Faroles in Quimbaya

Here's a link to a video (kinda crappy, really rush job. Even had to do the narration myself, ugh!) of the lantern festival.

Unfortunately it got rained out this year opening night, not sure about the second, but I believe so too.

This is where the lantern festival started and has been copied by the other cities in Colombia. I haven't seen Medellin's yet, sure it's way bigger, but this is small town cool.

Too bad it is becoming even more commercial than the organizer interviewed feared.... this year Panaca and Aires bought up a block each and had their own, advertising lanterns - sucks.

http://current.com/items/76463842_lanterns_of_quimbaya

By bufalo on Dec 10, 2007, 15:29 in Friendly Talkzone.

Atrevido says on Dec 10, 2007, 17:30:

Couldn´t see it for some reason but looks like you got a lot of enthusiastic responses from those who could. So the lanterns strung on the avenues of Cali are from this tradition? This year they are hummingbirds.

bufalo says on Dec 11, 2007, 05:23:

Supposedly this is where it comes from. Some local ladies bought some lanterns off of a Chinese merchant ship in Buenaventura and put htem out for hte religeous holiday. Next year the garden club made a festial out of it.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor