While I like having a 3-day weekend in October, I don’t think Columbus deserves his own holiday. So I was brainstorming Columbus Day alternatives (Columbus, Ohio Day; Bus Day; Cumulonimbus Day…) and decided my favorite was Colombia Day.
There are lots of ways you could celebrate here in Phoenix or elsewhere:
- Order a Colombian coffee at your favorite local coffee shop.
- Try a Colombian restaurant – a friend recommended La Tiendita Colombiana in Mesa.
- Visit Colombian animals, like the Andean bears at the Phoenix Zoo.
- Listen to Colombian music. We dig Juanes and old school Shakira (it should be in Spanish and she should have dark hair on the cover).
- Dance cumbia or salsa.
- Visit a Colombian or Latino cultural center. Although Phoenix’s Arizona Latin@ Arts and Cultural Center is closed Monday, you can check it out Tuesday through Saturday 11a-6p. Celebrando Nuestra Cultura is their current exhibition of 15 Arizona artists exploring Mexican history, which is not Colombian but sounds pretty interesting.
Some cities have nixed Columbus Day in favor of an Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In that spirit, you could visit the Heard Museum or another place in your area to learn about Native American cultures.
However, if you want to celebrate by watching the clouds, taking public transit, or even visiting Ohio, that works too. Those are all things worth celebrating more than Christopher Columbus.
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