Volume 8. SONG OF THE FAMILY (La Sonora Parentela)

“In the days of work and the nights of wakefulness, so long as there is a woman, a family will exist”. These words, sung by María Mulata, describe the subject of this chapter. Although it is said that the family is the foundation of society and it has been thought , for centuries, that the Colombian family is governed by strict Catholic values, we have only to look at any home to understand that individual decisions and social changes have left us with an ever greater diversity of family values. This chapter explores how different ideas of the family have evolved in the course of Colombian history and gives a chance to meet a network of women from the Chocó region, women who are family heads and give us a different perspective on what this institution, the basis of society, means today.