Colombia presented the first Afro-Colombian tourist guide to Cali at FITUR

During the latest edition of FITUR, Colombia presented the first Afro-Colombian tourist guide to Cali, an initiative launched at the ProColombia stand that seeks to highlight and promote the cultural richness of the region's Afro-descendant communities.

Beyond its recognition as the world capital of salsa, Cali stands out as the second Latin American city with the largest Afro-descendant population, a status that positions it as a key cultural reference point in the region. In this context, the Afro-Tourism Route emerges as a tool to strengthen cultural and community-based tourism, integrating tradition, history, and sustainable development.

The guide is the result of a collaborative effort between Afro-Colombian communities and the Cali Tourism Secretariat. It brings together 53 experiences and a directory of 14 businesses that encompass expressions such as marimba and drum music, oral traditions, traditional midwifery, fashion, handicrafts, and a gastronomic offering that includes ancestral beverages like viche and typical sweets from the Colombian Pacific coast.

Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia, stated: “At ProColombia, we promote tourism with purpose: tourism that respects culture, protects the guardians of memory, and directly benefits communities. Therefore, I invite you to explore this guide, savor its flavors, listen to its stories, and take away a transformative experience of our Pacific coast, a reflection of all that Colombia, the Land of Beauty, has to offer . ”

The initiative benefits small and medium-sized businesses, ranging from traditional restaurants to instrument-making workshops and cultural spaces, generating a virtuous cycle of sustainable development and improved quality of life for local communities. The proposal does not establish a single itinerary or fixed routes, but rather functions as a network of vibrant experiences that can be enjoyed in multiple ways and at different times.

The Afro-tourism Route is thus consolidated as an act of visibility, symbolic reparation and cultural pride, projecting Cali as a destination of high cultural impact and reaffirming the value of its tangible and intangible heritage on the international tourism stage.