In January, every year the traditional Fiestas de la Virgen de la Candelaria are celebrated in Cartagena. This celebration takes place between January 24 and February 2; Citizens gather around a religious, cultural agenda, with an exhibition of city gastronomic samples in the emblematic Festival del Frito Cartagena, which this year reaches its 39th version.

This year the students of Nueva Lengua Cartagena They enjoyed this unique experience of our gastronomy, in this event it is possible to find the best traditional fried food stands in the city, therefore, the experience offers a great variety of this favorite food for Cartagenans and foreigners; Among the most popular fried foods of the festival we find empanadas, carimañolas, stuffed potatoes, buñuelos of beans, and the most popular is arepa de huevo, during the festival the matrons present arepas with special fillings. Generally, the fried foods are accompanied with different dressings also made by hand, such as coastal serum or spicy serum, also a mixture of onion, cilantro, tomato and vinegar.

Cartagena is the favorite destination to enjoy this typical food, the favorite for vendors, locals, visitors who want to eat something delicious and fast, those in charge of preparing these dishes are the midwives, mostly women with popular wisdom, who learned the recipes since they were girls and who have spent a large part of their lives practicing this trade, they also link the family, their children, cousins, husbands, which becomes a family business, becomes an intergenerational exchange, which guarantees the transmission of knowledge to the new generations.

The festival also offers musical events, with music from the region such as champeta and vallenato, where they can dance and have fun, as well as talks about the preparation of fried foods, sweets and typical street foods of the city, the experience of eating and sharing with the people is unique, since they can practice their Spanish with the locals and be part of a tradition of the city

We spoke to several students from Nueva Lengua Cartagena to know their opinions about this very traditional event for the culture of Cartagena, one of them was José Luis Corbanezi from Brazil, a charismatic student who enjoyed each of our cultural activities.

PROFESSOR: What do you think of the fried festival?
STUDENT: “For me, the festival is a discovery of culture and flavor, I am happy discovering new flavors in the places I visit, so I love this type of party”
PROFESSOR: What fries have you eaten? have you tried a new one?
STUDENT: “Today at the festival I tried arepas stuffed with shrimp and I ate cheese carimañolas. For me, arepas are more special because in Brazil we don't have them, and corn is not as popular as in Colombia, I definitely want to bring arepas to my city.”
PROFESSOR: And you liked them?
STUDENT: “Yes, they are very tasty, different from the corn ones that I had already tried, I love seafood so it seems like a sensational combination to me, the mix with coastal whey is delicious. In Brazil we have cassava, and similar cakes are also made.”
PROFESSOR: Can you invite everyone to come to the festival?
STUDENT: “Of course, I invite everyone to come and enjoy the Cartagena fried food festival, it is a very tasty place, to spend the day and eat arepas and other fried foods, I really recommend this beautiful city and its events where you can share with the locals and learn about their traditions”
Sharing and speaking Spanish with the locals, learning a little more about our culture and enjoying our gastronomy, are just some of the things that you will experience in these festivals, and Cartagena is, without a doubt, a city full of parties and traditions that full of pride, so we invite you to learn Spanish in Nueva Lengua Cartagena that more than a school is an experience for a lifetime.