I was born in Medellin:
The city of the Eternal spring!
The little silver cup!
The valley of the flowers!
And for most known as:
The drug traffic capital of the world...
Very sad for me to have to write this down but in a way it's true, my poor city has become a very violent city but most people don't understand why, they think we are just mean, violent, senseless human beings that just kill for fun but in reality we are people just like any other living a very difficult situation wrapped in poverty, drug traffiking, guerriillas and goverment. Our people are happy and very friendly... in Medellin you know all of your neighbors and they are all like family; Our Christmas is like the most awesome christmas in the world (to me anyways :-)), we close down the whole block and all the families and friends are outside with stereos, dancing, even grandmas are dancing and partying...we cook a pig (like the turkey for thanksgiving here), we all eat and the party lasts from Christmas eve until New years' eve....one whole week and we celebrate all month as well, all the kids are off school during December so it's like a magical time for us!
Medellin once was one of the most advanced cities in textil industry, most of your clothes are made with our textiles (Including your levis), we have the most beautiful emeralds in the world, one of the best coffees (As you all know), we export flowers including orchids, our soil is very rich and the country side is breathtaking... Medellin is a city of about 2 million people, and let me tell you that for its size it's overpopulated...years ago it wasn't like that, but in the late 70's farmers began to come to our ciry looking for a future but they found nothing when they discovered that to get a job you need to know how to read and write somehting they never learned in the farms, and they built their own little houses in the hills that sorround the city (In a valley) and they would go to downtown to beg or steal for food and life in Medellin became a little bit unsafe and more and more people kept coming abd they built neightboorhoods of these houses made out of carton, and bags, and anything else they could find, with no running wateror electricity. They are now known as comunas. Most of them nowdays have running water and electricity thanks to hard working people but not everyone and not at all times...life is hard for them, their kids are starving and cannot afford school or even decent clothes so these kids in desperation go on the streets and steal whatever they can or beg or they can become "sicarios" which translates into "assassins" and they work for the mafia and they can make a lot of money...this is tempting to a kid who wants those brand shoes so bad to fit in, who just simply wants to eat...this has become the worse situation in Medellin and it's all part of the Cartel de Medellin.
I feel so sad for all of these people who get involved and the saddest thing is a lot of my friends who didn't really need the money that bad got involved and now most of them are dead. But behind all of this disaster this city is so beautiful and have so many woderful people and I am so glad I was born and raised there becuase I was the happiest little girl.. a very pure childhood.
I love you Colombia! |
