History of Medellín

By Richard McColl

Lying deep in the Valle de Aburrá, Medellin was founded in 1616 by Spanish explorer and conquistador Francisco Herrera y Campuzano. The city’s name was changed from the original San Lorenzo de Aburrá to Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Medellín in 1675 and subsequently granted city status in 1813.

Populated for the most part by Spanish settlers from the province of Extremadura, known for their work ethic and hardy lifestyles, Medellin, over the years became a major center for commerce and industry, particularly in textiles, making Medellin the fashion capital of South America.

In spite of Medellin’s best efforts to alter its image it has been a city in which death has been prevalent. Two of the more infamous deaths: In 1935 the renowned Argentine Tango artist Carlos Gardel was killed in an aircraft accident in the downtown airport. And in 1994 the Colombian soccer team’s defender Andres Escobar was gunned down in front of a nightclub as retribution for not blocking the ball that resulted in the national team’s elimination from that World Cup.

In a history that remains, unfortunately, too well known throughout the world, Medellin gained a justifiably terrible reputation in the 1980s and 1990s as the world capital of murder, kidnapping and crime. Pablo Escobar’s cartel and its rivals were responsible for countless deaths making the city one of the most dangerous on earth. 

In December 1993 this godfather of the international cocaine trade was hunted down and shot in his hometown of Medellin. In the years since, violence in the city has decreased considerably.