| Bolívar | |
|---|---|
The park from the north side. |
|
| Location | Villanueva, Medellín |
| Area | 14,400 m² |
| Created | 1892 |
| Operated by | Municipio de Medellín |
| Status | Public, open all year |
The Park of Bolívar (Parque de Bolívar) or Bolívar Park (Parque Bolívar), as it is popularly known, is a colombian urban park in Medellín, Antioquia. The park was inaugurated in 1892 and named in honor of the liberator Simón Bolívar, and until 1923 the park has an equestrian statue in its center designed by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Anderlini and founded by the Italian sculptor Eugenio Maccagnani.
The park is equivalent to two blocks, with approximately 14,400 m² in area divided between green and paved areas, and has a varied flora, with native trees. This urban space is a symbolic site of the city, with historical and cultural symbolism, which the different generations as one of the main meeting places. Around it are located several cultural sites of the city: at the north side the Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellín, and at the southeastern coast is the Lido Theater, run by Ballet Folklórico de Antioquia. Also can be appreciated some old houses in the former luxury residential sector of the city center. All the first three Sundays of each month at 11:15 a.m. the Banda Sinfónica Universidad de Antioquia offers their traditional Sunday open-air concert, and the first Saturday of each month, the traditional market of San Alejo.[1]
The Bolívar Park is located in the neighborhood of Villanueva, in the downtown area of Medellín. Some avenues converge nearby the park extremes, they all are named after places and events related to the freedom: the calles are Perú and Bolivia, and the carreras are Venezuela and Ecuador, nations liberated by Bolívar, other two streets are Caracas and La Paz, the latter passes just the rear of the cathedral. Also, a carrera is Junín, one of the more traditional shopping town which ends in the south side of the park, is named in memory of the battle of the same name.[2]
The nearby streets have mixed usage as housing, business, trade and service merge over there. Traditionally, the park has been a place for meetings and cultural events, such the Retreta Dominical ó del Parque (Sundays open-air concert), with more than 100 years and held by the Banda Sinfónica Universidad de Antioquia at the first three Sundays of the month at 11:15 a.m. Also, there is the Crafts Fair of San Alejo, which takes place the first Saturday of each month.[1] Moreover, the park has often storytelling, street theatre and others.