Circular Medellín #2: Centro Adentro

A night to walk through Medellín's history

On September 26 we went back out to circulate through Medellín.

This time, with a question in mind: what can we discover about a city when we walk it through the places where its culture is still alive?

That is how Circular Medellín 2: Centro Adentro was born: a walk through some of downtown's bars, taverns, and cultural spaces that, more than places to grab a drink, work as small vortexes in time: spaces where different eras, music, stories, and ways of inhabiting the city still meet.

We started at Homero Manzi

Our first stop was Homero Manzi, a tango venue that today is also recognized as a cultural house.

Tango was our first doorway into the night and, in a way, into the Medellín that has built part of its identity around music, gatherings, and the places that endure.

Then we walked to a completely different place.

Silencio: a more contemporary Medellín

In Pasaje Cervantes we found Silencio y ruido, a much more contemporary space, with a music program that moves mostly between jazz, new wave, and post-punk.

The contrast was part of the walk.

In just a few blocks we went from tango to sounds that speak of other generations, other influences, and another way of living the night.

And that is exactly what makes walking downtown interesting: there is no single Medellín. There are many cities living together in the same place.

Ubuntu: meeting the Pacific

The next stop was Ubuntu, a space closely connected to the culture of Colombia's Pacific coast.

There we tried pastel chocoano, drank viche, and talked with Miguel, a historian, who shared stories and knowledge that let us approach Pacific culture from a different angle.

The name of the space already says a lot:

Ubuntu: “I am because we are.”

And perhaps that phrase also sums up much of what we were looking for on this walk: understanding the city through the people, stories, and cultures that build it.

Lotus: a night that has been dancing for decades

From Ubuntu we kept walking to Lotus, a viejoteca one block from Parque del Periodista that is part of Medellín's nightlife memory.

It has been part of the city's culture for more than 55 years and has offered free dance classes for more than 23 years.

Walking in means finding another dimension of downtown: people dancing, music, memory, and a tradition that keeps passing from generation to generation.

In fact, getting a spot to go in is not easy: you practically have to book a year in advance.

And once inside, you understand why.

Diógenes: salsa, bolero, and son

The route continued to Diógenes, a tavern right on the corner across from Bellas Artes.

An emblematic place for those who find in salsa, bolero, and son another way of understanding the city.

Open since 1985, Diógenes is one of those places that seem to have stood still in time while, outside, Medellín keeps transforming.

And perhaps that is part of its charm: sitting down with a shot of aguardiente, talking, listening to salsa, and watching the night go by.

Bar Laureles: closing the night in La Bastilla

We ended our walk at Bar Laureles, in Pasaje La Bastilla, a street that still keeps that particular nighttime bustle of downtown.

After moving through different music, generations, cultures, and ways of inhabiting the city, that is where we closed the night.

Medellín as a journey through time

Centro Adentro turned out to be much more than a bar route.

It was a way of walking Medellín and seeing how a city can transform without losing its memory.

Tango, jazz, post-punk, the Pacific, viche, salsa, bolero, son, the viejotecas, the new cultural spaces: every stop showed us a different Medellín.

And perhaps that is why the places we visited work as vortexes in time.

You walk into one and you are in another era.

You walk out, go a few blocks, and find yourself in another city again.

Circular Medellín 2: Centro Adentro was an invitation to do exactly that: walk, listen, taste, talk, and let the city tell us its own stories.

Because sometimes, to get to know a city, you don't need to go farther away.

You just need to go a little further in.