Comuna 13 hosts three cultural festivals on 26 September
Published on 09/27/2026 at 17:16 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Comuna 13 (San Javier) in Medellin hosted three cultural festivals between 18 and 26 September 2026, bringing film, Caribbean music and a community carnival together on the western hills of Colombia's second city. The programme was centred on local residents and community organisations, rather than on the area's regular sightseeing circuit.
Three cultural festivals converged on 26 September
The Festival of Porro de Medellin opened on 18 September 2026 for its 34th edition. Its nine-day programme included photographic exhibitions, discussions and neighbourhood activities, with a closing stage scheduled for 26 September. The festival grew from the El Coco area of Santa Rosa de Lima and focused on music and dances linked to Colombia's Caribbean traditions.
The sixteenth Festival of Film and Video, La Otra Historia, began on 19 September 2026 and also ended on 26 September. Migration was its central theme. The programme combined film screenings, workshops, discussions, advice for audiovisual projects and a marathon of local productions and music videos. The children's Festivalito opened the cinema programme, while the adult selection included films such as Legal, Andariega, Un poeta, La hija del volcan and Bien inmueble. The published festival programme also listed a tribute to Salvo Basile through a screening of La estrategia del caracol.
The twentieth Carnival of Comuna 13 ran alongside the other events. It included stage performances, two discussions, street interventions, school activities and photographic exhibitions about the carnival's history. Its central parade took place on 26 September 2026, with local organisations and invited groups including Grupo Tespy from El Carmen de Viboral. Teleantioquia's event report placed the celebrations in neighbourhood and community spaces across the district.
Film, music and memory matched the hillside setting
The festivals connected directly with the area's cultural identity. The film programme examined migration and displacement, while the carnival grew from community organisations' response to violence in San Javier. The porro festival carried Caribbean musical traditions into a neighbourhood better known internationally for murals, viewpoints and hillside escalators.
The public escalator system was inaugurated on 25 December 2011. Medellin's city administration says it reduced a route equivalent to more than 350 steps and became an accessibility and urban integration project. The system is managed by the city's Mobility Secretariat and operated by Terminales Medellin, with the city's account of the escalators describing their role for residents and visitors.
That infrastructure gave the September programme a specific setting: performances, screenings and discussions took place among the public spaces, schools, cultural organisations and neighbourhood facilities that form the district's everyday network. The events therefore presented Comuna 13 not only as a visitor route, but also as a place where local memory and artistic activity are organised by the community.
Visiting Comuna 13: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The three-festival programme ran from 18 to 26 September 2026. The Festival of Porro closed on 26 September, while the film festival and the central carnival parade also reached their main date on 26 September.
- For the Festival of Porro, the main event was in Los Alcazares on 26 September 2026. The carnival parade began near San Javier Metro station and ended at Calle 49BB with Carrera 88, while temporary road restrictions accompanied the events.
- Comuna 13 is on the western hills of Medellin. The public escalators are reached from San Javier Metro station, the terminus of Metro Line B.
- The escalators were inaugurated on 25 December 2011 and replace a climb equivalent to more than 350 steps. Visitors should expect steep hillside streets, outdoor walkways and changing levels.
- Spanish is the official language of Colombia and the national currency is the Colombian peso.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Comuna 13
When did the three cultural festivals take place at Comuna 13?
The Festival of Porro ran from 18 to 26 September 2026, while the film festival and Carnival of Comuna 13 ran from 19 to 26 September 2026.
Where is Comuna 13 and how do you get there?
Comuna 13 is on the western hills of Medellin. The public escalators are reached from San Javier Metro station, the terminus of Metro Line B.
What is Comuna 13?
It is one of Medellin's hillside urban districts, known for public escalators, murals, community cultural activity and a history explored through local memory projects.
