Mi Feria Bonita

Mi Feria Bonita

It was Sunday morning when I woke up late in my small bedroom yet so comfy in my beloved apartment in Bucaramanga. That morning after taking shower I felt so starving and I was craving fried rice in a Chinese restaurant near my apartment. So last Friday me and my friends decided to try Chinese food in a restaurant near my apartment in Soto Mayor. We want to compare it with another Chinese restaurant that we had tried previously.

Me and Los Ejercitos

The result is the taste is almost the same and the portion of the fried rice is super huge. My Chinese friend Bin was trying to talk to the owner but sadly he only speaks Cantonese and Bin doesn't really understand because he came from mainland China, Beijing. So that morning I call my friend Tita to join me to have lunch there.

Then we got a phone call from Bin he asked us to join him to enjoy Feria Bonita's Parade downtown. He was accompanied by his Colombian brother Camilo. As we walked through the street of carera 27 many people gathered, and they were so ready to enjoy the show. I was so excited to see the parade, I hope it'll be as festive as the Brazilian parade. I was expecting many beautiful ladies with attractive costumes and sexy outfits dancing through the street. All of this time in many movies I've watched, parades in South American countries is always been wild, energetic, sexy, and lively. So I was really glad that I can see it myself. I met several friends on my way to the parade, like Roman, a French student at UNAB. As a foreigner, we were interested to enjoy all cultural events and very curious about them.

The parade was started by a group of the military I think it is from the army or Los Ejercitos. They were all wearing a green military uniforms, face painting, and bringing guns. Then a group of kids that is so cute wearing Colombian traditional outfits and dancing with so much energy.

Las Chichas de Aguila

Feeling The Brazilian Vibe

I was so surprised that the parade was lasting for three hours and thousands of people were participate. Boys and girls, young and old, locals and tourists were all gathered at the annual event of Feria Bonita to celebrate the city's top parade. All of the participants were wearing different types of costumes with many colors, dancing, and singing. And...finally, I can see a group of people wearing such interesting costumes like in the Brazilian parade! Both men and women are very sexy.

Full of Energy

Teenagers wearing Colombian Futbol Team Shirt

Click...click...click...my hands can not stop taking thousands of pictures. The costumes, people, parades I mean everything looks good in the lens. I also took several selfies and wefies. I was hypnotized by the energetic parade that I have never experienced before. The funny part is many Bumangeses treated my friend Bin like a celebrity. I mean they were asking him to take pictures together and were always excited to communicate with him. It is very rare to see an Asian face in South America. I was laughing to myself, this is how Indonesian people treated "bule" or foreigners back home. Especially European or American foreigners with very different physical characteristics.

Policeman Riding Horses

The City's Cleaning Services

Feeling Latino Vibe

The parade ended with a group of policeman riding horses and followed by the city's cleaning service. I was amazed! I was so grateful that I was able to experience an annual event of the city with so many aspects of culture on it. It was a new experience and definitely unforgettable.

That's my Feria Bonita stories, How about yours?

Photo Credit : Aditya