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
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