Medellín Comuna 13

October 10, 2024

The city of Medellín has houses built up on the hills. It doubled in size over 20 years as people moved from rural areas. The hills are so steep that the metro system includes trams. Our experience today was to ride the metro train, the tram and the local bus.

The local bus took us to Comuna 13. A neighborhood once controlled by the paramilitary and now a vibrant tourist destination. A local guide, Miguel told us his experience growing up up in the comune.

Miguel was a small boy when paramilitaries took control of the town. When they heard shooting they would put their mattress up over the windows and hunker down. He remembers sharing with friends how many dead bodies they saw each day. The neighborhood lived in fear for years. The government decided to take control and sent tanks and military into the comune and started randomly shooting and killing innocent people along with the paramilitaries. After days of shooting, the paramilitary lost control of the town. Now the neighborhood has come to life 20 years later as a tourist town. It is filled with colorful graffiti, shops selling souvenirs and bars and cafes. There are escalators to get around this steep hillside comuna.

Several groups of breakdancers were performing for the tourists. Their strength and creativity was amazing. We stopped at a stand to enjoy mango/passion fruit popsicle.

To see a city that has been transformed from a dangerous place to one that welcomes thousands of tourists a day was amazing.