I don't know how much you know about Pablo Escobar, but he was a pretty nasty guy. He started out as a petty criminal, stealing tombstones from cemeteries, sandblasting the names and selling them. Later, he moved up to stealing cars, and ultimately he entered the drug trade. In his prime he was making as much as a million dollars a day selling cocaine to the United States.
Escobar had a saying, "plata o plumo", "money or lead" in English. He would first try to bribe his way into power. If that didn't work, he would kill whoever stood in his way. In his prime he was more powerful than the Colombian government. He was finally arrested, but he built his own private mansion for a jail. He stayed there in comfort until the day he escaped out the back door. Following his escape, the United States government, the Colombian government and a rival gang, Cali, joined forces to find and capture Escobar. In 1992 the trio used satellite phone signals to track him to a home. They surrounded him and chased him onto the roof of the building, killing him and finally ending his nearly 15-year reign. Below is a picture of Colombian artist Fernando Botero's interpretation of the scene. I took the picture of the painting today at the Antioquia Museum in Medellin.
Before Escobar's death, violence escalated rapidly in Medellin. In 1991, there were 6,500 deaths in the city. The death rate has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years, and here in Medellin, Escobar's legacy as the most powerful, most vicious drug lord in the world is being replaced by a spirit of rebirth. The city is intent on overcoming its reputation as the most violent city in the world.
In yesterday's post, I discussed the education system in Antioquia, the department (state) where Medellin is located. Our group also visited a public school in the neighborhood of Comuna 13, traditionally known as the poorest, most violent neighborhood in the city. The neighborhood is made up of ramshackle homes that crawl up the side of a steep mountain. The mountain terrain has served as a way to protect the gangs and crooks from authorities. It is hard to traverse, and homes at the top of the mountain serve as excellent lookout points. Even if the police tried to make chase up the mountain, they would be spotted quickly. The terrain, while good for escaping from police, makes it difficult for people to travel into Medellin proper for work, school, and health care. The next two pictures are from the school we visited.
To solve this problem, city officials decided to build an escalator that goes straight up the mountain. Although the electric stairs aren't really for tourism, our group visited them yesterday, giving us a chance to see how people in Medellin live outside the ritzy neighborhood of our hotel. Two boys from the school, Francisco and David, guided us up the six levels of electric stairs to the top of the neighborhood. Taking the escalator was the most interesting thing we have done on this trip. It is an excellent example of a unique solution for a unique social problem. Students like Fernando and David are able to get to school easily. Elderly people are able to receive quality health care. Jobs that were once unavailable to residents living high up the mountain are now available.
Today we experienced another transportation solution in a different neighborhood of Medellin. In this neighborhood there are gondolas that carry residents to their homes. We rode the gondolas to Parque Biblioteca España, a new library designed by architect Giancarlo Mazzanti. The modern style of the library is in stark contrast to the sprawling red brick homes of the area. Also, they are huge. The gondola ride and the library were both incredible.
The electric stairs, the cable cars and the new library are all symbols of progress in Medellin. To read more about the transformational change happening here, read this 2007 story from The New York Times.
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