Connecting with Locals in Medellín

When we touched down in Medellín, I remembered that a friend I had worked with in the past, Robby, had visited Colombia a few times. Travel is all about connections, and after recognizing that this could be a chance to connect with and even stay with a local in Medellín, I texted him. “What’s up man! Just got to Colombia. Am I remembering correctly that you have a friend here?” Robby’s response of “Yes dude, he’s in Medellín, you guys should meet up” was perfect and we were beyond stoked.

At this point in our travels, we’d recognized that anytime you can connect with a local in a new place, you should jump on it. Whenever we spent time with locals, and better yet, spent time living with them, it was a special, rewarding experience where we learned about the country, culture, food, traditions, and people through them. Connecting with locals also creates the opportunity to get off the beaten track and get away from the typical tourist view of a place, instead of seeing the location through the eyes of someone who is from there.

Robby connected us with Santiago, a local from Medellín who spent his teenage years living on Long Island, New York, where the Bros also grew up. A few years after high school, “Santi” moved back to Medellín and had been living there ever since. When Santi showed up at our hostel to meet us (literally, as we had never met before), we knew we were in for a good time.

Santi, Nick, myself, and our new friend Hugo from Peru instantly connected with laughs over some Paisa beers at the hostel hangout balcony. The night was young, and now there was a chance to break away from the backpacker crowd and let a local in Medellín lead the way.

Santi hit up his friend Carlos, or “Carlitos”, as we would come to know him. About 10 minutes later Carlitos picked us up and we were cruising around Medellín, pumping music. We stopped off at a corner spot selling steaks out of a little food cart. We were away from the main tourist region of El Poblado, in fact, we have no clue where we were. One thing’s for sure, not a lot of backpackers or travelers will end up here, and we sure wouldn’t have without Santi. After chowing down a steak on the side of the road, the 5 of us hopped back in the car and headed to a club.

We got a table, partied, ripped a bunch of shots and mixed drinks, and had a blast. Santi asked us what we wanted to do while we were in Medellín. We told him that we’d like to do something different, not the typical touristy type of things. We wanted to do things that he, as a local, would do. “I got you guys. I’m gonna start Santi Tours. You guys are gonna be my first tour” Santi said. Carlitos dropped Hugo, Nick and I back at the hostel at the end of the night, and Santi decided to get out and have another beer with us before calling it a night. Santi ended up crashing on the hostel couch.

The next afternoon we fueled up with food and a beer and walked to a bodega where Santi picked up a pack of smokes. The 3 of us made our way towards the Metrocable, a gondola lift system that is part of the public transportation in Medellín. Santi was thinking of taking us to Parque Arvi, a nature reserve in the hills above the city.

It was an unusually hot day in Medellín, known as “La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera”, or the City of Eternal Spring. We grabbed a cold beer to cool off, and then approached the station where there was a long line of people waiting to get on. Santi told us most of the tourists were probably destined for Comuna 13, aka San Javier, which was once Medellín’s most dangerous neighborhood. Today it is safe and tourists flock to Comuna 13 to take photos of the graffiti and street art during the day. Santi went to the front to see what was going on and when he came back, he said, “Guys it’s fuckin’ hot out here and this line is just gonna take forever. I have another idea, if you guys are okay with doing something else.”

Hell Yes.

We’ve learned that you must be able to just go with the flow. We didn’t necessarily care what we did, we just wanted to chill and see the city of Medellín through a local’s eyes. It’s nice when you travel without an agenda and checklist because then you are free to be spontaneous and are rewarded with the real special moments of travel, the unexpected.

This moment seemed so ordinary. We were hot and decided to do something else instead of waiting in line, but this turn of events represented much more. It shows the nature in which we found ourselves traveling. If there was a long line for something we usually just walked away. We would much rather find ourselves in a local café, bar, or plaza observing, interacting, and connecting with the local people around us than to be waiting in a line to do something a bunch of other tourists are doing.

Santi flagged down a taxi and we went to his aunt’s apartment. During the ride Santi and the cab driver talked the entire way as if they knew each other for years. We found that all our cab drivers were very friendly, and people in Medellín overall were outgoing and always had a smile. Santi remembered a cool rooftop bar to check out a good view of the city from, so we made a quick detour to check it out.

Afterward, we met Santi’s aunt and her bulldog, who was just as friendly as every other Paisa we met. Paisa is a term for people from a region of northwest Colombia, and they have a unique, interesting culture that Santiago would teach us all about.

Santi ordered a case of beer to be delivered, always a great move, and we went by the pool and chilled. The beers came and we spent the next few hours drinking, going in the pool, and conversing in Spanish with the maintenance dude who was working outside near the pool. He joined us for a refreshing cold beer on a hot day…or maybe it was 2 or 3, we certainly weren’t counting. As day turned night, we went to the rooftop lounge area of his aunt’s apartment building for some sick panoramic views of the beautiful city of Medellín.

We went out on the town for some more partying, and as a proper Colombian does, we got a bottle of “guaro”, also known as aguardiente, which is an anise-flavored liqueur (think sambuca, anisette, ouzo). Sitting at the bar, we sipped guaro out of small plastic cups, as the Colombians do, met some cool new people, and had another great day, all because we connected with a local in Medellín in Santi.

We headed back to the hostel where Santi crashed on the hostel couch once again. The hostel employees are starting to wonder why this dude isn’t sleeping in his dorm bed, but of course, Santi has no dorm bed. Santi lived by his own rules, and that couch was there so he took it. This guy is hilarious.

The following day we woke up late again, as per usual, when we were partying while traveling around the world. Santi declared it time for us to have the official meal of Medellín, bandeja paisa. It’s a traditional dish that includes carne molida (finely ground grilled steak), chicharrón (fried pork rind), rice, red beans, a slice of avocado, sweet fried plantains, a fried egg, a small white corn arepa, and sometimes chorizo sausage. In other words, you aren’t going to go home hungry. We washed it down with a couple of coca cola’s and made moves towards another of his aunt and uncle’s house’s to get the key to a house in the countryside.

Santi continued to deliver on his 1^st Santi Tour, as he was showing us a different side of Medellín. We met his aunt, his cousin and another family dog as we hung outside on a comfortable, cool day, much cooler than the previous day. His family was all so nice to us and happy to hear that two guys from New York came to visit.

After saying our goodbyes and expressing our gratitude for their hospitality, we took a bus, got off, grabbed some groceries, and took another bus. Then we walked probably about 2 miles or so on a dirt trail uphill towards the house. Finally, we arrived at the house exhausted, and when we saw the house and the view, we were blown away. A pool, fresh air, a big home, pool tables and the classic frog game you see throughout Colombia and other parts of South America, known as Rana. There was an incredible, scenic view of the hills surrounding Medellín from Guarne, which is located about 25km or 15 miles from the city of Medellín.

Santi taught us how to play Rana, as well as a game of pool that was typical in Colombia. He hopped on the grill and cooked up a feast of a barbecue, including some delicious blood sausages, known as morcilla. A few more rounds of Club Colombia Doradas went around as we laughed and talked about life.  

Waking up to the sounds of birds chirping, we got on the move back to where Santi lived, in a town 34 miles (54km) outside Medellín called El Carmen de Viboral. Santi had just moved into an apartment here recently, and this town is very well known for its handcraft ceramics, which we noticed in the shops as we walked around. We had a chill day, hanging out at his apartment where Santi lived with Carlitos and their two dogs. Carlitos gave Santi some ribbing about him being out the past 2 nights and him having to take care of the dogs, which we all laughed about. Santi got back to work on the computer, and we called it an early night. In the morning we headed into the town square and had a typical breakfast, including café con leche (coffee with milk) and pasteles de pollo (a pastry type of treat stuffed with chicken).

When walking back to the apartment, Santi took us on the scenic route, going through the hills. Santi said, “see yo! I like trees, I like nature…it’s not just about partying…don’t say I didn’t show you nothing!” Santi set us up with a ride to the airport, we said our goodbyes and hoped to cross paths again at some point down the road. We passed through security, made our way to the gate and boarded a plane heading towards Cartagena. We may have left Medellín behind, but not without memories that will last us a lifetime.

Through hanging with Santi, we learned about the culture, food, people and traditions of Medellín and Colombia as a whole. Santi gave us a ton of insight that you can only get by connecting with a local in Medellín. He taught us about the Feria de las Flores, the Festival of Flowers, which is huge in Medellín and is considered the most important social event in the city. We were there in July, and the city was just gearing up for it as it takes place in August each year. Santi taught us to always grab a Club Colombia Dorada when it comes to beer and always root for the green and white of Atletico Nacional when it came to futbol (soccer).

Santi gave us some deep insight into what life was like in the old Medellín and what it’s like today. He told us about the effects the violent cartel days had on his family and people in Medellín in general. He told us about how different and safe it is today and how proud the people are to have moved on from the dark times of the past. 

Our new friend Santi taught us about the Paisa culture, how Paisa’s (people from Medellín and the surrounding region) speak a distinct version of Spanish that stands alone in Colombia. We learned through Santi and our many interactions with locals that Paisas are very kind, friendly and welcoming people, even to us as visitors. Santi taught us some slang, like the use of the word “parce” or “parcero”, which you will no doubt hear if you visit Medellín. It translates to “dude” or “bro.” Santi introduced us to local foods like bandeja paisa, pasteles de pollo, arepas, morcilla and so much more.

Colombia always felt like a party to us, with the vibes of a party in the music and people. The local people we met were having a good time, smiling, happy and friendly. Santi was no different, and his first Santi Tour was a great success. Santi told us a few times “now don’t go back to New York and say Santi didn’t show you nothing!” We have told many stories about our time with Santi in Medellín, and he showed us more than we could’ve imagined.

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago we received news that Santiago had passed away in a tragic accident. We were lucky to have spent time in Colombia getting to know him, and we both considered Santi a lifelong friend. Santi talked about his desire to come back to New York in a few years, and we knew we’d end up going back to Medellín and seeing Santi again someday.

He was smart and charismatic, and he made our time in Medellín special. He gave us a unique experience, as we were able to learn through his local knowledge and get off the tourist track. Connecting with a local in Medellín would have been great in any circumstance, but meeting Santi and making an awesome new friend in the process was icing on the cake.

Rest in peace Santi. We will always remember the good times we had and are appreciative of the side of Medellín that you showed us. You will live on in our memories and through the stories we tell others about you.

“Now don’t go back to New York and say Santi didn’t show you nothing!”

-Santiago

If you are looking to connect with locals in Medellín, we suggest checking out Couchsurfing. Brush up on some basic Spanish and try to talk to people, they are super friendly in Medellín! Talk to a cab driver, the person working at your hotel or hostel, the person you order food from or a bartender. There are plenty of ways to connect with locals in Medellín.

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