When people first heard that I was going to be spending May in Colombia, I received scared looks followed by people offering words of wisdom.  I can appreciate this.  Colombia has had a tumultuous past and instead of people thinking of the beautiful works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the wonderful coffee, the only thing they can think of was the TV show “Narcos” and the drug cartels.  I’ve been in Medellin for 10 days now and absolutely love it.  The people have been some of the kindest and most humble that I’ve encountered during my South American stint.  What has really resonated with me is how the country, specifically certain neighborhoods are fighting to overcome their violent pasts and pave a new way forward.

This past Saturday, I went to Comuna 13 with a few friends.  We were a bit on the edge as to whether we wanted to go to this neighborhood because of the recently been gun violence (Sorry, Mom!) but we found a reputable tour and decided that a 10am tour was safe – so glad we did!  Due to astronomical homicide rates and the disappearance of thousands,  Medellin, Colombia used to carry the rank of being the most dangerous in the world with Comuna 13 ranked the most dangerous neighborhood.  The center of gang and paramilitary activity from the 1950s to the early 2000s, Medellin is highly associated with the times of Pablo Escobar.  After Operation Orion in 2002, a strike to overthrow rebel groups which included severe bombings, the area made an incredible transformation with art and music at its heart.

I’ve written in past posts about the beautiful street art I’ve encountered while in South America, but this was at a whole different level, especially once I understand the history of the area and the art’s symbolic representations in the graffiti.  Our tour company partners with a local community center for these tours, which really helped drive home the messages of revitalization and the important role that art has played in rebuilding daily lives.  Once we got to the area, we were greeted by our local guide, who also happens to be a hip hop dancer.  He’s part of Casa Kolacho, which aims to provide the local young with music and dance classes.  As we wandered around the area, the kids played soccer on the streets locals enjoyed popsicles and tourists admired the art work.  I was never concerned for my safety.  While I wouldn’t go back after sunset, I’m so glad I went during the day as it was a very powerful message.

The images throughout the community have consistent themes of resistance, perseverance, passion and hope.  The first series we encountered was a response to Operation Orion in 2002.  When the Blackhawk helicopters and military arrived, a young boy was shot.  His friend tried to save him, but was also gunned down.  An elderly woman grabbed a white curtain and started waving it.  Before long, all across the community, people were waving white shirts, flags, table clothes.  One of the images depicts a family of elephants leaving the bones of a dead family member while waving a white flag.  Beautiful faces lined many of the streets, numerous ones were split into a joker-esque face, representing the juxtaposition of life in Comuna 13.

This area also had some incredibly creative and forward-thinking city planners.  At the heart of Comuna 13, was a series of escalators.  As the community developed on a steep hillside, citizens did not have easy access to the city nor was it easy to get common necessities to those that lived at the top (about 28 stories).  The escalators, which are open from 6am-10pm, have been credited with helping to revitalize the community and it touted as an example of a way to unite socio-economic classes.  (Photo: Orange roofed escalators provide easy access to all levels of Comuna 13)

After the tour, before hopping back on the metro, we opted to take the cable car to see more of Medellin from a higher vantage point.  We thought we were just hopping onto a tourist type cable car.  Could not have been more wrong.  Again, with the same innovative thought, the city expanded its public transportation grid to include cable cars.  The one we were on had five stops as it went up and down steep hills/mini-mountains. I have ever seen anything like this and once I saw the city’s terrain from above, I realized how ingenious this truly was as it connected communities together in a span of minutes opposed to 45 minutes of tiresome trekking.

Our local guide from Casa Kolacho, not more than 25 years old, spoke poetically in Spanish about how everyone says that the walls have ears.  In Comuna 13, he argued, the walls talk.  They tell the story of the past and of the future.  Of the pain and suffering and of the world the citizens want to create.  His message was one of hope and pride, but with undertones of sadness and concern.  Not from living there, but because he knows that his area has an incredibly bad reputation to overcome.  His task was to spread the word and to help change the stigma associated with Colombia, especially Medellin.  We all left with a new perspective of this area and immensely impressed with how the community rallied, using art and music as a vehicle for transformation.  If you find yourself in Colombia, this is an area not to be missed.

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