Travel to South America

Copa Navidad

Each December, Bogota hosts a sporting competition that brings together a good variety of sports, including a few quirky ones. The competition includes weightlifting and bowling, plus possibly basketball, hockey and others. Past competitions have also included swimming with fins and underwater hockey. (Underwater sports are Spanish and Colombian favorites, apparently.) You never know just what you'll find at the 'Christmas Cup,' but the unexpected is a good bet.

ANATO Tourism Showcase

The Colombian Association of Travel Agencies (ANATO), hosts this annual fair, where various national and international travel companies come together to provide information on travel, recreation and culture in Colombia and the rest of the world. Here tourists as well as tourism professionals can find everything they need to know to plan stellar vacations, business trips and events for themselves or their clients

Golf Tournament

Torneo Internacional and Torneo Nacional de Damas Senior de Golf (Senior Ladies National Golf Tournament), will take place the first week of September at Club Los Lagartos. These events for low handicap are organized by the Federacion Colombiana de Golf (Fedegolf).

Epiphany/Dia de Reyes

This national holiday marks the end of the long Christmas season in Colombia. By tradition, this is the day on which the three kings discovered baby Jesus. On this day, children reenact bible stories surrounding the event on the balconies of the Parroquia de Nuestra Se de Egipto. It is a day of festivity with processions and dancing in the streets.

Expofertas

If you like shopping for bargains in a carnival atmosphere, don't miss this fair. Running annually from late February into early March, this commercial free-for-all brings manufacturing companies, merchants and distributors together with the public for sales, specials and demonstrations. The exhibit space is divided by product category, with areas devoted to decor and linens, clothing and accessories, furniture, health, beauty, electronics, music, and shoes and leather goods. Banking services (including ATM), food services and long distance telephones are available.

XIX Festival de Cine de Bogota

Founded in 1984 to showcase Colombia filmmaking, the festival first expanded to include films from other Latin American countries and then films from around the world. The emphasis remains on Colombia and other underrepresented countries, however, making this a good place to see films beyond the mainstream. The festival awards its 'Pre-Colombia Circle Awards' for Best Film, Best New Director and Best Colombia Film. All films are to be shown in their original language with Spanish subtitles. Check local listings during the festival or call for prices, and theaters and show times.