The history of a nation also lives in the dates that become collective memories, in those days on the calendar that each year invite us to look back and rethink what has happened. The year 2026 is no exception for Colombia: The country will have several moments marking significant anniversaries, both of painful events and others that symbolize hope, social transformations, or cultural achievements.
Knowing these anniversaries is not only about recalling isolated events, but about understanding the fabric of experiences that have shaped Colombian identity and that, taken together, explain part of who we are as a society.
This year will mark decades since processes that have shaped the country’s political, cultural, and sporting life. From the promulgation of the 1991 Constitution to the signing of the peace agreement with FARC, along with achievements in sports and popular culture, 2026 brings anniversaries that invite reflection on the recent past and its echoes in the present. These commemorations are not limited to festive dates but encompass intense, complex, and diverse chapters of national history.
Key events in Colombia to be remembered in 2026
July 4, 2026, will mark 35 years since the promulgation of Colombia’s 1991 Political Constitution, a text that profoundly transformed the structures of the state, recognized ethnic and cultural diversity, strengthened mechanisms for the protection of rights, and expanded citizen participation in political life.
That historic moment meant leaving behind the 19th-century Constitution of 1886, a text that enshrined principles that had little to do with a country with an advanced democracy and that denied the diversity of a nation as enormously diverse as Colombia. This anniversary calls for a review of the tensions and achievements accumulated since then, in a country that still debates how to make many of the rights enshrined in the Constitution effective.
That same year will also commemorate the signing of the historic peace agreement between the Government and FARC in Cartagena, which took place in September 2016, an event that represented an attempt to close decades of internal armed conflict. Despite the negative result of the plebiscite in October of that year, the subsequently adjusted agreements began to be implemented as a path for the guerrilla group’s political transition to civilian life.
Remembering these events is not only about recalling signed documents, but about thinking of the lives transformed or cut short by violence and the complex paths the country still faces to consolidate sustainable peace. The challenge for the country is clear, a decade later: To achieve a more complete implementation of everything the state agreed to with the insurgent group, after four years of dialogue in Cuba.
In the realm of political memory, other dates that shook Colombian society also stand out. The murder of journalist Diana Turbay, in January 1991, during an operation to try to free her from kidnapping, evokes the violence of drug trafficking and its implications for public life.
Also remembered is the surrender of Pablo Escobar upon his incarceration in June of that same year at La Catedral prison; although it was an attempt by the state to manage the phenomenon of drug trafficking, it serves to rethink the security and justice policies of the time and their lasting effects.
Two major political anniversaries in Colombia
In a markedly political tone, on Aug. 5, the 90th anniversary of the constitutional reform promoted by President Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo, will be commemorated, a political milestone known as the “Revolution on the March.” This act was a profound legal transformation that sought to modernize the state to adapt it to the social and economic realities of the 20th century. Unlike the 1886 Constitution, it consolidated concepts of social welfare and state intervention.
This act takes on special relevance because the current president, Gustavo Petro, has claimed to be the heir to those principles that sought a profound democratization of a state that was deeply reactionary and socially exclusionary.
In an electoral scenario that may — or may not — give continuity to this transformative project now championed by the left — with presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda at its head — references to one of the few attempts in Colombian politics at a genuine renewal of the foundations of political power will regain the prominence they had in 1936.
In a year in which political tension between Colombia and the United States will continue due to the big differences between the governments of Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump, July 11 will mark 30 years since the moment when the U.S. suspended the visa of then-president Ernesto Samper, exactly the same thing Trump did last year with the current Colombian president.
In 1996, the reason cited by the Clinton administration was the alleged relationship — never legally confirmed — between funds from the Cali Cartel and Samper’s presidential campaign, which in Colombia was called Process 8,000. In a different context, but with cross-accusations from the White House, this year’s presidential elections could mark a change of course in diplomatic relations or intensify them, with potential allegations of attempts at U.S. interference, as happened in 2025 in the elections in Argentina and Honduras.
Culture, sports, and society: anniversaries that transcend
Popular culture has its place among these anniversaries. On May 8, 2001, the final episode of Yo soy Betty, la fea aired, the telenovela that not only marked a milestone in Colombian television but also crossed borders and transformed ways of telling stories about identity, work, and social stereotypes. This date, which will mark its 25th anniversary in 2026, recalls how a cultural product can generate a sense of belonging beyond its country of origin.
Sports are also present with celebrated anniversaries. On July 29, 2001, Colombia won its only Copa America as host with a victory over Mexico, a historic moment for national soccer that symbolizes unity and collective pride.
In addition, in August 2016, Colombian athletes such as Oscar Figueroa, Mariana Pajon, and Caterine Ibargüen won gold medals at the London Olympic Games, the country’s most successful participation in that global event, marking a before and after in the international perception of Colombian Olympic sports.
Jan. 5, 1951, also marks the first edition of the Vuelta a Colombia, which signaled the formal beginning of a competition that fostered a passion for cycling throughout the country; its 75th anniversary in 2026 invites reflection on how sports create social and territorial bonds.
It will also be very much present next July 1, when the 40th anniversary of the arrival of then Pope John Paul II in Colombia will be commemorated. In 1986, he made a two-day visit to Colombian territory.
The Holy Father visited several cities, but among the most vivid memories for many Colombians was his visit to Armero, where the previous year the tragedy of the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano had occurred. The Supreme Pontiff also canonized Mother Laura Montoya and beatified Mariano de Jesus Euse Hoyos.
Painful and complex remembrances
Among the commemorations, some dates evoke tragic episodes. Dec. 4, 1986, marks the Pozzetto massacre, when Campo Elias Delgado killed more than 30 people in a Bogota restaurant, an event that left deep scars and raised questions about mental health and access to weapons in society, exactly 40 years ago.
Nov. 28, 2016, the plane crash that claimed the lives of nearly the entire Chapecoense club as it was traveling to play the Copa Sudamericana final is another date etched in the memory of soccer and of those who saw in that tragedy a lesson in solidarity and shared grief.
Remembering these anniversaries in 2026 is, ultimately, an exercise in collective memory that proposes looking at the past with a critical, compassionate, and, why not, somewhat nostalgic perspective. The fact is that this is not merely an exercise for historians, but something that should engage society as a whole, which still has a long road ahead in its national construction.
It is not about reliving events as simple highlights on a calendar, but about incorporating their lessons into the construction of a more just, peaceful society that is aware of the multiple histories that converge in the Colombian present.