Just a few pictures from Medellín. It´s a nice city, and Saturday was el Día de Amor y Amistad, which meant the streets were so filled with people, cakes, and flowers that you could barely walk around. These people go crazy for amor and amistad!
The reason I wanted to see Medellín in the first place was really just because it is the setting of a book (La Virgen de los Sicarios) I´m re-reading. I read it for the first time about 5 years ago, and never imagined I would have the chance to walk the streets of Medellín (Junín!) and visit some of its many churches.
The first couple pictures are from the church in Sabaneta, in the outskirts of Medellín. A 40 minute, ridiculously bumpy bus ride may have been a little excessive just to see this church, but it´s the church of Maria Auxiliadora the virgen of Sabaneta, where the child assasins from the book ask forgiveness for their sins. After this intriguing imagery, I couldn´t resist:
¨Entramos en la iglesia, pasamos ante el Señor Caído, y seguimos hasta el altar del fondo en la nave izquierda, el de María Auxiliadora, la virgencita alegre con el Niño, flotando sobre un mar de ofrendas de flores y constelada de estrellas.¨
It´s more beautiful in Spanish (as are most things), but here is my translation:
¨We entered the church, passed in front of our fallen Lord, continuing on to the altar at the back left, that of María Auxiliadora, the happy virgencita with the Child, floating above a sea of floral offerings and covered in stars.¨
The final picture is from the Museum of Antioquia, where there was an exhibit called ¨destierro y reparación¨, which gave voice to thousands of people all over the world who were displaced or who disappeared due to wars, oppressive governments, and guerilla uprisings.
On that note, another quote from Fernando Vallejo, this one about Medellín:
¨Ya no nos queda en Medellín ni un solo oasis de paz. Dicen que atracan los bautizos, las bodas, los velorios, los entierros. Que matan en plena misa o llegando al cementerio a los que van vivos acompañando al muerto. Que si cae un avión saquean los cadáveres. Que si te atropella un carro, manos caritativas te sacan la billetera mientras te hacen el favor de subirte a un taxi que te lleve al hospital. Que hay treinta y cinco mil taxis en Medellín. Uno por cada carro particular. Que lo mejor es viajar en bus, aunque también tampoco: tampoco conviene, también los atracan...Que lo único seguro aquí es la muerte.¨
¨In Medellín there is no longer one single oasis of peace. It´s said that they rob baptisms, weddings, wakes, burials. That they kill in plain view or kill the living who accompany their dead to the cemetery. That if a plane falls they take the corpses. That if a car runs you over, charitable hands take your wallet while doing you the favor of helping you into the taxi that will take you to the hospital. That there are thirty five thousand taxis in Medellín. One for each car. That it´s best to take the bus, but not that either: that won´t work either, they also get held up...That the only certain thing here is death.¨
On that note, another quote from Fernando Vallejo, this one about Medellín:
¨Ya no nos queda en Medellín ni un solo oasis de paz. Dicen que atracan los bautizos, las bodas, los velorios, los entierros. Que matan en plena misa o llegando al cementerio a los que van vivos acompañando al muerto. Que si cae un avión saquean los cadáveres. Que si te atropella un carro, manos caritativas te sacan la billetera mientras te hacen el favor de subirte a un taxi que te lleve al hospital. Que hay treinta y cinco mil taxis en Medellín. Uno por cada carro particular. Que lo mejor es viajar en bus, aunque también tampoco: tampoco conviene, también los atracan...Que lo único seguro aquí es la muerte.¨
¨In Medellín there is no longer one single oasis of peace. It´s said that they rob baptisms, weddings, wakes, burials. That they kill in plain view or kill the living who accompany their dead to the cemetery. That if a plane falls they take the corpses. That if a car runs you over, charitable hands take your wallet while doing you the favor of helping you into the taxi that will take you to the hospital. That there are thirty five thousand taxis in Medellín. One for each car. That it´s best to take the bus, but not that either: that won´t work either, they also get held up...That the only certain thing here is death.¨
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