la cultura paisa

paisas - that’s how the people in medellín are called. and in antioquia. and el cafetero.

this is what the internet says by way of a short summary: paisa culture is shaped by a strong sense of identity, family, place and community. paisas are often associated with warmth, quick humour, expressive conversation, hospitality, entrepreneurial energy and a particular pride in where they come from. there is a love of gathering around food, music, stories and long conversations, and a way of making familiarity happen fast — parce, pues, hágale, qué chimba. beneath the unmistakable accent and local expressions is a culture that tends to wear its enthusiasm openly: when something is beautiful, funny, delicious or simply worth living, there is little reason to pretend otherwise.

but how does this actually show in everyday life and as a first time visitor, do i get to experience this?

there are expressions you can translate, and expressions you have to live for a while before they begin to make sense. una chimba belongs to the second kind.

i read it in comuna trece: medellín es una chimba.

so, a place can be una chimba. a person, a song, a party, a view, an idea, an entire day, other things... technically, you could translate it as amazing, awesome, just really great. but none of those quite carry the same weight.

because una chimba is not only about the thing itself. it is about the enthusiasm with which it is received. and pronounced as a word, with melody and conviction. una chimmmba.

paisas know how to be enthusiastic. salón malaga in medellín is a good tip to observe people singing songs together, maybe even dance a bit, listen to vinyl records being played for the entire salón. people drinking their chupitos, rum, whiskey, tequila, et cetera.

so while i am sitting here (somewhere else, not salón malaga) and drinking my lemonade, i start to think and feel at the same time. so good to be here, to be alive, to be living fully in this moment, amidst paisa culture: qué chimba.