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All Colombia Medellín The Birds of Peace

The Birds of Peace

Two identical statues by Fernando Botero, one blown to pieces in a terrorist bombing, the other donated as a gift for peace.

Medellín, Colombia

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David Plotz
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Bombed Botero bird.   Diego Grandi / Alamy
Bombed Botero bird.   Diego Grandi / Alamy
The bombed bird  
Two birds and no stones  
Both Botero birds.  
  Roapolice
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
Broken Bird   drama00detours / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
Twin statues   mathes / depositphotos
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
Bird with tears   drama00detours / Atlas Obscura User
  pml33040 / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Medellin is chockablock with statues by hometown artist Fernando Botero, famous for his exaggerated, plump bronzes of people and animals. 23 of those can be found less than a kilometer away in Plaza Botero. But Botero’s most poignant statues are in gritty Parque San Antonio. On the right stands a typical Botero bronze, a cartoonishly fat and cheerful bird, standing squatly. On the left a few steps away stands the same statue, blasted to pieces, an enormous hole torn through its abdomen.

In 1995, there was only one bird. In June of that year, 22 pounds of dynamite left at the base of the statue exploded during an outdoor concert, killing 30 and injuring more than 200. The leftist guerrilla group FARC initially took responsibility for the bombing, and claimed it was a message aimed at Colombia’s then-defense minister Fernando Botero Zea, Botero’s son.

FARC said it was seeking to punish Botero Zea for not engaging in peace negotiations with FARC, and that it had only sought to destroy his father’s statue. The bombing came towards the end of Medellin’s era as the world’s most violent city. The violence had mostly subsided after the killing of Pablo Escobar in 1993, and today it’s one of the safest cities in South America.

Botero was defiant about the bombing. In 2000, he donated the identical, undamaged bronze bird. He insisted that the exploded statue remain in the plaza. Today the names of the bombing victims are carved on its base.

There are also a couple of other Botero statues in Parque San Antonio as well as the San Antonio de Padua Church and an open-air theater.

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Statues Bombs Birds Art Animals

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The statues are located on the east side of the plaza.

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Community Contributors

Added By

davidplotz

Edited By

Mitch Lang, Meg, drchrisstout, pml33040...

  • Mitch Lang
  • Meg
  • drchrisstout
  • pml33040
  • drama00detours

Published

April 3, 2018

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Sources
  • https://en.casacol.co/digital-nomads/the-history-parque-san-antonio/
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/06/12/colombian-bombing-toll-put-at-29/474ff5f9-cddd-4463-a989-331d6952f1c1/?utm_term=.900a3039d42c
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/12/world/bomb-in-medellin-colombian-drug-city-kills-30.html
The Birds of Peace
Plaza San Antonio
Medellín
Colombia
6.245502, -75.568178
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Parque de las Luces

Medellín, Colombia

miles away

La Alpujarra Administrative Center

Medellín, Colombia

miles away

Plaza Botero

Medellín, Colombia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Medellín

Medellín

Colombia

Places 11
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Parque de las Luces

Medellín, Colombia

miles away

La Alpujarra Administrative Center

Medellín, Colombia

miles away

Plaza Botero

Medellín, Colombia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Medellín

Medellín

Colombia

Places 11
Stories 1

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