The National Museum, in Bogotá, is holding a colorful exhibition about Colombia's 14 UNESCO World Heritage sites, which include both cultural and natural phenomena. These include very concrete things, such as the Coffee Region and carnaval parades, as well as immaterial phenomena such as music and indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge.

The madness has already begun but if you rush you can make it to the unstoppable party in Cartagena that is the Concurso Nacional de Belleza or the Miss Colombia Pageant taking place right now.

If you sit down at any neighborhood joint in Colombia for a bite, you will see small bowls filled with something that looks like a watery relish. This is ají, and it is delicious and not at all relishy. Ají is vinegary and salty and a bit spicy, and it is served with all manners of Colombian food, but especially with empanadas, papas rellenas and other fritanga, as it is a perfect complement to heavier fried foods. Along with hogao, the tomato and onion base used for much of Colombian food, ají is one of the defining sauces in Colombian cuisine.

On the 30th anniversary of Gabriel García Marquéz's Nobel Prize for literature, it seems worthwhile to look at a little-know chapter in his life: his time in Bogotá's La Candelaria neighborhood.