Escalator for the Poor: Colombian city gets giant, outdoor escalator

[ via The News ] 28 Dec

Officials in Colombia's second-largest city inaugurated a giant, outdoor escalator for residents of one of its poorest neighborhoods.

For generations, the 12,000 residents of Medellin's tough Comuna 13, which clings to the side of a steep hillside, have had to climb hundreds of large steps authorities say is the same as going up a 28-story building.

Now they can ride an escalator Medellin's mayor says is the first massive, outdoor public escalator for use by residents of a poor area.

"It turned out very well," said Mayor Alonso Salazar, adding that he has not heard of any such project elsewhere in this world.

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Colombia's drunken bullfighters come off second best in the ring

[ via Mail Online ] 23 Dec

Fans of bullfighting like to justify their passion by claiming it as a graceful art - a delicate dance of man and beast.

But at one festival in the tough town of Guamo, Columbia, untrained men, pumped up on drink and drugs, step into the ring with predictably catastrophic results.

Looking for a thrill and a few quick pesos, the amateur matadors take on the bulls at a yearly celebration in honour of a local patron saint.

Read / and see more photos at: Mail Online 

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