Erika Salamanca: Consul General of Colombia in Washington, DC

By Olga L. O’Hearn

Erika Salamanca, Consul General of Colombia in Washington, DC

The Colombian community in the Washington, DC area has a lot of reasons to celebrate lately. Not only is it becoming stronger and more productive, thriving in different sectors of the economy, it is effectively represented and supported by the Consul General, Erika Salamanca. The Colombian Consulate, including Erika, serves individuals in the Washington, DC area as well as those in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware.

With vast experience in political, social, and cultural issues, she arrived at her position after working in multilateral entities such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as the Colombian Department of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Communication and Governance from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s in International Commerce from Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano de Bogotá.

In addition to her education and working experience, another great asset Erika Salamanca brings to her current job is the in-depth knowledge of the community that the Consulate serves. As a 17-year resident of this area, she knows first-hand the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of the Colombian community. Although she is working diligently to establish new projects and programs and enhance existing ones, she is aware that, as with any bureaucracy, things do not work as fast as one would like. Nevertheless, some of the projects and programs the Consulate –and Erika personally– is working on include a direct telephone line to the Consulate, electronic payment for consular services, a weekly Facebook Live webcast, and regular workshops, just to name a few.

Additionally, two priorities for the Consulate and Erika alike include the Mobile Consulate and Consular Saturdays. Established at the beginning of the year, the Mobile Consulate and Consular Saturdays assist individuals who live far or who cannot make it to the Consulate office during regular business hours. These two programs require the Consul General and some members of her team to travel to different locations within the Consulate’s circumscription. Of the six Mobile Consulates planned for this year, three have been scheduled in Virginia (Richmond, Virginia Beach and Springfield), two in Maryland (Gaithersburg and Baltimore), and one in New Castle, Delaware. The results of implementing Mobile Consulate and Consular Saturdays will be measured through attendance, but also by gratitude expressed by people who have benefited from them.

The Consul General has led more than 30 workshops and Facebook Lives webcasts this year, providing information on topics such as education, health, entrepreneurship, sports, legal advice, pensions and retirement, domestic violence, the U. S. tax system, and sexual violence, to name a few. They serve as a resource not only for learning and awareness, but also to bring the community closer together.

The Colombian Consulate may now be reached directly by phone with someone stationed in Washington, DC at the other end of the line. Additionally, the payment of services provided by the Consulate can now be done electronically. These upgrades are welcome by the community because they save time, money, and energy.

Although most people know Erika Salamanca as the Colombian Consul General in Washington, DC, few have had the privilege to see another side of her; her artistic side. She is a self-taught painter who has been practicing with colors and forms for quite a while and whose chance encounter with painting started as a desire to acquire art without spending too much money. As an anecdote, she tells us that when she could not find a painting that was both beautiful and affordable, she knew she had to create one. After acquiring all the materials needed and watching some tutorials for a few hours, a new masterpiece was born. “That first painting was quite beautiful, modesty aside”, she stated with a smile. Many more pieces have been painted since that first one; some have been gifted to her family and friends, others decorate her house walls. When asked about the whereabouts of that first painting, Erika mentioned that, as part of the learning process, she bought a paint sealer that would supposedly protect the finished product. What she did not know was that to achieve those results, she would have had to wait until the paint had completely dried to apply it. She didn’t. A heavy coat of that sealer was sprayed right after the painting was finished and when she checked on it the next day, the colors of her masterpiece had faded, leaving only a blank slate that looked pretty much like the white canvas she had used when she started to paint it.

Her artwork is vibrant, colorful, and energetic, much like Erika herself. She finds inspiration in everyday, mundane things, and her art flows organically as in the magical realism embodied in the lyrics of her favorite style of music, vallenato, or the stories in her favorite book, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Just like the projects and programs she leads at the Consulate, some paintings take longer than others to complete.

PorColombia DC is proud and honored to count Erika Salamanca as one of its own. Having the opportunity to work together in a few projects, including Colombianos Destacados and Ayuda a Connacionales, has given us the opportunity to appreciate the hard work the Consul General does on a daily basis to ensure that the Colombian community in this region is supported, valued, and very well represented. Thank you, Consul General! Thank you for opening the doors of the Consulate to the more than 40,000 hard-working Colombians who live in this area!