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| Meditating beside the Rio del Arzobispo. |
Today, the
Day of the Waters, this group of people paid tribute with a
Canto al Agua (Song to the Waters) to a particularly long-suffering waterway in the Teusaquillo neighborhood. The
Rio del Arzobispo, which flows down from Bogotá's Cerros Orientales thru the Parque Nacional and west thru the city is one of Bogotá's few rivers not hidden inside a concrete pipeline. But the Arzobispo (so named because, supposedly, an Archbishop once committed suicide by leaping off of a waterfall into the river) is entombed in a cement canal. And the river carries enough sewage so that you can smell it before you see it.
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| Offerings to the river. |
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| Making an offering to the river. |
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| Environmental activist Greenman in the crowd. |
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| In its cement bed the Rio del Arzobispo falls short on charm. |
By Mike Ceaser, of
Bogotá Bike Tours
Once a river has been turned into a concrete ditch (or an open sewer), returning it into its natural state is nearly impossible. For many years, the city of Los Angeles, California, has been trying to return the Los Angeles River to its natural state, but the cost and the unpredictable nature of a free flowing river (flooding) in a major metropolitan area will make that dream unattainable. The Rio Medellin will also remain a concrete ditch for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteyou're completely correct.
ReplyDeleteMike