‘Meghan is a woman who deserves to come to the country and tell her story’: Colombia’s vice president Francia Marquez says Sussexes were invited because she was ‘moved’ by their Netflix documentary – as couple arrive for four day trip
Harry and Meghan were invited to Colombia for their quasi royal tour after the country’s vice president saw them on Netflix and was ‘moved’ by their story.
Francia Márquez made the revelation as she briefed media ahead of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘s arrival for their four day trip.
They will take on the cities of Bogotá before heading off to Cartagena and Cali as part of a ‘cultural and social’ visit.
Speaking to media Ms Marquez – who continually referred to the couple as ‘Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex’, said she asked Meghan to visit Colombia last year, but the visit had been delayed due to other commitments.
Ms Marquez, who has been accused of using helicopters like taxis, was asked by a local journalist why she had invited the couple to Colombia.
The vice-president of Colombia, Francia Márquez, holds a press conference to detail Harry and Meghan’s visit to the country
Harry and Meghan pictured in Florida for a charity polo match – which was filmed for a Netflix documentary on the elite sport
Prince Harry and Meghan meeting students in Abuja, Nigeria in May this year
The vice-president of Colombia sees the visit as a major coup – but it has failed to attract the attention of the local press
The pair are expected to stay in the £2,500-a-night Presidential suite at the Sofitel Legend Hotel in Cartagena
Ms Marquez is vice-president of Colombia, serving under Gustavo Petro (right). The pair are pictured during Colombia’s independence day parade last month
She replied: ‘I learned their story through Netflix and I was moved by it. Meghan is a woman who deserves to come to the country and tell her story.’
The Harry & Meghan documentary was released on Netflix in two parts across December 2022, detailing their courtship and decision to step back from a working life in the royal family. It has a 46 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ms Marquez added the visit had been on the cards for a year after she invited Meghan to the country a year ago on July 25, International Afro-descendant Women’s Day.
Ms Marquez added: ‘Last year we held a meeting on July 25, the day of Afro-descendant women. We wanted to invite Meghan, an Afro-descendant woman, to that meeting so she could share her experiences.
‘We sent her a letter inviting her, and she replied saying that she couldn’t come, but that she really wanted to get to know the country. Since then, we have been working for a year for this visit.’
Ms Marquez said it was an opportunity to show the couple the ‘best of the country’ although there has been little coverage in local media ahead of the visit.
She added: ‘The visit aims to build bridges and open doors that allow us to join forces to raise awareness and address a problem that concerns all of humanity today: cyberbullying and violence in digital environments, and discrimination.’
She said the visit by the Duke and Duchess would highlight the importance of collaboration to protect and guarantee the rights of girls, boys, adolescents and young people around the world.
The vice president also highlighted that this meeting will contribute to promoting women’s leadership both in Colombia and globally.
Nigeria, like Colombia, is seen as a high risk destination in parts by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Officials have kept the itinerary a closely guarded secret as parts of the country are described as ‘best avoided’ due to ongoing internal conflicts. The cities they plan to visit – Bogotá, Cali and Cartagena – are viewed as reasonably safe.
On Wednesday further details of the trip were revealed by US women’s fashion monthly Harpers Bazaar which is highly supportive of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The magazine’s reporter Bianca Betancourt is travelling with the couple.
According to her report the couple will meet with local students, teachers and industry leaders, who ‘make up the vibrant and expansive heritage of the South American country’.
It added: ‘Their agenda will focus on key aspects of The Archewell Foundation’s priorities and lifelong philanthropic endeavours for the duke and duchess, including highlighting the military community and female empowerment.
‘Apart from visiting local schools, where the pair will host insight sessions and discuss the importance of digital literacy and mental health with today’s youth.’
The trip to Colombia will allow Meghan to show off her fluent Spanish
Meghan poses for a photograph in Abuja, Nigeria
Harry and Meghan will visit Bogata as part of their tour of Colombia
The Duke and Duchess are also expected attend local performances that celebrate Colombian music, theater, and dance in between other official engagements—such as Harry meeting with the Invictus Games’ Team Colombia and Meghan sharing time with some of the country’s leading female entrepreneurs.
Colombian media reported that they will spend two days in the capital Bogota before travelling to Cali and Cartagena where they will visit the first ‘free town’ for Africans as well as attend a music festival.
The pair are due to be shown around the important sanctuary of San Basilio de Palenque on Saturday.
The small town, which has a population of around 3,500 , was one of the walled communities known as palenques which were founded by escaped slaves as a refuge in the seventeenth century, leading to the enclave developing a rich and unique culture, influenced heavily by the population’s African heritage.
In 2008 the town and its cultural space were declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Part of the recognition is linked to the fact the palenque language, called palenquero, is the only Spanish based creole language in Latin America. It is only spoken by around 3,000 people.
Most of the other so-called palenque secret fort villages were eventually found and destroyed by the Spanish, but San Basilio de Palenque which is a popular day trip for tourists from Cartagena survived.
The founding father was Domingo Benkos Bioho, originally from the Bijago islands of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.
He was captured by Portuguese slave traders in the late 16th century. Mystery surrounds the history of his escape from Cartagena, one of the main hubs for the slave trade in Colombia in the seventeenth century.
Spanish authorities seeking to eliminate the threat he posed after he organised a network of palenques and coordinated raids against Spanish-run plantations to free more slaves, captured him during a visit to Cartagena after tricking him into returning to the city and executed him.
A statue of Benkos Bioho stands in the centre of San Basilio de Palenque.
Day-trippers to the town are offered the chance to learn Palenquero and learn about traditional hairstyles and braids at a hair salon.
The vice-president of Colombia says she was moved to invite Harry and Meghan to the country after watching their Netflix documentary (pictured)
Harry and Meghan were accompanied by a camera crew to a recent charity polo match in Wellington, Florida – as the Netflix deal continues
The couple pictured in Abuja, Nigeria during their quasi-royal trip to the west African nation in May this year
Meals visitors can try include fusions of African, Caribbean, European and American ingredients – such as fried fish, coconuts and mango salsa.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s will also visit a music festival in Cali called the Petronio Alvarez Festival on Sunday according to city mayor Alejandro Eder.
It takes place every August at a sports complex called Unidad Deportiva Alberto Galinda.
Since its foundation in 1997 it has evolved into a significant celebration of Afro-Colombian music and culture in Latin America.
It was aimed at uniting artists from Colombia’s Pacific coast and giving them a platform to express and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.
Speaking at a tourism congress earlier this month Cali mayor Mr Eder said: ‘They are going to come to Cali and spend a day in the city.
‘They’re going to visit the Petronio Alvarez Festival in the city and they’re also going to visit other social initiatives.’
The trip will allow Meghan, who celebrated her 43rd birthday last Sunday, to show off her fluent Spanish which she learned at private school in LA and perfected at the US Embassy in Argentina.
But for many Colombians, the Sussexes’ visit is viewed as little more than a cynical attempt by a failing Left-wing government to use the glamorous couple as ‘political pawns’ to divert attention from a series of scandals that have engulfed the regime.
A prominent Bogota lawyer told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obviously they are being manipulated.
‘Of course, their star-power will be used to bring attention to poor people and certain areas of culture in Colombia… but the reality is the Colombian government has been drowning in scandal since it came in two years ago. They need something to appease people at home and make them look good abroad.’
