Silvia, a village situated at 2.650 meters, about an hour drive from Popayan, is the center of the Guambiano region, one of Columbia’s most traditional indigenous groups.
The Guambiano still use their language and dress in colorful clothes, especially for market day. Then the men wear blue skirts, wrapped around their waste, thin hand-woven ponchos and a bowler hat. The women sport voluminous black skirts, large blue shawls around their shoulder held together by safety pins. They live in the surrounding villages and arrive in throngs for the Tuesday market in Silvia to sell their agricultural products, turning this picturesque village in a sea of blue.
Considering the large groups of Guambianos who just hang out at the plaza, it also seems a social event to meet up with friends. When they leave Silvia early in the afternoon, sacks full of newly purchased goods pile up high on the roof of their colorful Chiva busses. Though much more popular than it was 7 years ago, Silvia’s Guambiano Indigenous Market remains very genuine and just a little touristy. How long this will last, is hard to say…
