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Colombia: Virtual Gifts for Medellín on its 335 Birthday

· Written by Cati Restrepo Translated by Silvia Viñas

Categories: Latin America, Colombia, Citizen Media, Digital Activism, History

On November 2 the city of Medellín [1] will celebrate 335 years of its founding. The account @cumplemedellin [2] 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] [3]:

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

And you…What do you want to give Medellín?

Accompanied by [es] [4]:

335 años no se cumplen todos los días. Para hacerle un regalo a Medellín en su día utiliza #felizcumplemedellin [5]

You don't turn 335 every day. To make Medellín a gift on its day use #felizcumplemedellin [5]
[6]

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] [7] (Happy Birthay Medellín), led by the city's Municipal government [es] [8] but fueled by bloggers and Twitter users. The project also includes a map to locate where the gifts come from [es] [9]. 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 [10]) writes:

#felizcumplemedellin [5] @cumplemedellin [11] yo a Medellín en su cumple le voy a regalar todo mi orgullo por haber nacido aquí.

#felizcumplemedellin [5] @cumplemedellin [11] to Medellín on its birthday I'm giving it all my pride of being born here.

Jairo Daniel Cortés (@jairodcortes [12]) says:

@Telemedellin [13] YO NO ELEGÍ SER PAISA, SÓLO TUVE MUCHA SUERTE! LAS GANAS Y LA GENTE CELEBRAN SU CUMPLEAÑOS! FELIZ CUMPLE! #felizcumplemedellin [5]

@Telemedellin [13] I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A PAISA [14], I WAS JUST LUCKY! THE PEOPLE CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! #felizcumplemedellin [5]

Sergio Calderón Osa (@SerchoVirtual [15]) sends a message of hope through his Twitter account:

@cumplemedellin [11] yo le regalo las ganas de querer hacer mucho por mi ciudad ¡linda carajo!

@cumplemedellin [11] 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 [16]):

@cumplemedellin [11] A Medellín le regalo esta foto http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafernanda/456686100/ [17] #felizcumplemedellin [5]

@cumplemedellin [11] I give Medellín this photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafernanda/456686100/ [17] #felizcumplemedellin [5]

Perla Toro (@PerlaToro [18]) shares a more personal photograph:

También le regalo a @cumplemedellin [11] el recuerdo de una tarde enamorada. http://twitpic.com/2p285b [19]

I also give @cumplemedellin [11] the memory of an afternoon being in love. http://twitpic.com/2p285b [19]

The aesthetics of the city are also part of the things “to give as a gift.” Sebastián Regino (@SebastianRegino [20]) writes:

@cumplemedellin [11] A medellin le voy a regalar un espejo para que se mire y se de cuenta lo bonita que está!

@cumplemedellin [11] I'm giving Medellín a mirror so that she can realize how beautiful she is!

Federico Villegas (@federicoco [21]) 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 [11]

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 [11]

And finally, one of the most recent outstanding gifts is a set of photographs of Medellín by Maritza Sánchez (@ColoresMari [22]); the Flickr slideshow is posted below. The project's Twitter account published this tweet [23] announcing the present:

@ColoresMari [24] le regaló a Medellín unas fotos hermosas: http://felizcumplemedellin.com/?p=134 [25] y vos..¿Qué le vas a regalar?
@ColoresMari [24]gave Medellín some beautiful photos: http://felizcumplemedellin.com/?p=134 [25] and you..What are you giving [Medellín]?