Today we began the day with a tour through the Siloe barrio of Cali, led by the above featured eccentric community leader, who told us (me + a group of 20+ architecture students from a local university, + A Ganar staffers Carolina & Diana) the history of the barrio. It was first inhabited by displaced farmers & "campesinos", and was never 'planned' in the sense that buildings were basically constructed where & how the people who arrived managed to build them. They are NOT structurally safe, and it is a shock that they (mostly) remain standing. Some have been wiped down the mountain with heavy rains, killing the unlucky that live within... They are mostly brick, though some made of more precarious materials - wood, cement without bricks, etc. They are roofed by corrugated metal sheets + rocks + black plastic. Despite the clear poverty, the region is notoriously revolutionary, in contrast to other poor neighborhoods in Cali & Colombia, which have succumbed to the paternalism that plagues poor communities - they seek hand outs & do what they can to get them. In Siloe, though, they don't accept hand outs, according to David, the eccentric leader that led our tour.
The above raw meat hanging in open air, without refrigeration, is a common site in all sections of all cities. It smells horrendous. Next to the stinky meat, there is a shot of the intense grade of incline that is home to Siloe City. Following that, a mural they painted on a viewpoint that was recently constructed: "I love Siloe. Do you?" - it was painted to challenge the political leaders of Cali, who resisted the viewpoint, a complicated situation that I won't get into.
Dorky pose at the new viewpoint park, overlooking the city. I was taken to a number of viewpoints of the city, and I must admit that this viewpoint, stuck in the middle of one of the poorest & most "dangerous" barrios, was winner of the best-view award!
It also boasted some fancy urban art, which I have fallen in love with here in Cali.
Members of the Siloe Drummers stopped by for a brief, shy moment. Their drums are plastic tubs, the straps that hold them, garden hoses. Next to the drummers is a shot of the kiosk in the new park in Siloe that the foundation has rehabilitated. The upstairs will house a library & a computer room, which will be home to community classes that are hugely subsidized, so as to remain accessible to the community. Next, a shot of the synthetic micro-fútbol field, the first synthetic field in the community of 75 thousand inhabitants. For those 75,000 people, each has approximately 11 centimeters of public space. Imagine that!
This is the oldest church in Cali, which is also home to a museum of indigenous cultures from the Valle de Cauca department region. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed. But the usual geometric, animalistic, spiritual themes that you find throughout Latin America, and indeed, indigenous groups around the world. Lovely.
Leaving the museum I stumbled upon a heart rock in the original courtyard. A good sign, I say!
Some more urban art from Siloe. Impresionante!
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