Cali Fair: Horseback riding, history, costumes, super concert, taverns, salsodromo, and more famous nightclubs

But this year I was surprised by the number of activities that the fair came with, I don't know how many were free and how many weren't.

Although previously you could find more free events, this year I saw on Facebook that most of them were well attended and even somewhere it rained and people managed to enjoy themselves.

The fair has always been a cultural heritage but 15 years ago it was very different, the first time I went I was 14 years old, today I am 29. I remember that for that year it was held in the north of Cali, it began on the 25th of December with the parade which went along the entire sixth avenue until it reached the taverns, which at that time were in the park next to Simón Parrilla (what is now PriceSmart). The tradition was to buy white brandy and situate yourself at a point where you could see the parade. It should be noted that at that time there were no stands (or at least I don't remember), or separating walls; people were located on the platform and saw the ride for free, which generated that the attendance was much higher than it is now. If there was no visible point, plan b was to walk at a slow pace, talking and heading toward the bars. At that time, color cell phones were just arriving, the Nokia 1100 was in fashion and not everyone had a cell phone, so to meet someone you had to set an exact point and time, if you were late, the meeting point was the bars. The parade started at 1 pm and ended at about 6 pm, which by that time many people were already “on”.

At that time there was no “salsodromo”, that's why I think the second day that there was no event, but the third and fourth were the parade of vintage cars or the car fair; the parade of old Cali and the meeting of music lovers. At that age, I couldn't go to discos, but if I remember that every day an artist appeared at the “Rumbodromo”, I imagine it was something like what is now the poker fair, unlike the entrance fee that didn't cost $20,000, it was almost 5 times more expensive and I bet they weren't even consumables. I also remember that that year there was also a super concert, although there were two, a crossover one like the one that is now and a rock one, that one didn't hit that well because I never heard that they did one again.

The following year The fair continued in the north but the bars changed to the Parque de la Música, before arriving at Chipichape, and they had been running since December 1st. Several years went by without going to the events of the fair, I remember that I went back to one when Jorge Iván Ospina was mayor; for that year the fair was in the south, passing through the highway and they had assigned the second day to the "Salsodromo"; That year the entrance to the events began to stop being free, to be able to enter you had to bring a pound of rice as a donation.

I thought it was a nice gesture and a good cause, but I think that this strategy did not work as expected because the following year the entrance to any event already had a price, and it was no longer useful to carry the pound of rice and the mayor's response was " It not so expensive". That year they also began to see the famous "Tierras" that took away visibility from those who could not enter. At that time there were not as many as now if I do not remember more, they did not exceed 10, but the following year it was full of stands and the entire route was covered with a green curtain so that people who did not enter the stands could not see (so it seemed).

That was the last time I attended an event typical of the fair, in the following years, they removed the parade (which I agree), the "salsodromo" was The first day began, the poker fair arrived, the eagle fair, the Colombia club tascas, the "la 14" fair that was set up in the parking lots of its stores, the river boulevard was inaugurated as a place for tascas, They did more “super concerts” but with other names, the fair street began and Andrés Carne Res even began to come on the last day of the fair.

All of this was added up to how we see it today, with numerous places to entertain yourself, mainly at night, and an extensive program of events, although the main ones continue to be paid.

The fair is A beautiful feeling that awakens the sense of belonging that many of us from Cali have lost towards our city. Its evolution has made Cali a place for big brands to have a presence and for people from other cities to come on those days. There are many things to improve, mainly in the hands of the administration, things that can be corrected by stopping thinking that the investment in the fair made by the mayor's office must be economically recovered; The investment of the fair is recovered by increasing tourism in the city, by increasing attendance at events, by increasing the sense of belonging of the people of Cali to the city and that is why I believe that the fair's events should not have value in its entirety, but they must maintain good logistics that allows all attendees to enjoy the show, either paying or attending for free.

I feel that I have been a bad caleño by not supporting my city by not attending in recent years, not feeling proud of this national icon and likewise, many countrymen have forgotten that feeling. Next year I will plan to spend that week in Cali and enjoy the fair as it should; If you also agree, program yourself anyway.