Manrique, the tango neighborhood par excellence, the one that grew next to the tram, now has a tourist route. Yesterday the “circuit” of commune 3 was launched, a tour that begins at 45, at the statue of Carlos Gardel, and continues up the hill, to the rhythm of salsa or the moan of a bandoneon. There is a lot to see, to tell, say its inhabitants, who now have a motto: “from the neighborhood to the world”.
The idea is to leave the stigma that fell on the neighborhood, especially between the 80s and 90s, but that still weighs heavily. In those times, as happened with the city in general, the neighborhood suffered the ravages of violence, from a generation that grew up without a future, without a possible horizon. Then the social organizations appeared to face the moral debacle, the loss of hope. After many years, these organizations came together to tell the world that Manrique is more than a commune where violence reigned.
The tourist circuit is an idea that has been brewing since 2020. Social and cultural organizations decided that it was time to unite. Fourteen corporations, with the help of four foundations, thought about the essence of the neighborhood, that is, what it could offer the world. One of the first answers, although obvious, is the tango past. At 45 is the statue of Gardel, the Creole Thrush, from 1968. On that same block is the Casa Gardeliana, with its colorful façade and its gramophones.
At the head of the tourism project is the corporation Tras tus huellas Medellín, directed by Humberto Iglesias. “The idea is to generate a circular economy in the neighborhood, create community tourism that removes the stigma of the neighborhood, that shows how culture and leaders have transformed a territory that was hit by violence,” explained Iglesias.
The best community tourism laboratory has been commune 13, a territory that also suffered, although in a different way, the worst moments of the armed conflict. Iglesias and Manrique’s leaders know that this is a rear-view mirror in which they can be guided, but they are also aware of the problems that have appeared there. The capacity of commune 13 has overwhelmed, tourism has become massive, annoying for many of its inhabitants; the most serious, has encouraged begging and has increased audiovisual pollution.
However, Manrique’s can be quite similar to what happened on 13. As there, here it has been the people themselves who have brought the neighborhood forward. One of the corporations that is part of the tourism project is Fantasy Nights, which offers dance classes to the youth of the commune. “We are a very large, immense community that wants to show what it does. This will not only have repercussions at the commune level, but also at the city and country level. In other words, Manrique can show something different”, said John Jairo Castro, director of Noches de Fantasia.
The tourist operation, which began yesterday, is in charge of Compás Urbano. Through them you can manage the visit to the neighborhood that, as said, begins at the statue of Gardel. Tourists will also visit Café Alaska, a tango emblem, which recalls the Buenos Aires bohemia, so far away, so foreign, but so proper.
Later, the tourists will go up to the highest neighborhoods, where most of the social organizations are. There you will be able to see salsa dancing, which is contagious with its Caribbean joy, or let yourself fall into the melancholy of a bandoneon.
Yesterday, at the launch of the route, the artistic groups danced salsa and tango, wasting talent. One of the dancers, Ana Sofía Correa, said that dancing gave meaning to her life; she was a “misplaced” girl, who had no idea what to do: “Thanks to dancing I have gone to France, Belgium and Latin American countries. Manrique has been crossed out, but it is important that people come and see the amount of art that is here, that they see the beautiful side of the neighborhood”.
Manrique opened up to the world with the intention of telling his version of the story. The statue of the great Carlos Gardel, who was there in the darkest years, is the excuse to get to know one of the emblematic neighborhoods of the city