Popayán – White City – Latin American and European Journeys

We took a much-delayed bus from Pasto to Popayán, which was full of Deportivo Cali supporters returning from an away game in the Copa South America in Quito. The supporters, both male and female and very good-natured, complete with their green kit, tattoos would not have looked out of place in Europe. The bus arrived shortly after sunset in the white city of Popayán and after struggling to find a taxi, we were soon in our hotel right next to the main square.

We were last in Popayán back in 1989, when it was still recovering from the 1983 earthquake. Today the whole city centre has been painstakingly restored and radiating out from the main square in all directions are two / three story colonial buildings, complete with balconies and all painted white. The main square, the Parque Caldas, contains a statue of one of Colombia’s independence heroes, Caldas, and some beautiful gardens, full of blooming flowers and some very tall trees. The square has been made free of traffic and as a result acts as lovely focal point of the city where many people gather throughout the day and evening.

Popayán is famous for its churches, which again have all been pretty well restored, though the Iglesia San Franciso is currently being repainted. As with most South American cities, each of the major Catholic saints like the San Francisans, the Dominicans etc. all have a major church in Popayán.

Popayán has a number of universities, including one of Colombia’s oldest and most prestigious, the Universidad del Cauca and this gives the city quite a vibrant and young feel with its large student population. Also, unlike other major colonial cities we have recently visited in Peru, which have been taken over by the tourist industry and feel like single industry towns, much of the city centre of Popayán retains its broad commercial and business activities, and this makes it feel much more of a genuine working city and all the better for it. Of course in the years to come when more mass tourism comes to Colombia then the centre of Popayán could easily become like those colonial cities in Peru or Cartagena in the North of Colombia.

On our return to Popayán after visiting the major archaeological sites in the South, there was a major reclaim the streets festival in the centre of Popayán. All the streets leading off from Parque Caldas were closed to traffic and various food and drinks stalls were established together with various craft stalls. The whole city across the generations seemed to be there and they created a carnival atmosphere. While there were lots of people out enjoying the festivities, it did not feel crushed like the Light Festival in Quito and made for a surprisingly pleasant evening.