touring the bush (2) : bogota, intro

guadalupe ruiz cifuentes, from the series bogotá, d.c., 2002

alec soth, from the series dog days, bogotá

the silliest thing we can hope for is heaven, because apart from the sky, an atmosphere that sometimes rains and thunders, there’s nothing over our heads. what does exist is hell, we’re in it, here in colombia, a hell that’s getting hotter by the day. it wasn’t always like this; i remember my childhood medellín being all nice and fresh. sure, people got killed from time to time, that’s very normal, very human, but moderately. nothing even close to this bloodbath that’s squirting all over everyone’s clothes. cities have gotten hotter recently, some five degrees at least…this shit is burning.

not quite the intro you’d want on your country or city lonely planet guide. but hey, at least you get fernando vallejo. the strongest visual reference i have of city life in colombia is the adaptation to film of his “lady of the assasins” (la virgen de los sicarios). the movie was shot in medellín and antioquia, not bogotá, but for all i care, it could have been a perfect-fit switch. in its closed-shot, loaded barrel, murky, big-pixel sequences, packed with taxis, sweaty boys, citylights, church idols, cumbias, unpaved roads, makeshift houses, and of course, guns, the movie was medellín but also bogotá, and also nuevo laredo or itztapalapa. it’s the ciudad sin nombre, the nameless city.

guadalupe ruiz cifuentes, from the series bogotá, d.c., 2002

guadalupe ruiz cifuentes, from the series bogotá, d.c., 2002

in the past few years, though, bogotá has been very much making a name for itself, surprisingly, with a series of major urban works responding to major urban strife. at the time la virgen was shot in medellín, bogotá’s transmilenio public transit system was being detailed for inauguration in 2000. the exclusive-lane bus network was just one of the many projects – including city-wide bike lanes, public parks and libraries – taken up by the city's former mayor, enrique peñalosa.

guadalupe ruiz cifuentes, from the series bogotá, d.c., 2002

alec soth, from the series dog days, bogotá

bogotá won the 10th venice biennale golden lion award: “this city has in the last decades addressed the problems of social inclusion, education, housing and public space especially through innovations in transport. bogotá has applied mies van der rohe’s dictum ‘less is more’ to the automobile: less cars means more civic space and civic resources for people. The city provides a model for streets which are pleasing to the eye as well as economically viable and socially inclusive. bogotá is, in short, a beacon of hope for other cities, whether rich or poor.”

guadalupe ruiz cifuentes, from the series bogotá, d.c., 2002

alec soth, from the series dog days, bogotá


strong continuity in urban policy is leading to change. bogotá might not quite be a city-phoenix (yet), but it's doing much better, slowly rising from the ashes and the violence and the muck.

alec soth, from the series dog days, bogotá

next: bogotá, projects

* see more of these two photographer's fabulous work:

guadalupe ruiz cifuentes
alec soth, dog days, bogotá
both found at popular de lujo