We have signed up for the AirBnB experience "Communa 13: From Violence to Innovation", so on this sunny Tuesday we eat a late breakfast and make our way to Centro to meet our group.
Sebastián, the tour organizer, has told us to meet in front of Candelaria’s Church. Since we arrive a little early we sit a few minutes inside, then outside we meet Steve from Idaho and Suhail from Toronto. Sebatián soon arrives and leads the four of us through Centro, explaining the cultural center, Botero Plaza and the museum in the context of what it was like 25+ years ago when the county was at war between the drug lords, the paramilitary and the government.
Sebastián, the tour organizer, has told us to meet in front of Candelaria’s Church. Since we arrive a little early we sit a few minutes inside, then outside we meet Steve from Idaho and Suhail from Toronto. Sebatián soon arrives and leads the four of us through Centro, explaining the cultural center, Botero Plaza and the museum in the context of what it was like 25+ years ago when the county was at war between the drug lords, the paramilitary and the government.
Sebastián walks us to a Salon Malaga, a coffee shop started in 1957 (a very good year). The owner is crazy for music and has many juke boxes throughout the establishment and often acts as DJ. The five of us all opt for "tinto's" - black coffee's. On our way to the San Antonio metro station we walk by a corner shop selling deep fried balls of dough and cheese. This is not to be passed by! Delicious!
We take the Metro B line, where we travel west four or five stops then transfer to a tram line, riding the tram over the middle-class then poor housing. The tram also carries us over a polluted river. Sebatián explains a longer-term city plan is to build better waste treatment plants and to relocate the industry which today is alongside the river. The riverside would then have parks. We take the tram to the end of the line for a view of the city, where Sebastián escorts us on a city bus to Comuna 13.
Comuna 13 was once considered the most dangerous community in the world based upon murder rates. Residents were poor and the area had no real transportation or education. Drug trade, guerrilla, paramilitary, and gangs were the business of the area. Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel played a heavy hand. In 2002 the government conducted an operation with 1,000 soldiers to try to overthrow the Cartel, with many residents caught between the two. Many people were injured or killed. The residents put up white flags to indicate a stop to the fighting.
Comuna 13 was once considered the most dangerous community in the world based upon murder rates. Residents were poor and the area had no real transportation or education. Drug trade, guerrilla, paramilitary, and gangs were the business of the area. Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel played a heavy hand. In 2002 the government conducted an operation with 1,000 soldiers to try to overthrow the Cartel, with many residents caught between the two. Many people were injured or killed. The residents put up white flags to indicate a stop to the fighting.
Today Comuna 13 is still poor, but has evolved with public support and community action. The crime rate is a fraction of what it was. Public transportation and schooling have come to the Comuna. Escalators allow the residents easier means of getting up and down the hillside and to schools and to other areas of the city. Street art and hip-hop have evolved and are drawing tourists. We walk through the streets (mostly uphill) hearing the stories and looking at the murals. We stop for a homemade popsicle at a local business - one that appears to be popular with all the tourists. Then we ride the escalators up the hillside to see more murals and to interact a bit with the residents.
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