I will say, before 12 the night was a bit strange. At the hostel, the spirits were definitely high and the night looked very promising. Then we Ubered over to a different suburb, not exactly sure what it was called. I’d like to add that I may have had a bit too much to drink at this point. Anyway, wherever we went, it was packed. I’ve been in some shoulder to shoulder crowds before, many times. This was nothing I’d ever seen, legit having to push yourself between spaces that were not meant to be pushed through. Somehow though, once 2025 officially kicked off, it cleared up a bit despite there still being so many people.Â
Then the real party began. Let me just say, I’m a horrific dancer—absolutely terrible—but in Australia, I can usually get away with it. Not here. I stood out like a sore thumb because, in case you didn’t know, Colombians are really good dancers. And they’re intense about it. SO good at the salsa, which they desperately tried to teach me despite my terrible footwork.Â
The DJ kept the energy alive until about 4 a.m., and everyone was giving it their all the entire time. No one slowed down, and unlike an Aussie party or event, where the crowd steadily thins as the night wears on, the energy here never dipped nor did the crowd size to a noticeable amount. Even after the DJ finally stopped, people kept dancing. For no apparent reason.
When I asked a Colombian from Bogotá if it’s always like this, they said (paraphrased) absolutely and not just for New Year’s. It was a level of partying and celebrating I’d never experienced before—and honestly, I’m still in awe of their stamina since I was dying the next day.
The mixture of locals, other south americans, backpackers and travelers from all over the world, on top of a great street party setup made for a city New Years I’ll never forget. Which is a good thing, since I didn’t take a ton of videos since I was kind of terrified of losing my phone.