Every August, Colombia’s second largest city, Medellin, explodes in a mixture of vibrant colours and tropical music, as it celebrates La Feria de las Flores – The Flower Festival. For one week a variety of events take place, and this year my wife, daughter and I attended the three most popular, starting with the Cabalgata – a horse parade that snakes its way through the city streets on a Saturday afternoon.
The Cabalgata passes close to our apartment, so just after two p.m. we made our way across the street to find a space along the side of the road. There were already many people there, some wearing the traditional Panama-style hat and poncho that are common in this region of Colombia.
Some people near us had a barbecue, and were cooking various cuts of meat and the sausages they eat here called Chorizos. The smell made me feel hungry even though I had just had lunch. There were street sellers passing, offering drinks, hats, candies, and even plastic capes in case it started to rain.
It wasn’t long before the parade started to pass. First the Army went by in full combat uniform with faces painted, chanting above the sound of rapturous applause. They were followed by floats from various companies sponsoring the event. Many of these had speakers blasting out Salsa music, encouraging people to dance.
Then the first horses started to pass. There were horses, and horses, and even more horses – apparently there were more than eight thousand in the parade. The smell of horses mingled with the smells drifting from the barbecue and the sound of the music blasting from speakers strapped across some of the horses backs to create a truly Latin feeling. I saw a few people riding bulls, and one man atop a buffalo! The riders taking part pay a fee to enter and the money collected goes to local charities.
The following Saturday there was a parade of old and antique cars. The procession started at one o’clock. The sun was beating down on our backs as we walked the six blocks to where the procession would pass. Luckily we found a spot under some trees which provided some shade. The cars were dated from the early 1970’s to the late 1920’s. What makes this procession entertaining is not just the cars, but also that the occupants dress up in the fashion corresponding to the year the car was made.
First to pass was a selection of old fire engines, which was particularly interesting for me as my father was in the fire service. There were many cars from North America, such as Plymouths, Fords, Buicks, Chevrolets, Mustangs, Willys – the old Army jeeps, and some European cars, such as Triumphs, BMW´s and Mercedes. All the cars had a sign across the windshield stating the model and the year it was manufactured. The procession lasted well over an hour and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
The next day was the highlight of the Flower festival, and the reason for its name – a flower parade through the streets of the city center. The parade was due to start at two p.m. We arrived an hour and a half before, and found the streets packed, with people queuing ten deep to see the spectacle. Fortunately we had access to the offices of a friend’s father, and therefore had a spectacular view from a third floor balcony.
The flowers are attached to Silletas, a chair-like structure which is strapped to the backs of the Silleteros – the men, women and teenagers that carry the displays. The flowers are grown in an area up in the mountains about twenty minutes from the city called Santa Helena. Originally the silletas, were used to transport the flowers to the city for sale, but in 1957, a man called Arturo Uribe Arango suggested that the Silleteros parade their displays through the city center, and so the Medellin flower festival was born.
The atmosphere in the streets was electric even before the parade started, and the excitement grew in a crescendo as the first participants started to pass. You can not imagine the beauty of the displays, and the amount of work that must have gone into their preparation. The Silleteros were interspersed with groups of dancers and musical bands adding to the tropical feel of the event.
Medellin is in the department (State) of Antioquia, and here they have a saying – “When the Silleteros go past it is really Antioquia that is passing.” The Silleteros, and the people of Medellin are proud of their flower festival, and from what I saw they have every right to be so.
