Flowers and the unseen power

This weekend has been Medellín's major festival and one of Colombia's most prestigious. It's called the Flower Fair and today thousands line the streets for the main parade of floral art. On Friday Olwen went to see the equivalent of the Cheslea Flower Show and yesterday we watched a parade of several thousand horses with their pasos finos or prancing gait. Many onlookers dress up like cowboys or cowgals. The previous week vintage cars had toured the city and the centre had lines of handcraft stalls. Charges have been dropped from the city´s main tourist attraction, the art and sculpture museum, and the papers reported that no one has been murdered for three days. Colombians are good at fiestas.

They´re also good at including God. Yesterday while walking past a worker wheeling a barrow he quite naturally said to us: "May God bless couples". And the young waiter responding to comments about the busy time, commented, "Thanks to God". There is a working assumption by most people that He is.

Secular Scotland seems a long way away with only its football season to get excited about.


Photo: Graffitti by a local vandal reads "God - maximum power".

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