Ajiaco is a Colombian potato soup. Several regions of Colombia have their distinct recipe.

Ajiaco santafereño is named after Santa Fé de Bogotá (the former name of Bogotá) capital of Colombia, where it is a cultural mainstay. It typically contains pieces of chicken, large chunks of corn on the cob, two or three kinds of native potatoes (tiny papas criollas that fall apart and thicken the soup, and give the soup its characteristic dark yellow color; the waxy sabanera and/or the soft pastusa), and guasca (Galinsoga parviflora), a weedy, aromatic herb common in all America that lends the dish part of its distinctive flavour.

The soup is typically served with table cream, capers and avocado all mixed in just before eating in the proportions each individual prefers. Ajiaco is so heavy that it is usually considered a full meal. In Colombian cuisine, this is the most representative dish of Bogotá.

Soups called ajiaco can be found in other regions of Latin America, though some share almost nothing with the traditional bogotano recipe apart from the name. The name is likely derivative of the word ají^{[citation needed]}, a Taíno word for "hot pepper" which has become generalized in South American Spanish (equivalent to chile in Mexican Spanish). Though the modern Colombian ajiaco contains no ají, it is probably derived from spicier indigenous dishes^{[citation needed]}.

Ismael Quintana (born June 3, 1937) is a singer and composer of salsa music.

Quintana was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His family moved to the Bronx sector of New York when he was only two weeks old; here he went to school and whilst he was still in high school he formed a band with his neighborhood friends.

In 1961, bandleader Eddie Palmieri heard Quintana sing for an audition and invited him to join his newly organized orchestra "La Perfecta". Quintana accepted and became the lead singer of the band between 1961 and 1971. During this time he co-wrote some of Palmieri's major hit songs. With Palmieri, Quintana was awarded the 1966 Trophy for the "Most Popular Latin Singer of the Year", awarded at the famed Palladium Ballroom in New York.

Quintana left Palmieri for a solo career and signed with the Vaya Records (subsidiary of Fania Records) . Between 1974 and 1983, he recorded five albums as a solo artist, scoring his first major hit with "Mi Debilidad" (My Weakness).

Among Quintana's recordings are the following:

Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936), is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.

Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1926, and settled down in the South Bronx, a largely Hispanic neighborhood. Both he and his older brother, the late Charlie Palmieri, were born in New York. When he was only 8 years old, he would musically accompany Charlie and together they entered and participated in many talent contests.

Palmieri continued his education in the city's public school system where he was constantly exposed to music, specifically jazz. He took piano lessons for and performed at Carnegie Hall when he was 11 years old. His biggest piano influences were Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner. He was inspired by his older brother and was determined to someday form his own band - something he achieved in 1950, when he was just 14. During the 1950s, Palmieri played in various bands, including Tito Rodríguez's.