Fernanda Marte, 16, and fellow members of Club Colombia de Tucson rehearse Bambuco Fiestero, a dance that originated in the Andes region of the South American country. The group will perform at 5 p.m. Saturday on the City Hall stage.
Club Colombia will serve up empanadas, arepas, papas chorreadas, cocadas, tropical juices, and Colombian coffee at the festival.
“Making all the food takes a lot of manpower,” Club Colombia President Angela Roll says. “But we do it because we want people to know our culture.”
One year, a fellow Tucsonan arrived at Tucson Meet Yourself at 8 a.m. to buy empanadas. The festival didn’t start until 11 a.m.
“He had a ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ basket,” Roll says. “He said he told his wife he would get them, and that he couldn’t go home without them.”
So he stuck around for the next few hours until the empanadas were ready to be served. Roll says they also have people who come to the event with Ziplock bags asking for their cocadas in bulk. Cocadas are coconut clusters.
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In addition to the food, Club Colombia also performs. Roll says the dancers are of different ages and are not professionals. The club also handcrafts each and every one of their outfits. One of the seamstresses is 90 years old.
The skirts are long and “floaty,” Roll says. They’re bright and colored with the same colors of the Colombia flag — yellow, blue, and red. And Colombia is a big exporter of flowers; the costumes will reflect that.
Catch Club Colombia’s dance performance at the City Hall stage at 5 p.m. Oct. 14.
