Travel South America: Why You Should Visit Salamina Now, Salamina, Colombia (B)

Salamina, in many respects, personifies Colombia. The brightly painted buildings so typical of the town are almost like works of fantasy. However, scratch the surface and another reality emerges. Behind the soft pastel facades of this national heritage town, evidence remains of the brutal class divisions that have scarred the country. The stories are everywhere…hidden in open view. 

Sitting on a bench looking towards the cemetery and the surrounding valley, it was hard not to feel enchanted. A rainbow hung in the sky above my head. Birds chirped and the buildings all around me looked as if they had emerged from a paintbox: cream, baby blue, peach and a lively shade of grey. The buzzing cicadas brought the vegetation to life (a curious sensation in a cemetery). Yet, even here, the evidence of the past wasn’t too far away.

A plaque opposite the entrance records two interesting facts. Firstly, the site is a Colombian National Monument. Secondly, a wall ran right through the middle of the cemetery until 1975. Its purpose was to separate the rich from the poor. In other words, class division in Salamina continued…even in death. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).