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Alfredo Vázquez Cobo

1869–1941

Born
9 Feb 1869, Cali
Country of birth
United States of Colombia, today Colombia
Died
1 Feb 1941, Cali
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth9 Feb 1869, CaliProbable1 source
  • Death1 Feb 1941, CaliProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Cali

    Birth, Cali

  2. Child born: Anna Vazquez y Carrizosa

    Birth

  3. Died · Cali

    Death, Cali

What was it like?

The world around Cali, 1869: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Alfredo was born around the same time as Marie Dressler, Franz Lehár, and George Arliss.

Born around the same time

  • Marie Dressler

    1868 · Canadian-American actress (1868-1934)

  • Franz Lehár

    1870 · Komárom-born Austrian music composer (1870–1948)

  • George Arliss

    1868 · English actor, author, playwright and filmmaker (1868–1946)

  • Pompeu Fabra

    1868 · Catalan linguist (1868–1948)

  • Maxim Gorky

    1868 · Russian and Soviet writer (1868–1936)

  • Nicholas II of Russia

    1868 · 14th and last Emperor of Russia (1894–1917)

Fashion
Around 1870–1870

Tight corsets and bustles for women

By 1870, women's fashion in the capital included corsets designed to achieve 50-centimeter waists and the bustle, known as a quitrín, which added volume to the back of the skirt.

Around 1871–1871

Everyday attire of Llaneros men

Men in the Llanos plains wore trousers made of local fabric, cotton shirts with tails worn untucked, and handmade palm hats, often going barefoot or using leather quimbas as sandals to protect against thorns.

Music
Around 1871–1872

Obligatory instruments for popular festivals

Popular festive music frequently relied on the tamboril (drum) and chirimía (shawm), instruments described as obligatory for public celebrations in many regions.

Around 1870–1874

Cumbiambas and dancing with candles

In the late 19th century, festive gatherings called cumbiambas featured dances where men and women danced in circles, often holding lit candles as a gesture of gallantry.

Getting around

Long and Arduous Journeys

A journey of less than 70 miles between Honda and Bogotá typically required three to four days on mule-back, though traveling with heavy equipment could take a person an entire month to carry just one wagon wheel across the terrain. While some routes were improved for coaches by the 1870s, many travelers still faced perilous paths where crossing a river on an insecure rope bridge could consume an entire day.

Mules, Oxen, and Human Carriers

Travel between towns often relied on mule trails or human carriers known as cargueros, who sometimes carried goods or people on their backs across treacherous mountain paths. In challenging terrain, travelers also rode oxen, which provided a steady, sure-footed pace through deep mud where other animals struggled.

Daily life
Around 1870–1874

Mandatory primary education reform of 1870

The 1870 Decree of Public Instruction declared primary education free and mandatory for children aged 6 to 14. This reform replaced rote memorization with experimental learning methods introduced by European pedagogues.

Home heating and cooking practices

Homes were generally cold and relied on braseros for warmth, as fireplaces and glass windows were rare luxuries. Cooking was a private, daily activity often performed in a detached kitchen to manage fire risks.

Food

Afternoon snack prices

For the popular classes, a large cup of milk with a sago biscuit was a typical afternoon snack costing two and a half centavos.

Common breakfast staples

Daily breakfast for many families consisted of clear, hot chocolate made by mixing cacao with varying proportions of corn, often served with fried eggs and fried plantains.

Prices and wages
Around 1872–1872

Daily wages of workers in 1872

In 1872, a daily wage for a worker helping a master was typically one to one and a half country reales (two to three reales de vellón), plus food.

Work
Around 1870–1874

Common Jobs in 19th Century Colombia

The most common jobs were agriculture, livestock, and fishing, employing over half the population, followed by crafts (manufacturing) and domestic service. Women dominated the craft sector, producing textiles and pottery, while agriculture remained the primary occupation for men.

Around 1870–1874

The Long Working Day

Domestic workers in wealthy households often worked 14-hour days performing specialized tasks like grinding chocolate, starching clothes, and scrubbing floors with bran. Some hat-weaving women worked from dawn until night, continuing in groups after dark to complete their daily quotas.

News and letters

Personal delivery and reading assistance

People often relied on personal messengers to deliver letters, and since many could not read or write, they frequently hired someone to write their letters or read them aloud.

Post offices served as banks

Post offices functioned like banks, dispatching and receiving drafts, holding money deposits, and paying salaries for officials and soldiers.

During their lifetime

  1. 1871

    1871: First railway line in Colombia

    The first railway line within the current Colombian territory was inaugurated, connecting the city of Barranquilla with the port of Sabanilla.

Family

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.