Comments on: Trip report pt.2: Colombia January 2013

By: Trish

Trish — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 02:35:36 +0000

I have only flown in and out of Cartagena but I spent two different weeks in Medellin. I loved it. The weather, the flowers, the fabulous restaurants….. just wonderful. I was there for a fashion design competition in Medellin. I was a judge and the competitors were apparel manufacturers from all over South America, they just had to use textiles from Colombia to be able to compete. I did not get much time in Bogota but it was gorgeous from the air, LOL. Enjoy your travels.

By: Isabella

Isabella — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:48:29 +0000

You should come to Cartagena next time! It is very different to Medellin and Bogota, and there is a big artisan culture present although it really depends on knowing where to look as in any place.

By: Grace

Grace — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:45:29 +0000

LACMA, LA County Museum of Art, recently had a exhibition of exquisite molas–the kind that is not made for the tourist trade. The pieces were incredibly intricate and time consuming. I’d never seen anything like it outside of art books.

The Fowler museum (on the UCLA campus) has one of the largest textile collections in the world. It’s a cultural/anthropological museum and they collect textiles as a way to get closer to women. That is, they say they are looking for textiles, when they actually want to interview the women making the textiles. Along the way, they have amassed an amazing collection of global textiles, which they rotate. Museum entry is free and parking at a nearby garage is reasonable.

BTW, Mark and I will be visiting ABQ in mid April. Perhaps we can get together?

By: Bente

Bente — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:55:12 +0000

Artisan good and tourists is a tricky thing. Some tourist stores are full of cheap mass produced items to the point it is ridiculous to even sell it in a souvenir store. But it happens everywhere.
I agree that a smaller town away from tourists are probably where you find the real stuff; woven baskets, textiles and wood carvings; all the things the people there still uses.
Once I was in the Panamanian jungle towards Columbia where few tourist find their way. Going there we passed a town where you could find a local market with some artisan products as well as the Chinese grocery store :)

By: Miguel

Miguel — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:33:50 +0000

A wierd tangent (counterpoint?) to your focus on artisan craft, I’ve never entirely understood the fascination with (read expense of) nature emeralds. Extracting them is very dangerous and environmentally unfriendly while their price is astronomical. Lab-grown gems, OTOH, are chemically and mechanically identical, flawless (for better or worse), easier to obtain, relatively environmentally friendly and cost a tiny fraction of what natural stones do. Those inclusions, while interesting, are mighty expensive; without them you could probably afford the jewelery you saw.