Last weekend, Norbert and I had the opportunity to attend
Medellin’s largest festival, La Feria de las Flores. We’d heard so many good
things about Medellin so we were excited to check it out—and the city did not
disappoint!
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| Flying over the Andes |
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| Antioquia below |
We got there around mid-afternoon on Friday and found our way
easily to our AirBnB via the city’s excellent Metrorail system. Can I just say
that their public transport system easily puts most American cities to shame?
It’s efficient, clean, and extensive. It got us everywhere we needed to go!
After meeting our delightful AirBnB hosts, a family full of
Paisa hospitality (Paisa is what they call the culture in the province of
Antioquia, where Medellin is), we headed out to explore the city on foot.
Without meaning to, we covered about 10 kilometers that afternoon/evening. We
found our way to the top of a mini mountain in the middle of the city where
they have El Pueblito Paisa, a re-creation of an old Paisa village, complete
with cathedral in the center of a town square. We wasted no time trying the
region’s specialty, la bandeja Paisa, essentially a tray filled with rice,
beans, ground meat, scrambled egg, chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), avocado,
patacones (fried plantains), arepa, and pork belly. Yeah, they don’t leave
anything out.
After dinner, we came across a fairground full of people
celebrating la Feria de las Flores. There was live music, dancing, and tents
showcasing some of the silletos, or flower arrangements, that are at the center
of this historical event. There was also an expo of all the nearby towns such
as Santa Elena and Campo Alegre with typical foods and products for sale.
It’s
the villagers from these villages that have been growing the famous flowers for
generations and making the trek down the mountain to the valley of Medellin to
sell their blossoms, oftentimes leaving at 1 in the morning to make it in time
to the morning market. It’s this trek that is honored in the Feria de las
Flores, and although villagers no longer carry and sell flowers like they used
to, once a year they honor the tradition by building enormous flower
arrangements and carrying them on their back like their ancestors did, this
time in a parade through the city. But that wouldn’t be for a few more days.
For now, the party continues!
We headed over to El Poblado, a super hip and happening
neighborhood, to meet up with some Fulbright folks for a drink. Tourists and
locals alike were out in full force and reggaetón was blaring from every bar
and restaurant. After ending up in a giant ball pit in the basement of a bar,
we decided we could call it a night.
Saturday morning was another beautiful Andean day. After a
typical Paisa breakfast of arepa and huevos with our hosts, Norbert and I
headed out to the botanical garden to check out a special expo of orchids,
flower arrangements, and artisanal products, another event in honor of La
Feria! Once again, we were amazed by the intricate floral designs.
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| lots of awesome street performers! |
From there, we took the metro north to make the connection
to one of Medellin’s 3 “metrocables”, cable car lines that travel up the steep
mountain side where families live on incredible steep streets.
From Parque Arvi, we took the metrocable out of the nature
reserve. From there, we decided to walk down rather than jump on the metrocable
line down to the valley. Life on the slope of the mountain was just as busy and
bustling as the city below. Although the narrow roads were nearly at 90-degree
angles, that didn’t stop buses from rushing or motorcyclists from speeding all
over the place. The weekend was in full swing; vendors hawked their wares, kids
flew kites, music blared, cervezas were consumed, and kids rode rides and
played games on a town square overlooking the valley.
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| being pragmatic about power ;) |
Further down the
mountain, children stopped us to take their picture, just as enchanted to meet
faraway visitors on their own street as we were to meet them!
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| Norbert showing the girls where the US & Germany are on the map! |
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| a salsa bar under a highway |
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| Medellin & the full moon |
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| Inside the metro |
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| Our bustling metro stop, Estadio |
That night, we went home with every intention of showering
and leaving again to go dancing, but a short nap turned into 12 hours of sleep,
which was probably necessary after the exciting day we’d had.
Since we awoke fresh-faced and bushy-tailed from our epic
night of sleep, we headed out first thing in the morning to catch an early tour
to Santa Elena, one of the most important villages during La Feria de las
Flores. After a steep and winding climb out of the valley, the tour stopped at
a hacienda or typical mountain lodge for a breakfast “de montaña”:
arepa, sausage, hot chocolate and queso freso.
From there, we continued to the
center of Santa Elena where they were having a fair in honor of la Feria (do
you see a trend??) and then to the main event: a visit to a finca de flores, a
flower farm! The family farm had been converted into a museum with great exhibits
on how mountain life used to be for los silleteros. We also learned more about
the flower arrangements themselves; there are several categories, and some only
use flowers native to their village itself while other categories allow
imported flowers to be used in the arrangements. Learning all about this got us
excited for the desfile or parade that was going to happen the next day.
Originally, we had planned on leaving that evening (Sunday) because we weren’t
aware that Monday was a holiday. But given how special the desfile de los
silleteros was, we felt it couldn’t be missed. So we skipped our flight and
bought bus tickets back to Cartagena for Monday evening instead.
Monday morning, we woke up bright and early to make our way
downtown to the parade route. Even though the parade didn’t start until 2, we’d
heard that some people staked out their spots the night before. Securing the
best viewing spot for the parade was clearly serious business. It was possible
to buy tickets to sit in bleachers, but we decided to risk it and see what we
could find on the street. Luckily, we found a spot on a sidewalk with a sweet
family. The father was a complete joker and had everyone around us cracking up
for hours as we waited for the parade to begin. Once it began, he and his daughters
whistled at all the passing parade people, urging them to give a “Vuelta” or a
turn—even the city workers picking up garbage. The parade didn’t only feature
the silleteros, or villagers carrying flowers on their back. It also featured
dance troops, live bands, clowns, military on horseback & police with their
dogs, city workers, etc. It was clear how much the people from Medellin love
their city and their heritage. I especially love how much everyone cheered when
the city’s recycling team walked down the parade route holding bouquets of flowers
fashioned from plastic bottles.
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| Waiting for the parade to start |
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| The beloved recycling team |
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| hiding from the sun |
But the true heroes were the silleteros, the men, women, and
children carrying enormous floral arrangements on their backs—some up to 200
kilos! Some of the silletos had elaborate designs made from flowers with environmental
and cultural messages. It was the 60th anniversary of the Feria de
las Flores so los silleteros went all out! They loved showing off their hard
work, and the crowd responded in turn with whistles, screams, and chants of “Se lucio Santa Elena, se lucio!”
(Shine on, Santa Elena!) and “Cuando
pasa un silletero es Antioquia la que pasa” (When a silletero passes by, it’s Antioquia
that passes!)
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| Los pioneros silleteros - the pioneer silleteros |
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| The amazing pioneer! |
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| El ganador absoluto - The overall winner!! |
VIDEOS!
Here are some more pictures, but most of them can be viewed in this digital photo album.
It was a very moving experience and I’m glad we decided not
to miss it. The parade was the crown jewel on an already glorious weekend exploring
a great city. We loved everything Paisa: the food, the flowers, and best of all
– the people! Antioquia—we’ll be back!
