Festival of the Flowers
flower festival spanish feria de la flores festival take place medellín colombia annual festival significant driver tourism hold importance cultural fabric city addition various flower displayoriented event contest festival includes musical performance antique car parade km bike ride estimated flower festival annually attracts two million people city event cost city around million organize first flower festival took place may organized arturo uribe member board office development tourism medellin colombia festival lasted five day exposition flower displayed metropolitan cathedral organized gardening club medellín monsignor tulio botero celebrate virgin mary day flower parade represents end slavery slave carried men woman back steep hill instead flower first silleteros parade also took place men corregimiento santa elena carrying back flower arrangement exposition site festival initially took place month may changed august celebrate independence antioquia since event added like international pageant flower cavalcade guinness record classic automobile parade orchid exposition among others traditional silleta icon represents old silletas used peasant transport product usually measure centimeter carry kilo flower emblematic silleta design flat threedimensional seek bring civic educational religious message population monumental silleta largest silletas reaching x meter category creativity limit constitute true work art shape color texture mixed commercial silleta authentic mobile advertising piece sponsored company want participate parade flower festival root local christian tradition though colombia official religion roman catholicism dominant faith deeply culturally pervasive beginning th century month may arrival spring common home altar church decorated native flower honor virgin mary pope head catholic church met million visitor visit city production export flower region employ thousand worker ton flower exported amongst different specie value approximately million festival reached silleteros participant edition also featured new category silleteros maria isabel lopez spokeswoman convention center bureau madrid described new category pioneer show silletas making experience participate contest peasant carried silletas featuring traditional arrangement brandishing advertisement new pioneer category keeping tradition mayor medellín sponsored award contest total award selected given three jury spanish flower festival official website archived wayback machine spanish flower festival twitter spanish flower festival spain spanish flower festival medellin