The 2020 version of the Flower Fair began

Despite the fact that Antioquia is on a hospital red alert due to the occupation of ICU beds and has been leading the number of daily cases of coronavirus in the country in recent weeks, Medellín celebrates its main festival: the Flower Fair.

The event, which began this Monday, will bet on virtuality, so all Colombians will be able to enjoy the caravans, silleteros parades, concerts and troubadours.

The main purpose of the event is to support the tradition and the silletera industry, which is part of the Cultural Heritage of the Nation, and on which the majority of the inhabitants of the town of Santa Elena depend.

“The moment has come to meet again around hope, flowers, music and the silletera tradition with all its splendor and grandeur. We are going to join, from home, in a fair prepared for everyone, with an offer of cultural and musical content and, of course, with the representative events of the Flower Fair, such as the Silleteros Parade and the Trova Festival “, said Lina Gaviria, secretary of Citizen Culture.

In this edition, the fair will offer more than fifty events, in which around 800 national and international artists will participate.

Likewise, this attraction, which is one of the most important at the fair, can be seen on the Internet or on television. According to Gaviria, there will be no access to the public in Santa Elena and even the juries that will evaluate the 517 silletas will see them through photos.

“Once the awards are given in the four categories, traditional, monumental, emblematic and commercial, there will be a very short parade and closed to the public, people will be able to see it on television, Telemedellín and Teleantioquia, on the page official of the fairs and through social networks “added the secretary.

Likewise, Érika Londoño, vice president of the Santa Elena Silleteros Corporation, reported that after the parade, the silletas will be taken to the city to be exhibited in various open spaces.

“We want to make the saddles and for the whole world to see them, but we ask the public for the favor that they do not come, better watch the transmissions by all means. Let’s take care of the silleteros, the fair cannot be a source of infection “Londoño said.

Another change that the fair will bring this year is the Trova Festival, which has already had its qualifying stage, and will be held in person for the repentistas, but without the possibility of an audience.

Too, the seventh edition of the traditional Cyclopaseo de las Flores, which would start from the Metro Stadium Station, will no longer be held due to the health emergency, instead, a photography contest will be held.

Also, another of the most recognized events, the traditional parade of old cars, which toured the city evoking the most commemorative models of previous years, will not be presented this year. In their replacement, these vehicles can be seen exhibited in five shopping centers in the city: La Central, Los Molinos, Oviedo, El Tesoro and Florida.

On the other hand, the Medellín Mayor’s Office indicated that neither the public nor journalists will be allowed to cover the various events of the fair, in order to avoid possible new infections.

“We will have an installed capacity in the activities of the Flower Fair. Our team will lead the City Events Operational Committee, both in those that take place in the urban area of ​​Medellín, and in the town of Santa Elena, traditional epicenter with our silleteros ”, explained Alethia Arango, director of the Administrative Department of Management of the Disaster Risk (DAGRD).

For more information, regarding schedules and events, go to the official page of the Flower Fair.

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