This festival takes place every year at the beginning of August in Medellin, the city of eternal spring, and has been going on since 1947. One of the country’s most famous cultural festivities, it lasts ten days and features a rich program of cultural events: concerts, a horse fair, a festival of orchestras, a parade of vintage and modern cars, a dog parade..
This festival pays tribute to the silletera culture, declared intangible heritage of the nation in 2014. This culture is highlighted by the parade of silleteros, the region’s peasants, who carry on their backs wooden constructions adorned with flowers of all kinds. This construction is often a symbol of life and of the culture that bears it. The use of ‘silletas’ was once a means of transporting various products, and many families in Santa Elena (near Medellin) continue to preserve the silletero heritage from generation to generation, proudly displaying their silletas in the annual parade. You can see the people bending under the weight of the structures, and it’s no surprise when you consider that they can weigh up to 60 kg!
This year, Medellin’s streets will be filled with the colors of flowers from August 2 to 11, so come one, come all!
