Comuna 13

Intro

Comuna 13 is an area of Medellín, Colombia that is famous for its transition and street art. In the 1980's and 90's, Comuna 13 was controlled by violent drug trafficking organizations and was considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. However, since that time, after a government led raid to take control of the comuna and a number of community development projects, Comuna 13 has completely transformed. In the hillside neighborhood that is the most iconic place of this comuna, local artists have taken to painting murals, many of which tell stories of Comuna 13, and the neighborhood is now completely safe for residents and tourists.

Comunas

Comunas are administrative areas in Medellín. The city is divided into 16 comunas. Below is a map that shows the comunas of Medellín. Comuna 13 is also called San Javier.

Comuna 13 Tours

I would definitely get a tour guide to show you around this neighborhood. Yes, it is cool to look at the street art, but many of the murals in Comuna 13 tell stories, and if you don't live here or aren't from Colombia and very knowledgeable about the history of Medellín, you likely won't realize the full extent of the stories that many of the murals are meant to tell.

We toured the neighborhood with Comuna 13 Tours. Here is their website: http://www.comuna13tours.com/

Getting To Comuna 13

Public transportation in Medellín is really good (at least compared to the U.S., where I live) and easy to navigate. The map below shows the different ways that you can get to San Javier (the furthest west/left stop on the orange metro line) based on where you may be starting.

Metrocable

The Metrocable, or cable cars, had always seemed to me to be one of the most iconic features of modern Medellín. The Comuna 13 street art is up on a hillside, so it seemed like a natural choice to take the cable cars to get to the site of the tour.

San Javier II

San Javier II is a barrio, or neighborhood, near the base of the famous Comuna 13 hillside.

Street Art Tour

One of the coolest things that we learned on this tour is that the street art in Comuna 13 is constantly rotating. After a mural has been on display for a period of time, another artist is permitted paint a new mural over the old one. So, much of the art that we saw on our tour was unique to the time when we visited (July 2019). You could repeat this tour and see and learn about new, unique pieces of storytelling art each time.