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| Inglesia de La Candelaria |
All that I had seen in Bogotá previously had been the homogenous rectangular blocks of 7-storey brick buildings, office and residential alike. The La Candelaria visit the other day was such a surprise! The old town in the South of Bogotá is the centre of tourist, legal and public activities, where government buildings, law firms, museums, Jesuit churches, classical colonial architectures, universities and hostels concentrate. It’s also one of the most dangerous areas in Bogotá where you’d encounter an armed robbery if you stayed in one of its hostels..
Colourful two-storied houses with red roofs, classical colonnades and Mediterranean windows remind you of the glorious colonial past.. The city has done well preserving the historical ambience by regulating even commercial logos’ style. So, even logos of popular chains like El Corral are ‘La Candelariano’, having been reduced from the shiny red and yellow plastic to a simple rustic iron.
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| A typical street in La Candelaria |
Like a gem fossilised in the middle of the city, encapsulated by the modern buildings of the newly developed areas that are sanitised of human heritage and history, La Candelaria is totally different from other parts of Bogotá.. It is the only district in the city where streets still have names (normally represented by numbers here). It is history standing still. It is a movie studio backdrop. It’s the salvaging soul of the city that will remind its citizens of its beauty in all the years to come.
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| Finally a street sign that makes sense – with an acutely colonial style |
onechineseincolombia.com 
La Candelaria is one of the most beautiful districts in Bogota. As you already mentioned is also one of the few historical places we have left. Colombian architects are in big debt with the city…. After 9 de Abril (do some research about this) most of the historical buildings downtown were destroyed and replaced by awful and anti-esthetic “new constructions”.
Can't wait to see new posts about La Candelaria and Bogota architecture….
Happy 2013
Don't be hasty.. new posts are coming.. Hang in there..
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very beautiful…love it
there are many more beautiful places!
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