Guest Entry: Medellin and La Feria de las Flores

[Marcela Colombia Travel Blog]

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Guest Entry: Medellin and La Feria de las Flores

I was about to publish my fourth post about Travelling to Colombia in
a month, and realized that one of the most beautiful festivals in
Colombia is coming up next August. Last time I was in Medellin at the
Feria de las Flores was in 2008 and my attention was inmedatly grabbed
by one specific character: el silletero.


Adam, from the fantastic Eyes on Colombia Blog was kind enough to
share a post he did with Colombia Travel blog by Marcela's readers,
explaining with great detail what a silletero is. So, if you are
considering to visit Medellin or to take a Medellin Tour, you might
want to save a week to enjoy the beauty of the Feria de las flores
that has many things to offer over its 10 days.

So here it is, enjoy Adam's post and remember to take a look at his
blog.


Thanks Adam!

-----


The annual Medellín Feria de las Flores (Flower Fair) is almost upon
us and so I thought I'd share the story behind an integral part of the
fair, the silletero.
The Old Silletero


The silleteros, or seat carriers (a.k.a. cargueros, or carriers) were,
around the turn of the 19th century, the only way to be transported or
to have something transported over the Colombian mountains.

Once the road conditions improved, though, mules began to be used and
thus put an end to the need for silleteros.
A famous foreign scientist traveled throughout the region at the time
and recounted his experience.
"Since there are those who regularly walk on foot at this altitude and
on such difficult paths for 19 or 20 days at a time, they started to
carry seats on their backs and charge for the comfort to sit on them,
because the mountains of Quindío don't allow for the use of mules.
They say in this country "andar en carguero" like one would say "ir a
caballo" and those that dedicate themselves to this are not indians,
but rather mestizos and sometimes whites...the passage from Quindío
isn't the only way one can travel like this here; in the province of
Antioquia, surrounded by terrible mountains, there isn't any other way
except to go on foot, when permited, otherwise the silletero is
needed.

"
The Modern Silletero

"Silleteros is the term used for the farmers who make beautiful flower
arrangements on a silleta (a chair-like contraption for carrying
flowers on a person’s back). The silletas are made from wood and have
a back plate and two handles for hanging the silleta on a person’s
back.The most emblematic figure of this tradition is the legendary
María La Larga, a silletera who carried children on her back.

María and her novel way of transportation convinced many of the
region’s farmers that silletas were the easiest, fastest way for
carrying flowers from the farm to the city.
The use of the word silleta became generalized and since the beginning
of the twentieth century, the term silletero began to be applied to
the people who sold flowers on Medellín’s cobble-stoned streets.

-- Adam Lee I Editor
http://eyesonbrazil.com/
http://eyesoncolombia.com/
http://eyesonportuguese.blogspot.com/