On the 16th, we began our day with a highly recommended walking tour of the city. It lasted 4.5 hours and was the best history lesson on Colombia Matt and I have received so far. The tour focused mainly on the center or the city or El Centro, winding through government buildings, pedestrian markets, plazas and parks. Our guide, Hernan, was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, and had clearly done this tour many times before. Look how pretty (and overwhelmingly white) we are:
Our first stop was the railroad, which we did not take pictures of because we were listening attentively to the history of Colombia from Columbus to the Industrial Revolution. The railroad is no longer functioning but was built in the 1850s to transport gold and later coffee (both still main exports of Colombia) to Spain.
We then took a short walk to a plaza with many governmental buildings. For us one of the most impressive structures was a massive sculpture depicting a very idealized, and stylized, version of Paisa (the colloquial name for Antioquia) history from Prometheus to...heaven? (We didn't really understand.)
Our guide then took us to La Plaza de Luces, or Plaza of Lights, and introduced us to the concept of "Democratic Architecture." From what we understood, the idea behind democratic architecture is to take unsafe or unused space and create public works projects for the benefit of the community they are housed in. There are many examples of this idea throughout the city, mostly expressed in large public libraries. This particular plaza was once a dangerous and unusable public space until it was taken over by the government, which cleaned it up, decorated it with public art, and built a large public library.
Although the space is now frequented by the public, most of its former inhabitants (homeless, drug addicts, prostitutes, and criminals, according to our guide) were displaced, and programs instituted to rehabilitate and/or shelter them were not successful.
From there we walked through El Centro and Plaza Botero (which you may recall from our very memorable previous post) and then to some crazy walking markets. On one corner of the street you have a former house of justice:
Completely surrounded by a pedestrian street market on a street that was never intended to be pedestrian only.
One of the things our guide emphasized was the somewhat contradictory nature of Colombian society - something that could be applied to all places, but seems particularly visible in Latin America. The street the market is on was claimed by street vendors whose stalls eventually took over the streets, turning them into pedestrian walk ways. All this in front of a building symbolizing law and order. Eventually the House of Justice itself was taken over by commercial ventures, its office spaces becoming shops.
The second to last stop was at a public square with a beautiful church. Some travel guides (and many Colombians) claim that the church is either the largest church in the world, or the largest church in the world made of baked bricks, but actually neither is true. It is, however, very striking. And, in keeping with the theme of contradiction, this plaza is typically filled with drug addicts and alcoholics, while the area around and behind the church is a prime place for buying porn from street vendors (not pictured).
Our favorite stop was our last at Parque San Antonio, a large, flat plaza where concerts are sometimes held.
The bird on the left was blown up in an explosion during a concert, that killed 16 and injured many more. According to our guide, during the 80s and 90s violence like this was fairly common place, and he told many stories that alluded to the dangers and senseless killings that predominated in the height of the drug years.
After this explosion, Botero, who created the original sculpture, called the governor to demand that the destroyed statue remain standing as a memorial to the victims. However, he also recreated the statue (on the right) as a symbol of hope and rebuilding. Not to be too ham fisted, but it did seem like an apt metaphor for the city itself. While not able (or willing) to forget some of the uglier moments in its recent past, the city is completely invested in moving forward and it's innovations and investments in public works are on par with (or better than) any large city in the United States.
Our first stop was the railroad, which we did not take pictures of because we were listening attentively to the history of Colombia from Columbus to the Industrial Revolution. The railroad is no longer functioning but was built in the 1850s to transport gold and later coffee (both still main exports of Colombia) to Spain.
We then took a short walk to a plaza with many governmental buildings. For us one of the most impressive structures was a massive sculpture depicting a very idealized, and stylized, version of Paisa (the colloquial name for Antioquia) history from Prometheus to...heaven? (We didn't really understand.)
Our guide then took us to La Plaza de Luces, or Plaza of Lights, and introduced us to the concept of "Democratic Architecture." From what we understood, the idea behind democratic architecture is to take unsafe or unused space and create public works projects for the benefit of the community they are housed in. There are many examples of this idea throughout the city, mostly expressed in large public libraries. This particular plaza was once a dangerous and unusable public space until it was taken over by the government, which cleaned it up, decorated it with public art, and built a large public library.
From there we walked through El Centro and Plaza Botero (which you may recall from our very memorable previous post) and then to some crazy walking markets. On one corner of the street you have a former house of justice:
Completely surrounded by a pedestrian street market on a street that was never intended to be pedestrian only.
One of the things our guide emphasized was the somewhat contradictory nature of Colombian society - something that could be applied to all places, but seems particularly visible in Latin America. The street the market is on was claimed by street vendors whose stalls eventually took over the streets, turning them into pedestrian walk ways. All this in front of a building symbolizing law and order. Eventually the House of Justice itself was taken over by commercial ventures, its office spaces becoming shops.
The second to last stop was at a public square with a beautiful church. Some travel guides (and many Colombians) claim that the church is either the largest church in the world, or the largest church in the world made of baked bricks, but actually neither is true. It is, however, very striking. And, in keeping with the theme of contradiction, this plaza is typically filled with drug addicts and alcoholics, while the area around and behind the church is a prime place for buying porn from street vendors (not pictured).
The bird on the left was blown up in an explosion during a concert, that killed 16 and injured many more. According to our guide, during the 80s and 90s violence like this was fairly common place, and he told many stories that alluded to the dangers and senseless killings that predominated in the height of the drug years.
After this explosion, Botero, who created the original sculpture, called the governor to demand that the destroyed statue remain standing as a memorial to the victims. However, he also recreated the statue (on the right) as a symbol of hope and rebuilding. Not to be too ham fisted, but it did seem like an apt metaphor for the city itself. While not able (or willing) to forget some of the uglier moments in its recent past, the city is completely invested in moving forward and it's innovations and investments in public works are on par with (or better than) any large city in the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment