The story
Silleteros Parade in Medellín
Beginning in 1957 when tourism official Arturo Uribe Arango proposed inviting Santa Elena's flower growers to parade their silletas publicly for the first time, Medellin's Silleteros Parade has run annually since, closing the city's August Feria de las Flores. Declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2003 and Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010, it showcases silletas built into traditional, monumental and artistic floral designs.
The Desfile de Silleteros began in 1957 when Efrain Botero Bernal, administrator of Medellin's Plaza de Cisneros, organised the first parade at the direction of mayor Jorge Restrepo Uribe, acting on an idea from Arturo Uribe Arango, then director of the city's tourism promotion office, to invite silleteros - flower growers from the nearby district of Santa Elena - to carry their silletas, wooden frames loaded with flowers traditionally strapped to the back, through the city in public view for the first time.