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History Antioquia's capital rests in a valley flanked by gently-sloping mountains. The setting is called the Aburrá Valley, a name given by the Indians who inhabited this paradise of eternal spring before the coming of the Spanish Conquistadors. On the 24th of August of 1541, Lieutenant Luis Tejelo, under the orders of Marshal Jorge Robledo, overthrew and banished the tribes and took possession of the valley in the names of God and the Spanish Crown. But 75 years were to pass before the Spaniards completed their expeditions of conquest and their obsessive quest for gold. On March 2, 1616, the conquerors were able to pause and take the time to establish the fortified village of San Lorenzo de Aburrá in the valley. Thirty years later the settlement was moved to the site where "Ana's Stream" empties into the Aburrá River (today known as the Medellín.) On November 22, 1764, the Queen Regent, Mariana of Austria, granted the town the name of Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Medellín. Some 3,000 persons inhabited the new villa. In 1862, the city raised its head as the capital of Antioquia. Since then it has not stopped growing. It had been the hub of a network of oxen and mule paths which connected mines, villages and farming centers for cotton and cocoa. Gold first, and then coffee transactions continued to stimulate urban growth. Medellín approached the 20th century with nearly 50,000 inhabitants. In 1951 it had 360,000 and by 1985 it was, with nearly two million inhabitants, Colombia' second largest city and a vigorous manufacturing and business center. Antioquia Department Blessed by a privileged geographic location, Antioquia department enjoys all climates, from mild seaside breezes through the cooler valley temperatures of the Atrato, Magdalena and Cauca rivers, to the Andean frost on the high peaks of the Western and Central Cordilleras. Thanks to the vigorous efforts of its inhabitants, Antioquia contributes heavily to Colombia’s economy. Its dynamic and developed economy is textile and fashion-driven. At the same time, it is a major banana, coffee, gold and silver producer and its performances in stock raising and tobacco, bean, yucca and corn farming are outstanding. Acess Antioquia department is interconnected by land with the rest of the country: the departments of Córdoba, Choco, Risaralda, Caldas, Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santander and Bolívar. Tourists are able to move easily through the department, thanks to its excellent paved roads. Climate Antioquia's geography embraces every clime and landscape characteristic of Colombia. Plains, savannahs, lakes, jungles, rivers, mountains, canyons, even beaches on the Caribbean. Perhaps the territory's 63,000 square kilometers only lack snow-capped peaks. When to Go With a climate of perpetual spring, any time of the year is a good time, but perhaps early August, when the Fería de las Flores is scheduled, is the best time.

Medellín has become a shopper's paradise. There is nothing like a Paisa's affability and diligence in helping a client. Therefore it is delightful to go shopping in this city. Or to be gratified with attentive service, whether in a fine restaurant or at a neighborhood shop. Doctors and hospitals in Medellín have gained prestige for such triumphs as the first kidney transplants in Latin America. Each week charter flights arrive in the city from neighboring countries or Caribbean islands, carrying travelers who are in need of medical or dental checkups or treatment.

Equal skill has been given to architecture and urban design. The proverbial beauty of Antiqueñan homes is echoed in the streets and avenues and now in the shopping malls built in recent years. There are over half a dozen of the latter. Utilizing the valley's climate of perpetual spring, the city has built malls which reflect the Arab's historical designs for hospitals: in the midst of lovely gardens. The lanes and interior footpaths skirt fountains and waterfalls and terraces where one can sip some famous Colombian coffee or Antioqueñan Aguardiente or Indian tea or Japanese sake.

The Coffe

What used to be called "Old Caldas", in the Central mountain range to the south of the department of Antioquia, is today divided into three departments: Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. This is the so-called "zone of the Antioquenan colonization" that developed during the last century when whole families from Antioquia, exasperated by the civil wars which devastated the region, organized expeditions to isolated, rugged areas where they felled forests and founded cities.

The coffee plant adapted marvellously to the mountainous terrain and climactic conditions. Its cultivation spread to the point of providing the major part of the country's coffee, which is the nation's principal export commmodity. Excursions through the coffee region pass by landscapes and villages of great beauty. Traditional coffee haciendas, beautiful in their architecture and covered in flowers, emerge from coffee plantations. In the villages the buildings are also notable and form part of what is known as the architecture of colonization.

However, there's a lot to Medellin that the international community doesn't see. Medellin is also the home of Fernando Botero, as well as the annual Flower Festival, a huge event that takes place in the city in late July and early August. The most famous man in the artistic world from Latin America is from Medellin. Fernando Botero's work can be seen scattered throughout the city. A mural decorates a metro station; museums host his earlier paintings, and his transition to sculpture is represented by La Gorda, Adàm, Eva and El Gordo, among others: "His work in three-dimensional art was a natural progression for an artist singularly dedicated to expressing volume and mass." With such subject material and obese style, it is easy to appreciate the progression.

One writer nicknamed Medellin as "una ciudad con cuerpo": a city with body. The personification was explained using some of Botero's works, which are scattered throughout the city, such as Adám, whose giant back supports the city's challenged history. The Rio Medellin is alluded to as the spinal cord, which flows steadily though the metropolis. This personification could have been extended to the city's infrastructure, such as the main metro line, which runs though and over the Antioquian capital guided by the river

Festival de Flores

is also a major attraction in Medellin, and takes place at the end of July and early August. This huge annual event is opened with a "caballoero," where about 7,000 campisinos parade through the city on horseback. Groups or individuals may have a theme or motto, such as peace, but others prefer to linger along the route, provoking cheers from the large audience. Others gallop, meander or dance their horses of all colours and sizes for the duration of the parade, which goes on for about eight hours.