner in a civil union), and the gay community has had more exposure than ever. Of course this exposure always comes with a backlash in the form of homophobia and at times violence. This is why having such events as a gay pride parade which is sponsored in part by the city and which goes through the heart of town and ends at the main city plaza with a rally is so important.

While we in the US and other countries are fighting for the right to marry, those in Colombia are still fighting for basic rights, and making great progress. Participating in Bogota's gay pride parade is an act of courage for many in Colombia still coming out and raising awareness in the general population.

Vamos Colombia Tour caters to the LGBT community and believes in promoting the rights of the LGBT community at home and abroad, including of course in Colombia. For this reason we have a tour that allows visitors to be in Bogota for the Gay Pride celebration.

As well, Vamos Colombia Tour is hosting a party on the weekend of gay pride to celebrate with our guests as well as fellow members of the LGBT travel community (including current and future IGLTA members) and larger gay community in Colombia. If you are in Bogota on Friday June 26, we hope you can join us for the party which is at the Hotel High Park, Carrera 4, #58-58, in the Chapinero district of Bogota.

Check back here for updates on the gay pride celebration in Bogota, Colombia, 2009.
The parade itself is Sunday, June 28, 2009.

Info on events can be found here, and also at:
Colombia's gay guide:
http://www.guiagaycolombia.com/index.htm

Sungay which benefits Colombia Diversa has a myspace page with information:
http://www.myspace.com/sungaybogota

Updates on gay rights in Colombia are on the website of Colombia Diversa, one the main gay rights organizations in Colombia:
http://www.colombiadiversa.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

They also have a Facebook page:
http://eu-es.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6828846835&ref=share

An opinion piece (in Spanish) by a lesbian from Bogota appears on the website of vive.in, a mainstream entertainment and news website from El Tiempo, Bogota's principle newspaper.
http://bogota.vive.in/blogs/bogota/un_articulo.php?id_blog=3617441&id_recurso=450017791

The Bogota government even recognizes the LGBT community as part of the diversity of the city, and mentions the gay pride parade on this page:
http://www.culturarecreacionydeporte.gov.co/portal/node/113

Calendar for 2009 featuring Alejandro in Colombia

Alejandro, our Colombian friend who is also the spokes-model for Vamos Colombia Tours is now featured in a 12 month calendar for 2009.

If you would like to have a calendar, featuring Alejandro in a different location in Santander, Colombia each month, let us know. (While supplies last).

If you would like to be able to meet Alejandro in person, sign up for one of our tours that includes a stop in Bogota, and chances are good that you will!