Anti tour Medellin

This is not a traditional walking tour. The Anti Tour Medellín explores the city through what was demolished, silenced, or deliberately forgotten. Medellín is a city in constant transformation, and unlike other Latin American capitals, it chose to erase much of its colonial past in the name of progress. This tour asks a simple but uncomfortable question: what was lost along the way?

We begin in La Alpujarra, the political and administrative core of the city, at the Monumento a la Raza, a powerful symbol of identity and power. Nearby, the old train station reminds us how industrialization reshaped Medellín—and set the stage for the destruction of its historic center.

We continue to Parque de las Luces, once a vibrant market square, now a forest of light poles illuminating a history that no longer exists. Around it, buildings like the Carré and Vásquez, the EPM Library, and other modern structures reveal the tension between memory and redevelopment.

The walk leads into El Hueco, a chaotic commercial district where informal trade, music, and crowds expose the pulse of everyday Medellín. Here, fragments of old buildings coexist with anonymous modern constructions, reflecting a city built without pause—or reflection.

At the Palacio Nacional, a former judicial palace turned shopping center, we confront the transformation of power and space. Just steps away, the Church of La Veracruz, one of the last colonial survivors, stands as a quiet act of resistance against relentless modernization.

In Plaza Botero, art becomes political. Surrounded by Botero's sculptures and the imposing Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe, we explore how culture has been used to rebrand and redefine the city's identity.

From the Coltejer Building, a symbol of industrial ambition, to Junín Street, once the heart of elegant urban life, we trace how economic progress slowly displaced Medellín's collective memory.

The tour ends on La Playa Avenue, a remaining trace of the city's aristocratic past, where theaters, old mansions, and the Casa de la Memoria Museum invite reflection on violence, loss, and resilience.

This Anti Tour is not about celebrating the city—it's about understanding it.