Gershom ‘27, recounts a day in Palenque.
Our last full day in Colombia was one to remember. We started the day without wasting any time, driving a full two hours to visit the wonderful village of Palenque. When we first arrived, I was impressed by the sense of community there seen through the style of the village and actions of the people. We learned from one of the locals about the history of Palenque, and how it began as a place of solace for Africans who were brought to South America by Spaniards. To this day the town is still almost entirely inhabited by now Afro-Colombians which was a slight difference from the demographics we had seen in Cartagena. The occupants of Palenque there were very welcoming, and we had multiple tours of the different places seen in Palenque and got to see how they thrive both as individuals and as a whole. Our last moments in Palenque were shared with dancers, musicians, and singers who each combined their qualities to create an excellent performance for us foreigners to watch and later even participate in. I found it to be such an enjoyable experience because it was a new side of Colombia, and even South America, that I had never been introduced to, and one that made me realize just how diverse a single country can be.
