Twenty years ago, Medellin was the most dangerous city in the world. If you’ve watched Narcos at all, you can be reminded of that. But, man is it hard to believe now. What they have done to turn this city around is incredible. Makes you think…if Medellin, Colombia can do it, McDonald’s should be able to, right? HA!
I feel like it’s my responsibility after traveling and living in this city to be an advocate to change the perception of Medellin. After meeting people that grew up here and were affected by the violence, to hear about grenades going off near the metro or bombs in restaurants…and that those weren’t “big deals” compared to what else was occurring….to see where these people are now and the opportunities they have, you can’t help but have a warm spot in your heart for Medellin.
The people of Medellin call themselves Paisas – they consider themselves different (maybe more special) than all other Colombians because of their ancestry (you can look up more about that on your own)…but you can sense their Paisa pride. They’re happy people, despite what they’ve been through, because of what they’ve been through. And they absolutely HATE Pablo Escobar and the stigma the cartel has given their community.
I won’t get into it all, but below are a few things that might surprise you…and you should definitely watch the 60 Minutes on Medellin to learn more. Honestly, you can kind of relate it to our business…it showcases how art and poetry can provoke culture change and turn a community around for the better.
Some Facts
- Only about 3% of the money that went into rebuilding Medellin was drug money
- They turned the most dangerous square downtown into the “Forest of Hope” by building LED light sculptures
- They turned the area where homeless people squatted and did drugs into the Center for Education
- Graffiti and art transformed Comuna 13, the most dangerous comuna controlled by cartel groups
- There are Pablo Escobar tours that take you to his grave, tell you the history and go by one of his houses…they relate these tours to visiting something like Aushwitz – it’s important to know the history and what happened, but the tour that lets you paintball in Pablo’s house they find to be insanely disrespectful…so if you ever visit, please DON’T do that tour
So, Medellin is now the place to be – there are a ton of expats here and tourists are coming from all over the world…which is quite new for the locals to witness. The people, the art, the stories, the mountains and, of course, the coffee are all reasons to visit someday and to maybe change what you always thought of Colombia and Medellin, specifically.
Though, like anywhere, there are still political issues, poverty and corruption, it is NOT the most dangerous city in the world anymore…and it’s beautiful!
Sidenote – it’s also easy to head straight into the mountains, hike to waterfalls (maybe repel down them) and it’s just a quick 45 minute flight to the northern most coast where you can hike through Tayrona Park, watch amazing sunsets and chill in a hammock.