This is David. Affectionately known as Dr. David to me, my family, and close friends. We spent the afternoon together catching up. He is Colombian but living here in Washington and doing some amazing work. He is from Medellin.
Medellin (MED A JEAN) is the second largest, and most progressive city in Colombia. It is one of the most beautiful cities in South America. The home of orchids, parks and tropical birds, Medellin lies cradled in the Aburra Valley, bisected by the Medellin River which runs North and South. Nightlife, called "Rumba", takes place in many locations, beginning in earnest on Thursday night, and running "hot and heavy" through Saturday night.
Medellin was founded in 1616 and by 2006 had a population of 2.4 million people, making it the second most populated city in Colombia after Bogota. Because Medellín is located at 5,000 ft above sea level, its climate is
not as hot as other cities located at the same latitude near the
equator. The city's average annual temperature is 22ºC (72ºF) and because of its
proximity to the equator, its temperature is constant year round with
minimal temperature variations.
Most people from Medellín are of Spanish descent. The majority of the
immigrants arrived from Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Later, some immigrants arrived from Syria, Jordan and Portugal during
the 19th century. There are also some Zambo-Colombians and
Afro-Colombians.
Because of David, Medellin and Colombia are near the top of my "Must See" travel wish list.
For David...
Medellin - in three words: Eternal Spring City
I enjoyed meeting Dr. David when he came to our house. His home country and city sound beautiful. Say hello to him for me.
Posted by: Mira-Su | April 08, 2007 at 04:26 PM
The city looks amazing! I have only visited Bogota, but Medellín looks beautiful! Another place to add to my ever growing 'to-do' list!
Btw ... really like this little series of yours!
Posted by: Anthony | April 08, 2007 at 05:05 AM
Dear James Thanks for the nice comments about me and my city. Like most of the cities in developing contries it is very progressive and people are really nice... we have very handsome men and the some of the most beautiful women in South America, most of our population is mestiza or mixed with different races, so we dont care so much about that topic. Many of our families come from the andes mountains with strong roots based on the coffee and flowers production. Our international sister city is Barcelona (Spain) and we share a lot of the cultural, educational and future development projects with them. Finally the metro area has a total of 4 million people. You can see more details at http://www.medellininfo.com/
Posted by: David G | April 07, 2007 at 10:33 PM