Bogotá's Centenial Urn

The Centennial Urn

In July, 1910, Colombia's centennial year, Bogotá officials filled a safe with documents and closed it for 100 years. Last July they opened it - after a bit of panic over not finding the keys. The urn, with its documents, all but one of them unsurprising, is on display in the Archivo de Bogotá until at least the end of January.

Old Documents: Simon Bolívar, medical and legal journals, a Catholic magazine.

The old documents are predictable for an era that worshipped the establishment and the church. They also found photos, a map of the city - and, a surprise: a note from a city official pleading that those in charge in 2010 take care of his descendents - which Mayor Samuel Moreno promised to do. An urn created today would be much less reverent. Here's a note a modern visitor had contributed. 

A modern note: 'This nation lives in war. The USA uses us and is a shit!'

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours