"Blindly" Defending Medellin

 And I have lived in NYC, San Francisco and Paris... loved each of these Very Much... but why I go on and on about Medellin being great is because these people deserve and need as much good pub as possible. They have come so far... really the result of good planning, great people and ...a bit of luck. \

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Mike  Thing is, a lot of them take the whole city pride thing a bit TOO far, in my experience. And take quick offense to any critical discussion about their city, both positives and negatives.

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Larry Rose And in New york? No??? San Francisco??? No??? Paris? No? I took quick offense when I lived in those places to sniping, whining, and complaining. And so did the natives there. Paisas are wrong when they take offense???

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Mike  Larry, just acknowledge that what I said is true.

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Mike  Why do you defend then blindly. They are humans with faults and misguided beliefs like everyone. And that's fine.

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Larry Rose And you acknowledge that it is true just about anywhere except Toledo, Ohio. They are people, some nutty some noble... they all in Medellin need to be given more slack... Look at where they come from! The pain and fear of twenty years ago. Their pride is validated by all of the international prizes and awards which they continue to win...and by my experiences here. I don't think they have gone too far with being proud of Medellin..

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Mike "most innovative city" you know that was bought and paid for by private interests and government money, correct? Articles came out that exposed it. They're buying good press. And to be honest, I don't blame them. But let's not pretend that all those awards are legit.

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Mike Harrington I'm sure some awards are. I personally think the cultural events are top notch.

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Larry Rose Most Innovative Cities from The Wall Street Journal, the Urban Institute and Citibank... they were all paid off? I read those articles and they were silly. Try the Lee Kwan yu prize from this year... for livabilty, sustainability and planning... considered to be the Nobel Prize for cities, from the government of Singapore... bought too? Raves in Forbes, WSJ, NYT, National Geographic, Christian Science Monitor... many more. Give the city some credit.

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Larry Rose About the Most Inn City Award.. yes private funded publicity... compare that with other cfities\ businesses paying for an Olympics Bid. Nothing wrong with it. Do you think Medellin didn't deserve it? Is that why law enforcement from all over the world comes here to study how innovation in infrastructure has reversed the crime trend to make Med unrecognizable in twenty years? Have you ridden the Metrocable? Is that Disneyland or an opportunity for the residents of what used to be the worst barrios to get a new start?

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Mike Harrington Ok Larry. Good points.

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Larry Rose And yes cultural events are top notch. As a professional musician in NY and SF I can tell you that classical music here is almost as g9ood as in those artistic Meccas... why? Innovation, The music school network and el Sistema of music ed for the youngest in the worst neighborhoods. Free Instruments, free lessons for the last 15 years. Civic Pride is a deserved virtue here.

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Larry Rose Always a pleasure conversing with you Mike. Believe me, I look hard and deep into why I love this place. And when I rant like this it is about giving back.

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