Walking around Medellin

Back in Medellin. Luckily, our flight from Peirera was uneventful and we made it back to the city without issue. Whew! We planned 3 days in Medellin to see the sights before heading on to Guatape. Once we checked back into the hotel, we decided to check out the Plaza Botero in the old center of the city. The plaza is named after the artist Fernando Botero because there are 23 bronze sculptures high he donated to the city. They’re not your typical man form sculpture. They’re quite disproportionate. It’s quite interesting to wander around and see all of them. Surrounding the plaza are several museums. One building, the Palace of Culture looks like a gothic church. However, inside are a library, photo archive and art gallery. The plaza is crowded and has a large police presence. However, it’s not recommended to wander around after dark so we headed back to the hotel as the sun started to set.

Man on Horseback

Head

Palace of Culture

We really wanted to see more of the downtown area, so after reading a couple different blogs, we booked a walking tour of Medellin with Real City Tour Medellin. The walking tour is free and the guides rely on tips. This usually makes the guides work just a little extra. Our guide Dio definitely went above and beyond. Our tour was more a history lesson than just a walk around town pointing at buildings (which I’ve experienced before). Dio started with an explanation of the indigenous peoples and how the Spaniards settled in the valley. Unlike Bogota and Cartagena, Medellin wasn’t part of a major trade route so the Spanish didn’t build any fortifications. It remained a small town until the early 20th century through the 1970s when it was discovered that coffee grew well in the region and also manufacturing and the railroad came to Medellin. Then, in the 70s & 80s, the Tragedies began. The poor leftists created FARC and their own “military” since the government was ignoring them. The rich & powerful created their own paramilitary to protect themselves, the government had the army and the drug lords had their strongmen. From the 80s to early 2000s, Medellin became the murder capital of the world. Dio told us how he grew up in Medellin during that time. He saw someone murdered right in front of him at the age of 8. My heart broke listening as he explained his early childhood. Dio couldn’t even say the name Escobar. Apparently, the people of Medellin are still divided on how they feel about the drug lord. About a third still revile Escobar. About a third don’t have either a good or bad opinion of him. Nearly a third of the population (primarily those who didn’t live through that period) adore Escobar because of the “good things” he did or admire the money he made. As Dio put it, what is the exchange rate per murdered person? Two houses? Three? You could hear the pain in his voice as he described his early life. I couldn’t imagine what he went through. After Escobar was killed, the drug problem didn’t magically end. In fact, it’s still around - just not as overtly. In the 2000s, the government signed a peace agreement with FARC to end the hostilities. Except in some outlying areas, the peace has held. This has allowed Medellin to enter their “Transformation” stage. The state has put money into infrastructure for the poorer barrios including the metro, the cable cars and education.

Our tour took us to a square in front of the current government buildings which are very modern. In the square is a large sculpture showing the progression of culture in Antioquia (the state where Medellin is located). It’s an amazing sculpture. Near this area is a plaza of pillars that light up at night called the Plaza of Hope. Unfortunately, they have recently removed the lights for replacement so we didn’t get a chance to see it lit. I’m guessing, by the size of the plaza, it’s beautiful all lit up.

Plaza of Hope

After we passed through the Plaza Botero and Dio described some of the sculptures in a little more detail,we stopped at the metro station. Dio asked how many of us had used the metro yet. He asked if we’d noticed how clean and unharmed the cars were. Medellin has been through so much and the metro has become their badge of honor. No one dares to defile the metro. Dio showed us a mural along the wall next to the metro station showing the indigenous peoples. He asked us how we think the people of Medellin go about their lives with so much pain in their past. Selective memory. They have to put the pain in the past and enjoy the present.

Plaza Botero

Our last stop was at a Parque San Antonio. The city had built a grand plaza with a concert venue. During the first ever concert, someone placed a bomb in one of the Botero sculptures. The city wanted to remove the destroyed sculpture but Botero wouldn’t allow it. This is one thing he wanted everyone to remember. Botero even donated an identical sculpture to be placed right next to the destroyed one. The Medellin selective memory had to remember this one. Dio wanted us to remember though, even though Medellin has been through hell, things are getting better.

Destroyed and intact sculptures next to each other

From here, we all went our separate ways. I know this day and Dio’s stories will not be forgotten.