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Medellín is the capital city of Antioquia, a province in Colombia (South America). The city is located at Template:Coor dm. With a population of 2.3 million (4.2 million in the greater metropolitan area) it is the third largest city in Colombia (behind Bogotá and Cali) and the main industrial center in the country.
The metropolitan area of Medellín lies within the Aburrá valley at an altitude of 1,538 meters and is bisected by the Medellín river which flows northward. North of the valley are the towns of Bello, Copacabana, Girardota and Barbosa. To the south of the valley lie Itagüí, Envigado, Sabaneta, La Estrella and Caldas.
ValleyofAburra.jpg
Through history Medellín has gone by different names: Aburrá de los Yamesíes, San Lorenzo de Aburrá, San Lorenzo de Aná, Valle de San Bartolomé, Villa de la Candelaria de Medellín and Medellín. The name of Medellín originally came from "Metellium", the ancient Latin name for today's town of Medellín, Extremadura in the province of Badajoz, Spain. "Metellium", in turn, is derived from the name of the Roman founder of the city in 75 AD, Cecilio Metello. The capital of Antioquia was named after said Spanish town in honor of the earl of that city, Pedro Portocarrero, who was the president of the Consejo de Indias of Spain at the time.
Besides being the industrial capital of Colombia, Medellín is usually called Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera (Everlasting Spring City), Capital de la Montaña (Mountain's Capital), Ciudad de las Flores (City Of The Flowers), Capital de las Orquídeas (Orchids' Capital), La Bella Villa (Beautiful Village) and Tacita de Plata (Little Silver Cup).
Medellín is also home of many universities that serve mainly the province of Antioquia. Among the most important are Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad Nacional, Universidad EAFIT, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and Escuela de Ingenieria de Antioquia.
The main airport serving the area is José María Córdova International Airport, located in Rionegro. Served by a variety of local carriers, it also has inter-continental service on American Airlines and Avianca to Miami and COPA to Panama City. There is also the Olaya Herrera Airport for regional flights. The city is also conected from north to south by a "metro" line system (Metromed). Important community centers are Parque de los pies descalzos (Barefooted Walking Park), Parque de los deseos (Dreams Park), the municipal zoo and the Botanical Garden.
Festivals and events
La Feria de las Flores is the most important carnival of Antioquia and it is done in Medellín at the beginning of august every year, since 1957. This carnival has several activities such as antique cars parade, desfile de silleteros (flower carriers parade), horse ride down the streets, exhibition of fondas from much of the towns in Antioquia, etc.
Other festivals are the International Poetry Festival (http://www.epm.net.co/VIIfestivalpoesia/html/english.html) (June), Myths and Legends parade (December)
External links
- The city's official government webpage in Spanish (http://www.medellin.gov.co/)
- Postcards and landscapes of the city (http://www.colombiamoda.com/visitantes/medellin_04.htm#)
- Portafolio Consultores webpage in English (http://www.portafolio.org/medellineng.htm/)
- Metro (http://www.metrodemedellin.org.co)
- Universidad de Antioquia (http://www.udea.edu.co)
- Universidad Nacional, sede Medellín (http://www.unalmed.edu.co)
- Universidad EAFIT (http://www.eafit.edu.co)
- Medellin Stories (http://www.roadjunky.com/colombia/articles_colombia.shtml) Collection of articles.
Medellín is also a small municipality in the province Badajoz, Spain.
Medellín de Bravo is also a small municipality in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.
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