Liliana Cardona Marín
Ending the social stigmas that mark the Ferrocarril de Pereira commune is the main purpose that the Transformadores On Going (En Movimiento) movement has for three of the 17 neighborhoods that make it up: Matecaña, Nacederos and La Libertad, which are recognized by negative information reported by the media.
This began to change eight months ago, when part of the Transformadores group arrived in commune 12, as this sector is also known with the idea of bringing together the youth of the neighborhood. This is how the La Ferro collective was born, to which 100 young people belong, as Mateo Gaviria, a 25-year-old boy and co-founder of the collective, explains: “This will be the first urban tourist corridor in the Coffee Region that is linked to 30 activities to make visible the talent of the whole community”.
support is essential
To achieve the artistic intervention that took place in Nacederos between Friday and Saturday, the presence of 35 artists was necessary, 16 from other parts of Colombia. What is intended is to generate actions that inspire to replicate more actions and improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the place through employment or ventures and that tourists know the offer of products when they go to the airport or when they just arrive at the airport. the city.
Local merchants joined this initiative, Panelton with painting and Ceiba Rooms with lodging and food for the artists in this new hotel that was established in properties in the upper part of Nacederos. In this way, employment has been generated for some women in the neighborhood. There were 1,000 doors that La Ferro knocked on for this project and few were opened and everything works, from a brush to a ton of aerosols, because what is really important is that this sector projects and generates a social impact.
‘Let’s paint’
The Ferro Mural Festival wants to be the focal point of the National Community Muralism Contest, which are those meetings in which the artist is invited by the community, he is going to paint the history of the town, they tell him their stories.
On Friday, when this project was presented to the media, Danilo Bermúdez, another of the leaders of La Ferro, explained to the attendees that “This city or the great works that our grandparents left behind were made with treats. The invitation has no political, sexual or religious bias, everyone is welcome to do urban acupuncture, because dreams are born in the neighborhood and to change society you have to change your mentality”.
The Ferrocarril commune has a neighbor that cannot be ignored and that is the San Mateo Artillery Battalion. Colonel Carlos Salas also came to this presentation to tell them that all the initiatives had the backing and support of the Army, but the members of La Ferro, They thanked him for his support but they did not see it as necessary as it was an activity in healthy coexistence. To finish, Mateo Gaviria said: “We have been very happy with the response from the neighbors, they come and tell us ‘and when is our house?’, they wash the façade and even offer to put up the paintings.”
Cipher
25,000 inhabitants have the commune Ferrocarril.
What is your opinion of this activity?
Edwin Andrey Ramírez – president JAC Nacederos
“This development of the project has had a significant impact on our community, it is a spectacular way to show it, we show that things are done here that allow the construction of a social fabric.”
Eduard Trejos – artist from Quinchía
“I got the theme of local commerce, I painted the wall of the bakery, I went to take a photo and the dog almost bit me, that’s why I captured it. Next door were the chontaduros, because someone else sells juice”.