#itscolombianotcolumbia

MANILA, Philippines - Among the countries in Simón Bolívar’s proposed united South America, it is Colombia that has experienced a comeback in recent years. As it continues to make itself over, thousands of citizens want everyone to get the name of their country right. A movement called “It’s Colombia, Not Columbia” aims to educate those who insist on spelling it with a “u” the way you would spell Columbia the university, the sportswear company, or the US capital, Washington, District of Columbia.

“We’re not trying to insult the people or companies that make this mistake,” says Carlos Pardo, the digital media executive behind the campaign, to the Wall Street Journal. “We don’t say ‘Hey, idiot, fix it!’ We just say ‘Dear so-and-so, it’s Colombia, not Columbia.’”

I lived for a while in Colombia so the faux pas irks me as well. There are still a lot of people with a passé impression of the place — that it is a land of cocaine, coffee and leftist guerrillas. Although the Andean country is still burdened by poverty and inequality, and drug kingpins still exist, USA Today states that as of 2012, Peru and Bolivia have both surpassed Colombia in cocaine production.

Colombians have a confidence about their country they didn’t have before. They’re more assertive about being taken seriously. By spelling the country correctly, they say the rest of the world will not only be acknowledging a very important part of the nation’s identity; it will also be a sign that they recognize that Colombia, through improved security and solid economic growth, is finally emerging from years defined by drug-fueled violence.

* * *

ginobambino.tumblr.com