Celebrate the Columbus Day

Our recommendation for this week was to celebrate the Columbus Day.

Here you are the links of all our posts published regarding this recommendation: Celebrate the Columbus Day, Make your own earrings with feathers, Elaborate a home dulce de leche (caramel) and Invite your friends to drink "mate" at home.

Columbus Day

Earrings with feathers

Dulce de leche (caramel)

  Mate

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Mate (infusion)

Mate was drunk since pre-columbian times among Guaraní indigenous people and it was quickly adopted by the Spanish colonizers.

Nowadays, the mate belongs to the cultural heritage of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay where it is mainly drunk and also in Brazil and souther Chile.

Here we show you in a simple way how to prepare it:

As it happens with the tea, coffee and chocolate, the mate has a stimulating effect due to the caffeine it contains. Besides, it has also an effect because of the hight amount of water that is used, resulting a digestive infusion.

The mate is very peculiar because it has his own table dishes:

• the "porongo", which is the main container and it is usually made of gourd;
• the "bombilla", which is a kind of straw made of metal or wooden with filter;
• the "pava", which is the thermos;
• a portable metal assembly that has two containers: one for the mate and the other for the sugar.

Mate is traditionally drunk in a particular social setting, such as family gathering or with friends. Therefore, we propose you to invite your friends to drink Mate at your home.

Here we show you in a simple way how to prepare it:

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Dulce de leche (caramel)

One of the most typical candy in Latin America is the "Dulce de leche" (caramel); therefore to celebrate the Columbus Day we propose to make this rich product.

The "dulce de leche" (caramel) is different called depending on the country: cajeta en México, arequipe en Colombia y Venezuela ó manjar en Chile y Ecuador.

The ingredients needed are:

• 1 litre of whole milk;
• 300 grams of sugar;
• half spoon of baking soda;
• 1 spoon of vanilla extract.

The steps for processing are:

1. Heat the milk with the sugar (medium heat) until it is melt;
2. Add the baking soda and vanilla and continue stirring;
3. Boil the mix (low heat) for a couple of hours, stirring it with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan;
4. When the mix has a similar consistency like a custard, remove it from heat and leave it to  cool.

Finally, you can serve it with some delicious pancakes or ice cream.

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Earring with feathers

When Christopher Columbus arrived to América the first time he thought it was India that is why natives were called "indian".

Our proposal of decoration to celebrate the "Columbus Day" are earrings with feathers made by yourselves.

The materials you need are:

• feathers (chose the color you prefer);
• small pins (to attach the feather to the pendant brooch);
• pendant brooches;
• pliers.

The steps to follow are:

1. Cut the feather's tail end considering the length you want;
2. Once it is cut, take the pin (which is open in the back) and enter the feather's tail end in it and close it with the pliers;
3. Once you have checked that the feather does not fall, pass the pendant brooch through the hole that the pin that holds the feather has. Make sure that they are securely tightened together and now they are ready to be used.

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Columbus Day

On October 12th, the Columbus Day is celebrated where the discover of America by Spain is commemorated.

It is celebrated in 20 countries but with different names and meanings, here you are some examples:

• In Spain, it is called "Fiesta Nacional" and it is celebrated with a large military parade in which the King with his royal family and also the Ministers attend;

• In México, it is called "Día de la Raza" as in most of the  Latin America countries and people presents their wreaths at the monument to the race;

• In Costa Rica, as in other Caribbean locations, there are Carnivals;

• In Colombia, it is mainly celebrated from school with events in which students represent the history and the significance of this day in history;

• In USA, it is called "Columbus Day" for honoring Christopher Columbus who is credited with the discover of America on his first voyage in 1492. It is celebrated with a large parade through the street of the Big Apple; government offices and public schools are closed.

Although in some Latin America countries this celebration has negative connotations, we encourage you to celebrate this day without any controversy and from the most sincere affection and respect.

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Yoga

Our recommendation for this week has been "Yoga".

Following you will find the links to all our posts done during this week regarding this recommendation: practice yoga, ayurveda diet, practice yoga outdoors and gift for a yogi.

       Yoga

    Ayurveda diet

   Yoga outdoors

  Gift for yoga

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Gift for yoga

To practice yoga safely is critical to do so on a non-slip mat. There are a variety of colours, sizes and prices but this time we recommend the non-slip mat of Decathlon (non-slip mat) for its stability, comfort and easy storage as well as its price of 19.95€.

Here we show a picture that has been obtained from its website:

                                                                                               

                                                                                              

                                                                                               

                                                                                               

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Yoga outdoors

If you are tired of practicing yoga at the gym or at home, enjoy the good weather and practice yoga in a park, on the beach, etc...

Practicing yoga outdoors brings us into contact with nature, revitalizes us and allows us to achieve unity with everything around us.

"Let your mind penetrate throughout the body towards your extremities, like the rays of the sun"

It is becoming more frequent that in big cities like Madrid, Barcelona or Milán large classes are organized to practice yoga outdoors. Here you are a link where you will find information about this type of classes for upcoming dates in Barcelona (yogafreebcn).

                                                                                               

                                                                                              

                                                                                               

                                                                                               

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