Colombia: Virtual Gifts for Medellín on its 335 Birthday

On November 2 the city of Medellín will celebrate 335 years of its founding. The account @cumplemedellin was created on Twitter so that its citizens can tweet the symbolic present they want to give their city on this occasion. The invitation that has circulated on Twitter is [es]:

Y vos….¿Qué le querés regalar a Medellín?

And you…What do you want to give Medellín?

Accompanied by [es]:

335 años no se cumplen todos los días. Para hacerle un regalo a Medellín en su día utiliza #felizcumplemedellin

You don't turn 335 every day. To make Medellín a gift on its day use #felizcumplemedellin

Culture Palace Rafael Uribe. Medellín, September 2008. Image by Martiza Sánchez, Flickr user Colores Mari, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license. See bottom of post for a complete slideshow of images of Medellín by Mariza Sánchez.

The entire initiative arose through the project Feliz cumple Medellín [es] (Happy Birthay Medellín), led by the city's Municipal government [es] but fueled by bloggers and Twitter users. The project also includes a map to locate where the gifts come from [es]. Although the month of November has not arrived, there are already a lot of users who have sent their present through Twitter.

One of the general presents is the pride of “being born here,” like Fabián Duque Montoya (@fduquemontoya) writes:

#felizcumplemedellin @cumplemedellin yo a Medellín en su cumple le voy a regalar todo mi orgullo por haber nacido aquí.

#felizcumplemedellin @cumplemedellin to Medellín on its birthday I'm giving it all my pride of being born here.

Jairo Daniel Cortés (@jairodcortes) says:

@Telemedellin YO NO ELEGÍ SER PAISA, SÓLO TUVE MUCHA SUERTE! LAS GANAS Y LA GENTE CELEBRAN SU CUMPLEAÑOS! FELIZ CUMPLE! #felizcumplemedellin

@Telemedellin I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A PAISA, I WAS JUST LUCKY! THE PEOPLE CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! #felizcumplemedellin

Sergio Calderón Osa (@SerchoVirtual) sends a message of hope through his Twitter account:

@cumplemedellin yo le regalo las ganas de querer hacer mucho por mi ciudad ¡linda carajo!

@cumplemedellin I give [Medellín] my desire to do a lot for my city. You are so beautiful!

Others have shared photographs, like Maria Fernanda Arias (@mafeariasg):

@cumplemedellin A Medellín le regalo esta foto http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafernanda/456686100/ #felizcumplemedellin

@cumplemedellin I give Medellín this photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafernanda/456686100/ #felizcumplemedellin

Perla Toro (@PerlaToro) shares a more personal photograph:

También le regalo a @cumplemedellin el recuerdo de una tarde enamorada. http://twitpic.com/2p285b

I also give @cumplemedellin the memory of an afternoon being in love. http://twitpic.com/2p285b

The aesthetics of the city are also part of the things “to give as a gift.” Sebastián Regino (@SebastianRegino) writes:

@cumplemedellin A medellin le voy a regalar un espejo para que se mire y se de cuenta lo bonita que está!

@cumplemedellin I'm giving Medellín a mirror so that she can realize how beautiful she is!

Federico Villegas (@federicoco) makes a promise:

Le voy a regalar a Medellín en su cumple, regar más seguido las matas del balcón hasta que vuelvan a ser verdes @cumplemedellin

I'm giving Medellín [a gift] on its birthday, [I will] water the plants on my balcony more often until they are green again @cumplemedellin

And finally, one of the most recent outstanding gifts is a set of photographs of Medellín by Maritza Sánchez (@ColoresMari); the Flickr slideshow is posted below. The project's Twitter account published this tweet announcing the present: