Colombia from the Hip -- Pereira's Parties!!

Silletero

On Saturday, we watched a magical parade of dancers, musicians, beauty queens (of course!) and monsters go by, ending with the first Silletero parade of Pereira. The silleteros are famous in Medellin -- a tradition that began when Santa Elena flower farmers used silletes (a kind of support to carrying things on your back) to commercialize their flowers in Medellin -- walking up and down the city streets, throughout neighborhoods, carrying hundreds of pounds of flowers on their backs. Now, it's a world-renown festival in Medellin. Pereira had its first silleteros in the parade last Saturday. Stunning.

Miss Pereira

Silletero

Afro-Colombian Dancers and Musicians

More Dancing!