Colombian city of Medellin gears up for Flower Festival honoring traditional farmers
Colombia's second city is gearing up once again for its annual Flower Festival, an emblematic event that pays homage to traditional small farmers and their dedication to the land and whose colorful parade attracts nearly 1 million people each year, organizers said.
The centerpiece of the festival, which will be held from July 31 to Aug. 9, is the "silleteros" parade, in which men, women and children carry "silletas" (derived from the Spanish word for "chair") with elaborate flower arrangements on their backs.
"The inhabitants of this part of (northwestern) Colombia are proud rural dwellers. That's why the festival honors their legacy and traditions; the idea of the silleteros parade, which is the main event, is to make the world aware of their work and creativity," the fair's director, Natalia Martinez, said Friday.
The silletas tradition dates back to the 19th century, when people in rural areas used these chair-like contraptions to carry the sick and elderly on their backs.
Flower-growers from the mountainside village of Santa Elena, in Medellin's outskirts, were the first to use the silleta to carry flowers to the city's markets.
These silleteros gradually came to symbolize Antioquia province, which according to the Colombian Agricultural Institute, is home to 26.18 percent of the nearly 6,956 hectares (17,175) of flowers grown last year in the Andean nation.
Indeed, "there's a common saying: 'when the silleteros walk past, it's Antioquia going by,'" Martinez said.
Their emblematic status in the region explains why the silleteros parade, which will take place this year on Aug. 9, is expected to draw nearly 1 million spectators.
On that day, "500 rural farmers - 420 adults, 50 adolescents and 30 children - will walk down from Santa Elena with their silletas," the director said.
The preparation of the silletas, which weigh between 70-100 kilograms (155-220 pounds), begins more than a week before the parade with the task of making the chairs.
"The flowers are placed on the last three days, with a minimum of 20 varieties (decorating) each silleta," the Medellin Citizen Culture Secretariat's city events coordinator, Luis Marin, said.
This year's 58th edition of the Flower Festival will highlight the components of "tradition, the relationship of man and work to the land, and a vision for the future," the silleteros parade's artistic director, Carlos Guisao, said.
"We want the spectators to see the event from this perspective, as (a festival) that honors silleteros culture because it speaks to their past, their present and their future, because it's a culture that is changing and is as alive as the flowers," Guisao said.
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