Ask Dolores

[Dolores]

Got questions for me? Ask away!

Want to know what I do in my free time? I can answer that.

Want to know more about life in Colombia? I can answer that.

Whatever you ask I will answer, unless it’s too personal of course.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Have you seen Disney’s Encanto, and if so what do you think? One of the main characters is named Dolores ^_^

[Dolores]

Yes I’ve seen Encanto, it nice to see my country and culture represented on the big screen even have a glimpse of one of our most important holiday traditions.

And having sharing a name with a character was a bonus even if the ‘we won’t talk about Bruno’ jokes haven’t stopped since  it used to be very popular but over the years it declined and now Lola which is a nickname to Dolores is a popular stand alone name. But maybe Encanto will give it a boost again.

I was named after my bisabuela (great grandmother) so it’s an important name to my family.

[ImpracticalDino]

Yes, I want to know more about what life in Columbia. Can you answer that?

[Dolores]

Faith and religion plays a big part of the lives of Colombians especially Catholicism with about 75% of the population identifying as Catholic, myself and my family included.

But all religions are welcome, you can believe in whatever you want or even nothing at all. Religion doesn’t really affect law now with the progression of woman’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive freedom.

Religion is a big part of our holiday traditions. Christmas time or as we call it Navidad is a really important time of year and the season officially starts on  December 7th when we celebrate Día de las Velitas or Day of the Little Candles.

Instead of Santa Claus children are brought gifts by , El Niño Dios aka Baby Jesus

Colombians accept progression and modernity whilst keeping our cultural traditions alive, we know we can have both.

Well some people take their belief too far and use it against other but people like that are not just here.

Colombian society is very family oriented, multiple generations living under the one room run by the eldest women who serves as the matriarch isn’t uncommon. Once she passes the second eldest takes charge. In a traditional Colombian household the men provide at work but the women run the show. The older women teach the younger how to run a household, how to cook our cultural food and child rearing is shared amongst all the family.

But of course women are free to live on there on and have a career these days.

But not all families work like this, it’s just what each family prefers

Lot of us do speak English and are able to hold conversation but it’s still recommended for tourists to be able to understand at least the basics of Spanish,

We’re more than happy to translate something such as a menu for you if you are polite but if you’re rude and demanding we’re all going to pretend not to speak English and have no idea what you’re saying.

I hope that gives you more insight.

[ImpracticalDino]

I hope that gives you more insight.

Si. Gracias.

No hablos español.

But seriously though, thank you for the fascinating insight of Colombian life and culture. (and yes, that's kinda all the Spanish I know, aside from counting basic numbers, haha)

What do you do in your free time?

[Nahla2]

I was trying to resist when I saw your name but can't. I have to ask it I'm sorry.

Do you talk about Bruno?

Okay serious questions now.

Above you mentioned there was a scene in Encanto that showed a Colombian holiday, and then in another post mentioned a holiday called Day of the Little Candles. Was the flashback scene with Alma that holiday? Was that what was going on with all the candles?

Do you guys really eat arepas there? I feel stupid for asking but I really want to know.

How common are jaguar encounters?

[Dolores]

 @ImpracticalDino

Hey that’s still more Spanish than some people know.

I attempt to sew and do embroidery which means I poke my finger a lot I have respect for those who do it it’s harder than it looks.

I like to read and could spend hours getting getting sucked into a good story, I would like to write my own short story at some point.

I play video games on occasion they’re useful for keeping up with my English skills, it is getting popular a prebuilt computer for games with a monitor will set you back around $3,850,000 Colombian Pesos which seems to be around $950 American dollars.

I also have a herb and flower garden I am very proud of.

@Nahla2

I saw this coming.

 No we don’t talk about Bruno but  we do sing about him.

Yes that scene was showing Día de las Velitas, many Colombians see it as a spiritual experience. Talk a walk through the streets on that night and there will be pretty lit candles everywhere.

Your chance of encountering a jaguar in the wild is slim they have little interest in people and would rather avoid us they have no interest in us as prey. Jaguar attacks are rare. The biggest conflict is when jaguars hunt livestock as some have learned cattle can be easy prey.

Jaguars are masters of blending in to their surroundings so one can be there and you’ll never know, they can smell you before they see you.

If you do stumble across one never run, running will just trigger the hunting instinct and you’re quickly going to have a jaguar clinging to your back. You can not outrun a jaguar, and jaguars are excellent climbers so you can’t use a tree for safety.

Your best bet is to back away slowly never break eye contact, if the jaguar approaches make yourself big as possible. Once you you’re a safe enough distance away you can continue on and marvel at the once in a lifetime encounter you experienced.

If the jaguar does kill you then it really will be a once in a lifetime encounter.

[Nahla2]

If the jaguar does kill you then it really will be a once in a lifetime encounter.

Well....you're not wrong.

Thank you for the answer about the candle thing and confirming it is a real holiday.

[ImpracticalDino]

Follow up question, will you ever be interested in writing an LBT fanfiction if you get invested enough into the dino franchise?