El Alcazar

After a sleep in, our day started at about midday when we left for a communa 13 tour. Our guide was younger than me, but having grown up in this suburb was able to explain its story very effectively. Communa 13 is essentially a favela that developed during the late 80s in response to guerilla groups kidnapping and killing farmers in the countryside. For safety, many were forced into the cities but without money or a way to make a living, they had to build their houses themselves on the hills, where no one else wanted to live. Eventually, however, the different communist guerilla groups followed them into the city and continued to reak havoc. The result was one of the deadliest areas in all of South America. The guerilla groups fought amongst themselves, often catching civilians in the cross fire, as well as kidnapped people for ransom money. It was so extreme that you needed permission from each group if you were to try and transfer into another groups region. Though, despite having family in other parts, most would never try as they could be shot just for approaching the other groups' borders. Our guide continued to explain life under this regime before then explaining how the colombian government finally expelled the groups in 2006. Although most of us hoped the story would improve here, it only continued to spiral. After a failed first attempt by the army to rid the groups, they then hired private armed forces to expell the groups. However, these groups were relentless in their killings and often killed civilians and wrote them off as guerilla fighters in order to cash a bigger cheque from the government. This once again meant that the major victims were the people who lived within the commune and were simple citizens trying to find better lives for their families. It was crazy to hear these stories from someone younger than me that grew up in some tumultuous times. After we heard these stories and saw the dark side of the suburb, our guide then tried to explain how in just a couple of decades this region of medellin was able to transform into a tourist hub of the whole country. He explained how they used art in the form of graffiti and murals to represent their strength and their story. Before long, as the suburb also became safe, people travelled far and wide to see the artwork. Now, it is known as the artistic soul of colombia. After the tour ended, we continued to walk around the suburb, into the busier and more touristy areas. We admired the art and saw what the locals were selling. After some time, we figured it was time to head back to the hostel. Daniel and Kat both extended their stay by a night, so we were keen to have some drinks with them on the rooftop. Sarah and Kat had an early night while Daniel and I met some guys and headed to the clubs once again. Though, we were far less keen on dancing tonight, so settled for some beers in the seated area out the front. We stayed here for a few hours and headed home at about 2:30/3am as I had a very early morning to prepare for El Penol.Read more