Why This Ancient Civilization Fell Out of Love With Gold for 700 Years

[old as dirt]

2. My wife grew up very poor, ...

My wife grew up very poor, in Patía, and six decades ago, my mother-in-law used to wash gold for a living, like many poor afropatiana women did at the time.

When my wife wanted candles to read by at night (education is very important in afropatiana culture), her mother would take her and her siblings to work with her, down to el rio Guachicono, and teach them how to wash gold. She would sing the song in the video below and dance while she washed gold. (Washing gold is hard work.) My wife would then use the gold that she washed to buy candles with in el Bordo, so she could read at night.

Growing up in Patía, my wife learned family values, the value of hard work, the value of an education, and the value of gold.

To this day, my wife is still a bit of a gold snob. It's just a part of her culture, and a part of her identity.

Today there´s a monument in the central square of El Bordo, honoring the many afropatianas like my mother-in-law who made a living washing gold in Patía. That statue is called "La Negra".

You can see "La Negra" in this video from 2:50 - 3:00. The lyrics during that portion of the video are as follows:

"En las quebradas y ríos las negras lavaban oro, salía un producto muy fino que lo vendían en el Bordo, ..."