Silletas, Chairs that Creates a Festival.

Reynaldo Atehortúa is a short and solid old man with orange peasant's smoke and blue iron-stiff jeans. He is a 60-year-old farmer from Envigado in Antioquia, Colombia.

Every August, for more that forty years, he has manufactured Silletas for the Flower Festival in Medellín, Colombia.

Reynaldo explains how the tradition began "There have been flowers here since I was born, 60 years ago" he affirms.

"There where no roads and no cars, forty five years ago,Therefore, to carry a sick man down from the mountains we needed to make a little chair. And we carried him in chair to Medellin, then we started to use the chair to carry the flowers out and be sold, It is a tradition that we applied ,so that the flowers would not rot, we placed the flowers over the box and it was called Silleta. That is how the tradition began..."

Today, there are about 520 Silleta carriers, He affirms that flowers are the reason they have lived their entire lives, consequently they pay so much love to flowers and Silletas. "I fell proud to be at the parade.. I feel huge enthusiasm. Me, a farmer and the people in the city applauding"

The second week of every August Flower Festival Medellin has been the largest event of in the city, tourists and visitors come from all over the world to experience it.

By: Leonardo Suárez Romero

leosuarez@leosuarezphoto.com

www.leosuarezphoto.com

Spetial thanks : Julian Gutierrez

Courtney Scott

Mortadela's Cow

At San Jose´s downtown there is a common sound that everyone from Costa Rica will recognize. A popular "neeeeeeeeeeeeee" of Marito Mortadela. His name is Mario Bolanos Quiros, he was born in 1948, and lives in Los Cuadros Guadalupe, San Jose.

Even that he is around 60th years old, his emotional age it is 14th. Apparently, when he was 10th his mother died, which he never surpassed, and remained stagnant in time. He is over 40 years of begging in the streets. Ensures that sings to her mother because she is in heaven.

You will find Marito in Central Street, sited around a Cow ... "His Cow". The sculpture is a work of the artist Alberto Rodriguez and Carolina Rojas and it was inspired by a character that has been of the capital for over 20 years.

But even that it was inspired in Mario, it Belonged to The Cow Parade, an art exhibits of life-sized cows around the world. It was necessary the intervention of the mayor to maintain the sculpture at the city.

In a raining Wednesday of October 2008, Jonny Araya Mayor of San Jose declared to the press doing a little ceremony "Today I feel pleased to bring Mario this cow, for him to take care of it. This cow bellows to the city, but it also bellows him."

Mario replied to the press in energetic tone "now I have a Cow, It does muuu (...) The mayor came here to see me, he brings this cow, and no one can touch it" statement that continues over time as an implicit law of San Jose.

By: Leonardo Suárez Romero

leosuarez@leosuarezphoto.com

www.leosuarezphoto.com

The Metal Chuch

David Martinez does not care about the critics, long haired, wearing silver buckles and leader steal tip boots, gets ready for the ceremony, but he is not preparing his self for a heavy metal concert; he is ready to assist to the ritual in which he is going to implore for Jesus Christ.

In this Church, rosaries are chains, bibles are covered with jeans, and charity is received in a sharpening steel nail box.

"Pantockrator", which in Greek it means the ¨Almighty" is the name of the church. Located in a cellar, the only request to participate it is to be a follower of heavy metal rock.

"Many churches that have criticized us, saying how it is possible that there may be Christian metal, that is impossible" said Martinez in the middle of the ceremony, and Replied "But in my opinion God is the creator of music, all kinds of music (...) an all that God seeks from us is our heart"

Breaking Schemes

"I wanted a different church, and what it called my attention was the rock. Just for knowing that the preacher was long haired, that he shares the same likes with people, It was incredible! , that is why I?m here. We started to share the music, the feeling for clothing, for many things, and here I am" said Adriana Ardila assistant of the ritual.

Cristian Gonzales who play the drums and it is also the preacher of the ceremony explains "Jesus was able to demonstrate that as Jesus he was able to get to people no matter the condition they had, even a prostitute, burglar, whatever, He was able to get to the people, no matter what the condition they had. And even that in this time, the concept of the creed was that people could not get dirty he broke this scheme thru an action".

Gonzalez added, "We have broken this scheme that rock is just ?drugs and sex (...) thru a blunt action, and it is thru Jesus Christ , which is the only way to demonstrate that we do it is different and it is thru Jesus Chist my Lord"

By: Leonardo Suarez Romero

leosuarez@leosuarezphoto.com

www.leosuarezphoto.com