I recently took two of my best friends from the United States on a whirlwind tour of Colombia from the Andes to the Caribbean. As we passed by Barranquilla in a shuttle bus driven by a madman with a death wish, I pointed out the city. “There’s Barranquilla,” I mentioned to blank stares… “That’s where Shakira and Sofía Vergara are from.”
Ahhhh ok. Now it’s interesting.
In a rather unexpected publicity coup, Barranquilla’s best-known songstress will be one of four coaches on the upcoming season of U.S. reality program The Voice. It’s the latest high profile position for a Colombian woman in the States, a trend helping to draw attention away from Colombia’s famous (and infamous) stimulants and towards the nation’s hips.
Colombia’s first saint, announced this week, is surprisingly neither Shakira nor her curvaceous counterpart Sofía Vergara.
Shakira’s new role as a judge on the singing contest show replaces fellow blonde Latina Christina Aguilera. The Colombian counterpart to The Voice, La Voz Colombia, was one of the season’s most watched programs and received rave reviews. The finale airs tonight on Canal Caracol.
Embracing her home country, Sofia Vergara helps familiarize U.S. audiences with the lighter side of Colombia.
Not to be outdone, fellow Costeña Sofia Vergara became the highest paid television actress in the United States this year, earning a reported $19 million for her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the sitcom Modern Family. Such a title cannot be underestimated. It’s a huge step forward for Latinos in the United States, a woefully underrepresented population in TV and movies, and a giant leap for Colombia’s reputation.
Granted, Ms. Vergara’s role on the show does little to change the reputation of Latina women as hot-blooded sexpots, and her references to her home country (her character on the show is also from Colombia) range from spot-on to fairly offensive. But it’s her simple presence on one of the nation’s most watched presence that will undoubtedly benefit Colombia. Finally, a nation normally referred to only in terms of drugs and violence, has people talking about how beautiful and vibrant its natives are. That’s progress.
Of course, Shakira predated Sofia Vergara’s meteoric rise to fame by almost a decade. Her first English-language single “Wherever, Whenever” was released in 2001, and the accompanying music video – basically a visual ode to the artist’s impressive ability to shake it – made her a household name.
Suddenly, Colombia was famous for three things: coffee, cocaine and Shakira. Again, progress.
So while the nation has a long way to go in order to completely free itself from the image that has haunted it for more than 50 years, ambassadors like Shakira and Sofia Vergara are doing a lot to push that process forward. Oh, and visitors like my friends Mark and Mellisa, who might not have otherwise even noticed Barranquilla, but who will surely tell anyone who asks that Colombia is an incredible place, well worth a trip.
