Medellin’s Christmas displays are world-famous, and for good reason. This year the festivities were spread across two sites, one in a park along a river and the other in an amusement park. We visited both, on two different nights, and found that both followed the same inscrutable theme. Something about Christmas elves growing flowers and doing other domestic things, as bees and other various animals look on approvingly. While we didn’t really understand what was going on, it did feel very Christmasy, which felt right after not seeing either of our parents’ in the last three years. It’s not exactly “home for the holidays”, but it was nice to have a little bit of home come to us, and to lean into the holiday spirit a little.
Anyway, the first night we went to the amusement park. Guards checked us at the entrance, and a random guy asked for a picture with us, which hasn’t happened for a while. There were also promo ladies giving out “tasting” shots of rum and aguardiente.
The lights were arranged along a path that ringed a lake, light displays interspersed with vendors selling micheladas and grilled meats and fried doughs. The host park made occasional appearances, like the rogue T-rex poking its head out of the bushes. Probably our favorite were the mesmerizing squid-like hanging lights, which slowly shifted colors and waved in the light breeze.
So that was fun. Day two we went to the river, which featured more domestic themes. We were more taken with the reflections of the light show over the river. There were also some strong shout-outs to the medical staff that everyone is so grateful to these days, like the nurse by the nativity scene, and a whole big blue elf hospital. “Gracias por cuidar nuestra vida” indeed!
A Merry belated Christmas to all! Even though this was actually well before Christmas. 🙂