colombia 2/3 – a city of contrasts

Javier recently returned from three weeks of travel in his home country: Colombia. Here are a few of his images and thoughts about his experience.

Medellin. A city of contrasts, dramatic ones. Like a lot of Latin American cities, this city follows the structure of affluent city centers surrounded by belts of misery (favelas or slums). Once one of the most dangerous cities in the world and home to infamous drug lords like Pablo Escobar, Medellin now has a burgeoning economy and a plethora of social developments like libraries, cultural centers, and a beautiful botanical garden among others.

A little history: in the 90’s the drug cartels had generated an economy of war, where sicarios (hired assassins) ruled the streets and controlled the slums. After Escobar’s death and the dismantlement of the Medellin cartel, the sicarios, who were for the most part young kids, had no boss, and were armed to the teeth. Violence escalated, with sicario gangs fighting for control of the city and the drug business. Access to the slums was very limited. Not even the police would dare go into them.

I find the developments that have been created in this city very interesting. Being a Bogota native (another city with huge slums surrounding it), I’ve always been very aware of my boundaries. I grew up in a state of fear – and going into the slums was unimaginable, unless you had a VERY good reason for it.

This time around, I found myself in Medellin, heading right into the middle of Comuna 3 (one of its biggest slums) by way of cable car to see the celebrated Parque Biblioteca Espana, designed by Giancarlo Mazzanti , a library that had won the Vienna Biennal.

One of the most interesting things about the cable car trip was that you could actually see the whole slum while climbing the height of the cable – its people, streets, and rhythm. Already many questions and curiosities were being answered by this ride. The mirage that the media had created had been slightly shattered shedding some light into my dark perceptions; there were no dead bodies, no one getting mugged, no guns or drug transactions in sight. What was clearly visible was the disheartening level of poverty. Roofs being held in place by bricks, houses on top of houses, on top of houses, all poorly built.

Then you arrive to the final stop atop the hill. And its not like in North American cities where the main attraction is conveniently located steps away from the subway station. Here you have to walk a few blocks to get to the library, and on the way, from a pedestrian viewpoint, interact with the locals. And you realize that these people are for the most part nice people too, just like you, that unfortunately happen to have a much less privileged way of life, but that also laugh, walk their streets, and smoke cigarettes in the corner while having a cup of coffee.

Keep an eye out for the next post in Javier’s Colombia series.