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A night view of Medellín downtown. MedellinInfo.com!



 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Medellín is the second largest city of Colombia. According to DANE, in 2005 the city had 2,223,078 inhabitants and 3,312,165 in its Metropolitan Area. It is not only one of the main industrial and commercial centers of Colombia, but it is also noticeable and influential in the north of South America. Medellín is bigger than capitals like Quito (Ecuador) that has a population of 1,980,478 according to INDEC and 2,215,820 in its MA and twice bigger than Panama City that has a population of 813,097 inhabitants and 1,206,792 in its MA. It has the similar population of Caracas (Venezuela) that has 3.205.463 according to INE.


A city of universities, international conventions, professional medicine, flowers production for export and technology. It is known as the City of the Everlasting Spring.


Medellín is a metropoli of parks, orchids, tropical birds and modern architecture. It is famous for its nightlife called Rumba and the welcoming character of its people, known as the Paisas.


The modern Metro de Medellín runs the city from north to south in its Lane A and from downtown to the west in its Lane B. It has also the Metro Cable that provides a great view to the Andean Aburrá Valley.


A powerful center of textile production, Medellín is a main spot in South America for shoping, especially for its low cost and modern transport. Its 1,600 meters above the sea level gives it one of the best climates in all the Andes ranges of continent.


Once the headquarters of infamous mafia lord Pablo Escobar, the city has improved in security and became a safe destiny of national and international tourism.

 

 


 

Generalities


 

Medellín is located Latitude 6º13'55" North and Longitude 75º34'0" West in the Tropic. It is on one of the most northern valleys of the South American Andes known as Aburrá. It is the provincial capital of the State of Antioquia.


It has an altitude of 1,538 meters up the sea level and the average temperature goes from 16°C to 28°C most time of the year.


Medellín is located at 399 kilometers at the north-west of Bogotá; 456 kilometers at the north of Cali; 679 kilometers at the south of Barranquilla; 581 kilometers at the north of Popayán; 856 kilometers at the north of San Juan de Pasto and 1,287 kilometers at the north of Quito (Ecuador).


Medellín has an area of 380,54 Km2. According to DANE, in 2005 the city had 2,223,078 inhabitants and 3,312,165 in its Metropolitan Area.

 

 


 


 

News from Medellín

Ciudad Don Bosco, a safe place for street children in Medellín


 

Surely worst than the long Colombian conflict, it is the reality of its street children in the biggest cities. The Gamín (street boy in Colombian idioms), became almost a traditional character. Even if some people and groups complain of the lack of more definitive projects to end the problem of unprotected children in the Colombian streets, it is possible to find a good list of institutions, private and officials, doing something. The problem stands in the same conflict. Only the growing number of displaced farm families, fleeing from war-zones and taking refuse in the cities, is a definitive source of children on the streets with all its consequences.

As Christmas is time associated with childhood, it is a good time to dedicate our blog to the reality of the poorest children of Colombia: the gamines.

One of those organizations doing something concrete in Medellín is Ciudad Don Bosco (Don Bosco City) a work of the Salesian Congregation. It is a real city for street boys, located in one of the most marginalized barrios of the Aburrá Valley, Robledo Aures (Medellín’s Northwest).

Abused children, street boys, child workers and victims of violence, find in the educative system of Don Bosco a safe place to stay and grow. The process starts in Medellín downtown with the Patio del gamin (Street boy yard), a centenary building of a poor area known as El Hueco (The Hold) – between the Cisneros Metro Station and Calle Colombia. Street children join the programs if they want after they are encourage to do so by the teams of educators that walk the streets looking for them. Several children are sent to the institution by the official Bienestar Familiar.

The second step is in Aures, where there is the main complex of Ciudad Don Bosco, in a real impressive view of Medellín. The institution was founded 40 years ago and have received support from national and international organizations to be able to attend as much children and teenagers from poverty and abandonment as possible. It has also a place in Amagá, a coal mines town at the south of Medellín where children are at risk of labor exploitation and school abandonment. Don Bosco is bringing the children out of the mines to guarantee their studies and formation.

It is a good time to join a good cause in Colombia. Peace comes from justice and concrete actions. Supporting projects like Ciudad Don Bosco is a good way to guarantee that Colombian children will gain a good future. You can find instructions for donations in its official page here.

You can visit the center as well. Send an email or call to 264 21 22. It would be a great place to visit if you are in Medellín.