Colombia (1961)

[Music] The sun is just rising over the city of Boota, Colombia, where I live. All over the city, families are waking up, eating breakfast, and getting ready for the day ahead. Like my family, we live and work and go to school here in the city of Bogota. Papa, Mama, my two brothers, Billy and Herman, and myself, Helena Romero. Papa is a teacher. Every morning, he leaves the house and walks up the hill to his university. It is the University of the Andes in the hills above Boota. Papa is a professor of geography and history there. My brother Billy is also in school. He's only in the fourth grade. He's lucky. Only half of the children in Colombia ever have a chance to go to school. My older brother Herman is 13. He is the real student in our family. He enjoys mathematics and wants to study at the university someday. As for me, I go to a girl school here in Boota. My favorite subject is art, but I like geography and history, too. After school, mama and I often go shopping together at the big super marcado or [Music] supermarket. What a wonderful thing it is that we can buy so many different foods in the same store. [Applause] After school, Billy likes to spend his afternoon on the football field. Our football is really soccer. A very fast game played with a round ball. Then it is time to study. In our schools here in Boota, there is much homework. Billy has his English, Herman his mathematics, and I have my geography to do. Papa has given me a map of Colombia to help me learn about our country. Well, it is really a puzzle with places for all the important cities and rivers and the different sections of the country that we call departments. But even though we have a lot of studying to do, there's always time for a little play. In the evening after dinner, Herman, Billy, and I like to play Monopolio. Every night just before it is time to go to bed, we have a family discussion. Sometimes mama makes a special drink for us from rice and milk. Mama and papa drink their small cup of strong Colombian coffee. Tonight, Papa is going to help me with my geography. He has promised to tell us something about our country, Colombia. I have never been very far outside the city of Bogotaa and so I am eager to hear Papa's story. This is our country, Colombia, a rugged land of tall mountains, deep valleys, and tropical lowlands. Colombia is the fourth largest country in South America, bordered by Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, and Panama. only country in South America to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Along the Caribbean Sea are tropical lowlands where the cities of Kartahena and Barancilia lie. Barancilia, Colombia's major port, is on the Magdalena River, the country's most important waterway. On the banks of the Magdalena, bananas are grown, an important product of Colombia. The bananas are picked and taken to Barancilia's waterfront market. A colorful place with a lively flow of products from all over Colombia. Bags of coffee from the interior. Mahogany brought down the Magdaleno River by boat. Bags and sacks made from Colombian fibers. Barangilia has been called the gateway to Colombia. For it is here that the country takes in the supplies she [Music] needs. Oil and chemicals, building supplies and machinery, cotton for Colombia's textile mills. Ships from all over the world sail up the Magdalena to the port of Barancilia. But the Magdalena is much more than a shipping route. To the people who live along its banks, the river has many [Music] uses. Barancilia is not only a major port, but a bustling city as well. At its center is the Plaza Bolivar with his old cathedral. However, around the older section of the city, tall buildings are rising and there are wide streets filled with noisy traffic. Over half the country's foreign trade flows through Barancilia, making it truly the gateway to Colombia. Not far from Barangilia on the Caribbean coast is Kartahena, one of the most fascinating cities in South America. Kartahena is a city of Colombia's past with a history of invasion, pirates, and gold with thick walls and battlements that protected the city from pirate attack. The fortress of San Falipe stands guard over the city as it has for hundreds of years. [Music] Kartahena was so strong and so well defended by the Spanish that 27,000 men could not capture the city. Kartahena is like a pair of old shoes. The saying goes, warm and comfortable. Within the city's walls, there is a feeling that things have not changed much since the 17th century when the Spanish were at the height of their power. Kartahena is a city of the tropics with many colorful flowers and [Music] [Music] birds. Many fruits of the tropics grow in Kartahena. Mangoes, papayas, coconuts. Some of the farms outside Kartahena raise lettuce, cabbage, and other vegetables. There is not much modern equipment. People have farmed this way for many, many years. But the tropical lowlands are only a small part of Colombia. There are two other great sections of the country. Southeastern Colombia is flat and mostly dense jungle. Very few people live in this area on the edge of the wild Amazon basin. Running through the center of Colombia are three ranges of the Andes mountains. The Andes have played an important part in the story of Colombia, breaking up the land into hills and deep valleys, separating city from city, making transportation and communication very difficult. It is in the Andes that Colombia's major cities are located. Bogotaa, Kali, and Medelin, center of the country's coffee production. The countryside around Medeline is Roget, a land of small farms nestled in deep valleys, a land where the wild orchid grows, Colombia's national flower. Farmers of the Medeline countryside wear widebrimmed hats and carry unusual money pouches. Coffee trees dot the hillsides around Medeline. Inside the bright red berries are the coffee beans. Coffee beans that bring wealth to our country. For Colombia is the world's second largest producer of coffee. Coffee exports account for 80% of the country's economy. The coffee trees are grown on large plantations, plantations that have stores and schools and churches and complete facilities for growing, picking and drying coffee. The best coffee beans are carefully selected and planted. Soon the first sprouts will appear and grow into new trees ready to produce coffee for Colombia and the rest of the world. After the coffee beans have been picked and dried, they are sent to factories in the city of Medeline. Here the beans will be sorted, put into sacks and made ready for shipping to the rest of the world. Ancient Indian statues look down on the city of Medeline. They have seen some amazing changes take place in recent years. Or Medalene is the fastest growing city in Colombia and the country's industrial capital. There are factories that produce steel and factories that process tobacco. Medalene is the center of Colombia's textile industry. The machines of the textile factories are busy turning out cotton, wool, rayon, nylon, providing material and clothes for the people of Colombia. The pride of Medeline is its new football stadium where the best teams in South America come to play. The amazing growth of Medeline is just part of an awakening that is taking place all over Colombia. In western Colombia is another rapidly growing city, Cari. Cari is the third largest city in Colombia, a center of trade set in an area rich with natural resources. There are great fields of sugar cane. Lumber is cut in the nearby hills and brought to the lumber mills of Kali. [Music] Rock is quarried. Coal and other minerals are mined. Kali in its fine natural setting is attracting new businesses and industries. There are many signs of progress in this growing city. From modern houses to large department stores that serve the people of Kali. On a high plateau 9,000 ft above sea level, lies the city where we live, Bogotaa. It is the capital of Colombia and one of the great centers of culture in South [Music] America. The Plaza Bolivar at the heart of the city is surrounded by tall buildings. It is named after our national hero, General Simon Bolivar, who freed us from Spanish rule in 1819. Today, we are a free nation. And the President's Palace and the Plaza Bolivar is the seat of Colombia's government. Bogota's old cathedral, center of the Roman Catholic religion in Colombia, also stands on the Plaza Bolivar. [Music] Just as we go to church every Sunday, so do most of the people in our country. But who are the people of Colombia? They are a blending of many different races and bloods. European, Indian, negro. They work at a thousand different jobs from shoe shine boys to well-dressed businessmen. Secretaries on their way to the office. Indians in native costume selling roots and herbs for medicine. Sidewalk vendors with heavy wool ponchos for sale. Protection from the cold of the high plateau. Many different ways of life can be seen on the streets of Bogota. City of over 1 million people. Many students come to our city for Bogotaa has long been a center of the arts and sciences. The University of Bogotaa is the largest of several universities in the city. The National Museum is always crowded. The Tiatro Colon Bogota's oldest theater presents the best in ballet concerts and opera. In Bogotaa, there is always time for entertainment. On a Sunday afternoon, the bull ring is filled with people. People who have come to enjoy one of Colombia's oldest sports, the bull fight. [Music] [Applause] On Sundays, when the weather is good, families take a cable car up the Moserati, one of the tall peaks that rise above the city. Or there are all day picnics to the dundering Tekken Dama falls, a few hours from Bogota on the high plateau. The countryside around Bogotaa is fertile land where herds of cattle graze, where wheat, oats, and barley are cultivated. Bogota is the center of a growing nation and must have ways to communicate with the other cities and regions of Colombia. The trains that go out to the rest of the country often have a difficult journey over the rugged land. Colombia's need for better transportation gave rise to the first commercial airline in South America. Planes now fly from Bogotaa to all parts of Colombia, tying city to city, making it possible for our country to look towards its future. Baba says that Colombia is made up of many different cities and regions. Medelin, Barancilia, Boot, they are all important. They are all helping my country to build toward its future. Papa says that we will be a part of that future too. Herman and Billy and me, Elena Romero. Mama says, well, Mama says that it is time for us to go to bed. And I guess she's right. for tomorrow will be a busy day in the city of Bogotaa for us, the Romero family. [Music]