Meaning
In Bogotá and Colombian usage, onces can mean an afternoon or early-evening snack/light meal. The traditional Bogotá expression onces santafereñas refers to a local spread commonly associated with hot chocolate and foods such as cheese, almojábana, bread, or other amasijos.
How it is used
Bogotá’s Sabor Bogotá program treats onces santafereñas as a traditional capital food occasion and describes them with chocolate, cheese, and almojábana. City cultural material also presents onces as an afternoon social meal shared with family, friends, or neighbors.
Examples
- “Nos vemos a tomar onces después de las cuatro.”
- “Las onces santafereñas suelen acompañarse con chocolate, queso y almojábana.”
Pronunciation
/ˈonses/ · OHN-sehs
Tone and register
Warm, domestic, social, and food-specific. The exact time and menu vary by household, generation, region, café, and occasion.
Visitor guidance
Interpret onces as a snack/light-meal occasion rather than exactly ‘eleven o’clock.’ In Bogotá, the santafereño version carries local culinary heritage, but do not assume one fixed menu or that the word itself belongs only to the capital.
Cultural context
Onces are part of the social rhythm of Bogotá’s cool high-altitude afternoons: hot drinks, bakery foods, conversation, family visits, cafés, and neighborhood routines. The santafereño label ties that broader Colombian meal term to older Bogotá food traditions.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.