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WayPoint Santa Elena y Cultura Silletera

The silleteros parade, which is attended en masse every year by local residents and tourists, has been officially held in Medellín since 1957 and was born as a boost to the market for flowers grown by farmers who live in the rural areas surrounding the city, in especially the township of Santa Elena.
There, flowers were the livelihood of many families and today, grouped in chairs, they are the main cultural and tourist attraction of the sector and the District during the flower fair season.
In this article you find the history of this cultural manifestation, which is the Nation's heritage and a source of pride for all the people of Medellín, since the silleteros are considered living icons and representatives of the paisa identity. 
The silleta, the object they carry on their backs and which is decorated with flowers, is a symbol of the culture and tradition of the region. Learn about its history and the evolution of its use here.
Origins of the silleteros: a tradition with ancestral roots


The tradition of the silleteros in Medellín and in other geographies of the Colombian Andean region, dates back many years ago, when peasants and indigenous people carried wooden "sillas" or "silletas" on their backs to transport their children and families, groceries, parcels and other people who required it due to their health condition or because they hired freighters or saddlers as a transportation service.
The silleta was essentially born as a rudimentary means of transportation, much more reliable than mules and oxen taking into account the conditions of the Andean landscape: rocks, cliffs, swampy roads between the mountains, forests and bushes, among other risks derived from the orography of the Colombian Andes.
 
As researcher Luz Saldarriaga explains, “various factors mean that the freighter trade has been used in the Antioquia region. The broken geography, the difficult roads and the rainy climate are causes – apparently – for the implementation of this trade in the region” (1997. p.4).
So this work dates back to pre-Hispanic times, although to many it seems ideal to establish its origin in the image of a settler transported on the back of a Creole or indigenous person, as the same author explains:
“In the history of Antioquia, the job of the loader fulfilled a significant economic and social function. Apparently it is an indigenous custom that the Spanish preserved for two purposes: practical use and social hierarchy. It is noteworthy that upon the arrival of the Spanish, the indigenous communities had a hierarchical social structure, called Cacicazgos.” (Saldarriaga, 1997. p.4).
The emergence of the first silleteros
Originally, there were two types of silleteros: the cargo carrier, which carried on its back various objects from other parts of the country and the world (dishes, pianos, furniture, porcelain, religious images, suitcases, etc.). The other, the sillero, transported passengers and were known for their strength, helpfulness and ability to talk during days on the road.


In his testimony, Luis Enrique Atehortúa, a traditional silletero from Santa Elena, tells how the relationship between that means of transportation (silleta) and the commercialization of flowers arose: 
“The profession of flower grower, loader gardener, is derived from the loader of people, and at one time they were simultaneous; mainly the carrier of the sick (voluntary profession) and the flower grower. The reason for the presence of these trades was the lack of the main highway to Medellín and paved rural roads, as well as more modern means of transportation. Carrying people was paid when they were walkers or tourists.” (Saldarriaga, 1997. p.23). 
This is how the silleta, which continued to be associated with the transportation of sick or helpless people, was used by the farmers of Santa Elena to market their products in Medellín, especially between 1918 and 1976. The silletero selling flowers and vegetables became a colorful character in the urban landscape of the city center and some neighborhoods, where they carried provisions to order.


“In Santa Elena, the first intermediary and flower grower who used the silleta for the first time on a trip to Medellín was Mr. Braulio Ochoa, in 1925, and who owned a farm in the village of El Llano.” p.37. Another of the first to do so was Julio Grajales, whose family still preserves the Silletera tradition today.
As the years went by, the custom of assembling and carrying chairs full of flowers was perpetuated with the institution of the parade of the silleteros, who continued carrying the precious floral arrangements on their backs in chairs, but with a commemorative sense and for the occasion of a Once a year.
The first silletero parades




Although there is a record of a first official silletero parade in 1957, before this event was institutionalized it had a non-formal, spontaneous and self-organized version by the flower growers of Santa Elena.
Luis Enrique Atehortúa Ruíz tells in his memoirs that “the route of the first silleteros parade as I remember it left at more or less eleven in the morning, from the entrance to the Plaza de Guayaquil [… to Ayacucho. When he returned...] the flowers were already wilted and they had to throw them into the bins. The silleteros who marched in the first parade had to walk in the middle of foxes, cart drivers, street vendors and carts. It was not an organized parade because it was done improvised. That was the origin of the silleteros parade” (2011, p. 92).
It was then that later, on May 1, 1957, Arturo Uribe Arango, who was in charge of the Office of Development and Tourism, invited the first group of 50 farmers to parade carrying saddles with flowers and vegetables from the township to Medellín.
The idea was to show the particular aesthetic with which the flowers were organized in the silletas to be sold in the streets of the capital of Antioquia, an image that was inspiring to Arturo when he saw how these arrangements were unloaded in the Placita de Flórez; That is why the peasants in their parade were fundamental from the beginning when it came to beautifying and bringing joy to those attending.
This marked a milestone in the history of the emergence of the flower fair, since before its existence the format of the celebration was a livestock fair, booths and bullfights.
With this, since 1958 the festivities were moved to coincide with the celebration of the Independence of Antioquia. The Silleteros Parade became the articulating axis of the celebration and its path traces from there, for many years, leaving from Playa Avenue.
Evolution of silleteros throughout history
In this timeline, some milestones of the Flower Fair Silleteros Parade are summarized from its origins to the present, with key events and highlighted decades:
16th century.
The saddles are used to transport cargo and people by the Colombian native peoples, among whom there were distinctions of social classes and, therefore, providers and beneficiaries of this service. Later, with colonization, this segmentation of hierarchies would be taken advantage of by the Spanish as well. 
19th century.
Multiple travel chronicles from the late 19th century narrate how the silleteros made the exchange of goods and the transportation of travelers possible, in points of the mountain range that were impassable on the back of pack animals. 
Around 1840.
Don Manuel María Mallarino -Colombian diplomat- traveled recording his journey through the “rough” lands of Quindío: “the ascent (the trail of the Central mountain range) was done on the back of a man. That's what the so-called silleros went for, burly mongrels with tanned backs and muscular legs, safer than any beast of burden and, above all, more careful, since in addition to having legs as strong as steel, they had the necessary intelligence to avoid any accidents. disaster". (Saldarriaga, 1997. p. 10).
1957.
The first official Silleteros Parade is held, in which a group of farmers from the town of Santa Elena parade with their silleteros loaded with flowers and vegetables. Before this year, the silleteros had already paraded on their own, in an informal and poorly organized manner.
1960s and 1970s.
The parade begins to take shape and gain popularity as the main event of the Flower Fair.
1980s and 1990s.
The parade continues to evolve and becomes a massive event that attracts local residents and tourists from around the world. Since then, the silleteros have toured the world with their creations as ambassadors of Colombian culture.
1957. The first official Silleteros Parade is held, in which a group of farmers from the town of Santa Elena parade with their silletas loaded with flowers and vegetables. Before this year, the silleteros had already paraded on their own, in an informal and poorly organized manner.
1960s and 1970s.
The parade begins to take shape and gain popularity as the main event of the Flower Fair.
1980s and 1990s.
The parade continues to evolve and becomes a massive event that attracts local residents and tourists from around the world. Since then the silleterThey tour the world with their creations as ambassadors of Colombian culture.




Since the new millennium.
Although in 2003 (Law 383), the Congress of the Republic declared the Silleteros and the Medellín Flower Fair as cultural heritage of the Nation, this process had to be reformulated for 2008 due to changes in the cultural legislation of Colombia (Law 1185), which forced .
Between 2011 and 2014, the silleteros, the Ministry of Culture of Medellín and the University of Antioquia worked together to formulate a new Special Safeguard Plan (PES).  In December 2014, the National Heritage Council gave a favorable opinion for the Silletera Cultural Manifestation to be included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (LRPCI) at the national level.
Since 2015, the clothing of the silleteros has been made official due to an investigation by the Eafit University, according to which the clothing that the silleteros wore to parade was closer to coastal areas than to the way the peasants dressed in Antioquia. It was decided to change the outfits since then to reflect the outfits that the silleteros selected to go down to the city between the 19th and 20th centuries.
The parade continues to evolve in terms of the inclusion of new categories of saddles; Thus, for example in 2021, the Inclusion category was included, in which Juan David Gallego paraded in a wheelchair with an adapted chair. 
In 2020, it is held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, in-person attendance at events is limited. In 2022, it was held in person on the streets of the city after two years of limitations due to the pandemic.
In 2022, the silleteros of Santa Elena showed the Antiochian tradition to the world at Expo Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The participation of the silleteros in international events has allowed the culture and traditions of the region to be made known to the world since the late 1980s. During 2023, they have been ambassadors of the country in other places such as Colima (Mexico) and Barcelona, ??Spain).


This story was woven from Santa Elena, for at least 50 years of the 20th century, thanks to the people who had the cultivation of flowers and vegetables as a trade. Perhaps not even being aware of their effort, these men and women never thought that their work would result in the main celebration in Medellín and one of the most important in Colombia.
SANTA ELENA
Santa Elena is one of the five townships of Medellín. It is located to the east of the city and is 19 kilometers from the center. It limits to the north with the municipalities of Copacabana and Bello, to the east with those of Rionegro and Guarne, to the west with the urban perimeter of Medellín and to the south with Envigado.
History
The development of this region dates back to the settlement of indigenous groups belonging to the Tahamí tribe who were exploiters and merchants of salt in the region we know as Oriente Antioqueño. The Piedra Blanca basin, located in that sector, developed at the time of the conquest with the discovery of the Aburrá Valley. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the development of the basin increased due to the rise of gold mining, an activity that destroyed all of the natural vegetation through the process of removing the soil and subsoil.
It is part of the eastern highlands of Antioquia and the eastern slope of Medellín. It has a gently to moderately sloping topography, made up of low, rounded, well-drained hills; It is a humid tropical climate with mountain influence, with an average temperature of 14.5 °C and a relative humidity of 89%. The main hydrographic basin of the district is the Quebrada Santa Elena, which crosses the territory in a south-northwest direction and has numerous tributaries that reach it from the sector.
Territorial division
The Corregimiento is made up of 3 populated centers and 14 Veredas.
Demography
According to the figures presented by the Medellín Statistical Yearbook of 2005,2? Santa Elena has a population of close to 10,898 inhabitants, of which 5,298 are men and 5,600 are women. It is the largest district in Medellín and has a density of 154 inhabitants/km². By 2010 the population exceeds 12,000 inhabitants.


According to the figures presented by the Quality of Life Survey 20053, the socioeconomic stratum with the highest percentage in Santa Elena is 2 (low), which comprises 51.2% of the homes; followed by stratum 3 (medium-low), which corresponds to 25.7%; followed by stratum 1 (low-low) with 21.4%; and the remaining 0.9% and 0.6% correspond to strata 4 (medium) and 5 (medium-high) respectively.


Economy
The economy is determined by smaller-scale agricultural activity in the cultivation of potatoes, flowers, blackberries, strawberries, dairy farming and extractive activities for forest products. There is also a notable presence in recreational and tourist areas, beginning a vocation for tourism.
The economy is determined by smaller-scale agricultural activity in the cultivation of potatoes, flowers, blackberries, strawberries, dairy farming and extractive activities for forest products. There is also a notable presence in recreational and tourist areas, beginning a vocation for tourism.


Transport
It has trunk roads that connect it with Medellín and Eastern Antioquia, which gives it a fluid road connection with the main economic centers of the department.
The traditional communication route with the township is Medellín-Santa Elena-José María Córdova Rionegro Airport, put into service since 1928; The inter-provincial road network has good technical specifications, facilitating the communication of the paths with the main roads and between them.
Places of interest
Arví Regional Park: it is a territory of 1,241 hectares, which extends between the municipalities of Medellín, Bello, Copacabana, Guarne and Envigado. The park has an important wealth of birdlife, with 119 species reported. Another important asset is 163 different species of insects. Through its trails, lakes, forests and ravines you can practice various adventure sports such as trekking, kayaking, mountain biking and camping. Its tutelary position over Medellín, the viewpoints constitute another of the great attractions of the area.
Piedras Blancas Ecological Park: It is located 25 km from Medellín. The park has 2,400 hectares, of which 18 make up the Ecological Park. It offers the visiting public a beautiful dam, ecological trails and a great variety of fauna and flora for everyone's delight. You can go hiking, horseback riding, cycling, picnicking, camping, rowing and water biking, swimming, fishing, etc. It has a good tourist and recreational infrastructure.
Laguna Circuit: It is a circuit of pre-Hispanic and colonial roads that connected Medellín with the near east and the ports of Magdalena and Cauca, along which the ancient silleteros also circulated with their products to market them.
On this tour you can enjoy the Guarne Lagoon, a delicious canelazo on firewood and an impressive view of the city, you will also enjoy the great diversity of forests and all the stories, myths and legends that Santa Elena contains.
Festivities
Flower Fair: The fair is held annually during the first week of August, different activities take place there:
“Trueke” Festival: This festival takes place in the central park of the township, it is an appropriate space to exchange objects and experiences, the floricambio is used as the local barter currency. It takes place on the third Sunday of each month.
Moon Concerts: Monthly musical event that takes place inside the forests of Santa Elena. It is the perfect opportunity to stay in one of the various accommodation alternatives that the region offers.
Night of lights and colors: Myths and legends. In the village of El Llano it has become customary on December 7 to remember stories in a festival of dance, street theater and music.
Silleta Festival, Santa Elena Made Tradition: In the central park of the township, this festival takes place on the second Saturday of each month. Since 2011 it has been consolidating itself as a space to show the silletero culture, where visitors and silleteros gather to make a silleta, enjoy peasant music and traditional dances from 3:00 p.m. m. until 9:00 p.m. m. (www.silleteros.com)
From Sale to the Park: Craft, gastronomic and agricultural fair that takes place every Sunday of each month, in the central park of Santa Elena.
Arví Market: It takes place every weekend in the small square of the Arví Metrocable Station. There they find farmers who sell their products, which are organically grown, food processors and artisans from the region.

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