9/16: Middling Medellin: Voluptuous Botero Sculptures & Gondola Ride

We had read before coming to Medellin that we needed to be extra cautious with our personal belongings in public places. Therefore, while taking the country's only metro downtown, we made sure to wear our backpacks in front so no slippery fingers might discover their contents. The Metro in Medellin is all above ground, so it offered a different view of the city. 

Popcorn is a popular snack in Colombia as are snacks in general, we've noticed. In each of the cities we've toured, you can barely walk a block or two without encountering carts with about 20 varieties of chips and candy apiece.

We first visited the cavernous Catedral Basílica Metropolitana that was built in 1875, using solid brick construction with about 1,120,000 adobe bricks. That made it one of the largest baked-clay structures in the world. In March, 1982, the Cathedral was declared a national monument of Colombia for being one of the major architectural works in the country.

We hadn't checked the Cathedral's opening times before coming so were fortunate it was open as I read later it was only open until 11 and then beginning at 5 to celebrate the evening mass at 6. When Pope Francis recently visited Medellin, one million people saw him. I am sure he must have said mass at the impressive Cathedral.

Even the rows of tall round columns were made out of bricks, leaving only the dark wood benches and ceiling to contrast. The Cathedral had 76 stained-glass windows of differing sizes that were manufactured in Spain and designed in France by Giovanni Buscaglione.

In all of our journeys, I have never noticed confessionals before in Catholic churches. I believe this trip will be different after counting so many in the church in Santa Marta and all the churches we will be visiting in predominantly Catholic South America! There were ten here. 

While in the Cathedral, I couldn't help but wonder about the church's role during Medellin's tumultuous years when it was ruled by the drug cartels. How did the priests provide solace and comfort in their roles as counselors to the community and families during those difficult years? 

Parque Bolivar in front of the Cathedral was pretty sketchy with 

lots of people struggling with life. We didn't feel at all comfortable sitting on any of the benches as the surroundings didn't feel  completely safe for visitors even though there was a heavily armed police officer in the trees. We've noticed a large police presence in each of the Colombian cities and towns we've visited. Sort of like two sides of a coin in that I'm conflicted if that makes us feel safer or less safe.

Public pay phones were a common sight in Medellin, more so than I can remember than any other place in the world.

While walking down the packed, pedestrian-only Junin Street, we couldn't fail to admire the gorgeous flowers for sale at stall after stall after stall. I didn't check the prices but jumping ahead to here in Bogota where I'm writing this post, a dozen roses yesterday were only 5,000 pesos, just $1.66, from a roadside vendor! It's easy being romantic at that price!

We didn't find the street very attractive except for the flowers. It was interesting seeing, though, the vendors selling all manner of drinks and fruits from their push carts and the number of tiny shops selling pastries cooked in small vats of bubbling oil. 

There was not one, not two but three Bata shoe stores in just one block on Junin! When I was growing up in Ottawa, Canada, Bata was a big name in the retail shoe industry. I don't know whether they still exist in Canada but the stores seem to do a commanding business in the less affluent nations of the world based on what we've seen.

Never had I seen such gargantuan avocados before coming to Colombia.

If one likes pastries, Colombia is the place to come as there are panaderias or bakeries on almost every block.

We were both relieved to escape Junin St. and sought refuge in the Templo Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria - Our Lady of the Candelaria -  Church. Construction began in 1683 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the church in the La Candelaria neighborhood had three naves: the main or central and two sides and two towers on the front facade.

Neither of us ever remembered being in a church where a parishioner, while sitting in a pew, was leading the worship at least for those able to hear sitting near the front. The open declaration of faith was a spiritual moment.

Another very common sight in all Colombian cities was the number of roasted or fried chicken restaurants and small stands. Their constant presence certainly gave KFC a run for their money.

The Palace of Culture was an unusual building with its two-colored brick design. 

No one ever needing sunglasses would have to go far in Medellin as there were vendors selling every design and color of them all over. But, as Steven cleverly noted, we never saw anyone actually wearing them!

The Plazoleta de las Esculturas or Sculpture Square was a crowded and frenetic central square in the city center in front of the local state museum which was our next stop. If you needed a sombrero, this was the place to come as there were men selling both men's and women's straw hats wherever crowds gathered.

And crowds did certainly gather to view (or was that ogle?) 23 large (I used that word intentionally!) bronze sculptures by renowned local artist Fernando Botero. You may remember I also wrote about his work in the Cartagena post and will again in one of the Bogota posts. 

Botero is probably the most well-known Colombian sculptor and artist as he is famous for his style of art where everything is painted or sculpted in over-sized proportions, making them look fat or voluptuous. 

It was fun watching people interact with the sculptures.

Adam and Eve:

The Museo de Antioquia aka the Museum of (the state of) Antioquia was located in the art deco Palacio Municpal, Colombia's second-oldest museum. Even as foreign-born seniors we were given discounted tickets and only paid $6 for both of us. I've referred in previous posts about the government-run class system in the country. We had never seen before buying our tickets an actual reference to the social strata. Those of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, i.e. the three lowest of the six, always received free entrance. 

I found this 3D work of mostly used paintbrushes intriguing. How do artists come up with such creative ideas?!

This representation of Adam and Eve were located in a large rotunda as we walked to another floor.

Botero, born in Medellin in 1932, was enrolled at just the age of 12 in a bullfighting school by his uncle. Though he decided not to pursue bullfighting, the sport inspired his first drawings and watercolors. 

At 20, he moved to Europe where he continued his self-education by copying the works of the Spanish and Italian Old Masters. He later lived in Mexico and exhibited his paintings in New York. We read that his voluminous and monumental forms were inspired by art history and Latin American idiosyncrasies. His first sculptures were done in 1973.

Botero donated all the sculptures outside in the plaza as well as all the paintings and additional sculptures in the Museum over time with the understanding that they be displayed in this Museum. What a generous gift by the artist to his city.

Botero's depiction of the infamous drug cartel leader, Pablo Escobar, being killed by police was painted in 1999. 

His Pablo Escobar Dead, was done in 2006 and given to the Museum as a "way of remembering that the past of the city has been transformed, that Medellin lives a new reality where personalities like Escobar make up a part of a history that cannot be denied but a part which we can deal with thanks to art."

I wonder why Escobar was depicted as such a large figure and the police officer as being so small. Was it because Escobar had wielded enormous power over the city of Medellin and the country for so long and the police had been ineffectual in capturing him?

Botero's Car Bombs was another political work showing the violence that has beset Colombia for so many years.

It's almost irreverent showing us in one of the funny mirrors after Botero's social commentary but so be it.

An amusing triptych for you Spanish speakers:

Never had we been in a museum where there were marked lines on the floor in front of the artwork in every room saying, 'Don't cross the line.' It certainly made sense but sometimes it was hard not to cross that line to better appreciate a painting!

This piece was called Hopscotch: Little School of Evil and was all made of chalk! I wonder why the latter part of the title was chosen.

This guitar was the final piece we saw in the Museum. It had to be one of the most unusual art pieces but I appreciated its intersection of art and life. It was made from an AK-47 that had been used by one of the guerrillas in Colombia's recent armed conflict. According to the Spanish-language sign, IF I understood it correctly, the art work was a symbol of the possibility of the transformation from a life of violence to one of peace.

Gloria: We saw so many fruit carts while walking through Medellin but we were unfamiliar with several of the fruits. Wish you were here with us and could tell us what we've seen and are still seeing that we don't recognize!

Steven had had his eye on donuts all day and finally bought himself one! It looked like a plain sugar one but, like most rolls and pastries that are filled with something, it was filled with some sort of jam.

We spent considerable effort getting to Jardin Botanico by public transportation but we were both very disappointed by the gardens. We found them a huge waste of time as they were small for such a huge city and had few displays worth noting, at least for us. You must know that's the case where even I only took these three photos!

Lisa: This photo is for you as Steven and I know you're a big Paul McCartney fan! Hope you enjoy his NY concert.

Our final stop for the day was a ride on Medellin's cable system,  the only metro system in Colombia and a point of understandable pride for its residents. Arguably, the city's greatest idea was to incorporate the metro cable system, i.e. aerial trams or gondolas, with the public transport network so as to connect the city’s poorer slums in the hills high above the city to the city-at-large.

When that was done, city officials dramatically improved the economic prospects for thousands of residents in poor neighborhoods. It also greatly reduced the time it took those citizens to get to jobs or potential employers in the valley below, which in turn reduced crime in what used to be some of the most violent parts in the city. 

This investment in poorer communities wasn't only the primary means of transport to the residents nearby, but it also unintentionally became a major tourist attraction, since the hillside communities offered some of the best views of the city.

I am sure you can tell how magnificent the views as we climbed higher and higher over the city. Since the day was so sunny, we were blessed with remarkable views. The downside was there was very little ventilation in the six-seat gondolas so it got pretty uncomfortable, the longer we were in it.

The gondola was free for all up to the last station, Santo Domingo, the area containing the highest slums.  We decided to wait to walk around the area after ascending even further up the hills to Parque Arvi on another gondola.

From Santa Domingo we began our final ascent up the mountain, an other 25-minute ride.

Going right over Santa Domingo, a neighborhood carved into the mountain, we were able to see one home connected to or right on top of another. It was where roofs were held down by rocks, where there were no roads, only steps here and there to get around.

You normally think that the richest people normally live on the hills overlooking the city but the opposite was true in Medellin. 

We were well into our ride up to Parque Arvi before we noticed a smattering of blue homes interspersed with the red ones we'd seen up to that point.

Just minutes later, the terrain changed and we saw lots of trees and some individual homes clinging to the cliffs.

Then in no time at all, we were above the treetops and high winds buffeted the gondola.

A few minutes later, we finally reached the summit of the mountain and Parque Arvi. It had cost us only a little more than $8 for our return tickets - a bird’s eye view for a pittance. Parque Arvi was a nature park and reserve located just above the city with much cooler temperatures because of the higher altitude. Stepping off the gondola, we were immediately met with the Mercado Arvi or Arvi Market!

I was only just able to resist the strawberries almost swimming in chocolate!

A large floral arrangement in honor of the pope's recent visit to Medellin.

We'd expected there would be trails to walk around up top but we didn't spot any, unfortunately. If Steven had ventured any further, he would have fallen off the mountain!

There were a few moderately interesting points of interest. This was a recreated indigenous person's home which represented the type of house built 2,000 years ago. It had a cone roof, dirt floor and walls built by interweaving wooden materials that were then coated with a layer of clay soil mixed with a vegetable binder. 

Ceramic pottery shards discovered in many layers of soil:

We could see no reason to linger so we took the gondola to the Santo Domingo station. For us, the chance to enjoy the gondola ride outweighed the limited sights at the top.

A few scenes from our stop in Santo Domingo follow. It wasn't, either, an area that caught our fancy but perhaps we didn't explore far enough to give the community a chance. There was lots of traffic on narrow streets, no stores we felt like wasting money in and lots of small, packed restaurants and wall to wall people probably because of the approaching dinner hour.

After a much-needed rest back at our hostel, we walked over to Kristina's in a far quieter neighborhood. Kristina was the delightful woman we'd met just the previous evening. 

We found a great place to have dinner and she regaled us with some of her travel adventures from her solo around the world trip and her life back in Germany. We'd hoped to meet up again while she also visits many of the same cities in other parts of South America but, unfortunately, our paths just miss each other. What a shame as we so enjoyed her company. Thanks, Kristina, for showing us whatsapp and so many other useful travel tips! I look forward to following your journey. Happy traveling and please keep in touch. 

Posted on September 22nd, 2017, from Bogota, Colombia.