Medellín

Medellín is the capital city of Antioquia, one of the constituent departments of Colombia, since 1826. The city is located at 6°15′N 75°36′W / 6.250°N 75.600°W / 6.250; -75.600. With a population of 2.2 million (3.2 million in the greater metropolitan area) it is the third largest city in the country, after Bogotá and Cali.

The metropolitan area of Medellín lies within the Aburrá valley at an altitude of 1,538 meters and is bisected by the Medellín river which flows northward. North of the valley are the towns of Bello, Copacabana, Girardota and Barbosa. To the south of the valley Itagüí, Envigado, Sabaneta, La Estrella and Caldas can be found.

History

Through history Medellín has gone by different names: Aburrá de los Yamesíes, San Lorenzo de Aburrá, San Lorenzo de Aná, Valle de San Bartolomé, Villa de la Candelaria de Medellín and Medellín. The name of Medellín originally came from "Metellium", the ancient Latin name for today's town of Medellín, Extremadura in the province of Badajoz, Spain. "Metellium", in turn, is derived from the name of the Roman founder of the city in 75 AD, Cecilio Metello. The capital of Antioquia was named after said Spanish town in honor of the earl of that city, Pedro Portocarrero, who was the president of the Consejo de Indias of Spain at the time.

Like the other Colombian large urban centers, Medellín remained quite small until recent times, namely the postwar period up until the 1970s, when it developed into the nation's industrial powerhouse and attracted many rural people seeking work or safety from political and social turmoil. In the 1980s it gained notoriety as the infamous druglord Pablo Escobar's base of operations; the presence of Escobar's cartel brought a wave of major violence stemming from intercartel rivalries and intimidation; the city's international reputation suffered horribly as a result and it was known mainly for its seemingly uncontrollable crime rate and drug trade. Though it must be said that the vast majority of homicides in the city were committed by drug-dealing delinquent street gangs and bandits rather than organized crime. Following Escobar's assassination in 1993, the violence had decreased slightly though it has positively plummeted in just the last 3 years, and the city is currently enjoying a period of relative prosperity, despite the high unemployment rates and the increasing problem of people from rural areas who arrive fleeing the ongoing war among guerrillas, paramilitaries and the regular army. Medellín has without doubt the highest ever recorded homicide rates of any city outside a war zone.

Nicknames

Besides being the industrial capital of Colombia, Medellín is usually called Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera (The City of Everlasting Spring), Capital de la Montaña (Mountain's Capital), Ciudad de las Flores (City Of The Flowers), Capital de las Orquídeas (Orchids' Capital), La Bella Villa (Beautiful Village), Tacita de Plata (Little Silver Cup), "Medallo"

Education

Medellín is also home of many universities that serve mainly the province of Antioquia. Among the most important are the public universities Universidad de Antioquia and Universidad Nacional, and the private Universidad EAFIT, Universidad de Medellín, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Escuela de Ingenieria de Antioquia and CES.

Transportation

Aburrá Valley from Quitasol hill looking south with Bello in the foreground and Medellín in the background

International flights are served through an José María Córdova International Airport, located in Rionegro, outside the city and outside the Aburra Valley, thus avoiding the dangerous updrafts that render the Olaya Herrera Airport, located inside the city, useless for international traffic and large commercial aircraft. Olaya Herrera Airport serves only small, shortrange aircraft.

Public transportation is served by diesel buses, taxis and, most notably, a Metropolitan train, Metro de Medellín, which consists of 2 lines, from south to north and another from the center to the west. There is also an elevated cable car system, Metro Cable, which connects the slums from the northeast part of the city with the Metropolitan train. Medellín is the only Colombian city with such transportation systems.

Despite the variety of options, traffic in Medellín has become chaotic, as the number of taxis has exceeded the demand for the service; furthermore, the contamination produced by the diesel buses has become a major issue, most notably in the center of the city and the south part known as El Poblado. The city has no further space for the construction of new highways.

Festivals and events

La Feria de las Flores (Flowers Fair) is the most important festival of Antioquia and it is done in Medellín at the beginning of august every year, since 1957. This festival has several activities such as antique cars parade, desfile de silleteros (flower carriers parade), horse ride down the streets, exhibition of fondas from much of the towns in Antioquia, etc.

Other festivals are the International Poetry Festival (June), Myths and Legends parade (December).

Sports

Medellín's best known and most popular sports clubs are Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín. They play at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium.

External links

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