01poster 01 / 05
rec · bello oriente · comuna 3 · 202600:00:00:00
04
la comunidad preciosa
Bello Oriente is the highest neighbourhood in comuna 3, where the city meets the mountain. The children told its story from a child’s-eye view: friends striking a pose, the city seen from above, the slide, the eleven-year-old brother.
01
the neighbourhood
collective text by the children of Bello Oriente
Our neighbourhood is called Bello Oriente. It’s a very quiet and very pretty neighbourhood, on a mountain in comuna 3. In our neighbourhood you can find happiness, parks, dogs, fights, mountains, friendly people, schools, community kitchens, churches, a pitch. In the neighbourhood we like the animals, the girls and the boys, the motorbikes, the buses, the photos. We don’t like there being lots of fights. We’d like to change the roads, the pitches, the people who take substances that harm them. We’d like to see a futuristic school in the neighbourhood, a park. Happy reading, everyone.
original text
Nuestro barrio se llama Bello Oriente. Es un barrio muy tranquilo y muy bonito, está ubicado en una montaña en la comuna 3. En nuestro barrio se puede encontrar felicidad, parques, perros, peleas, montañas, gente amable, escuelas, comedores, iglesias, cancha. En el barrio nos gustan los animales, las niñas y los niños, las motos, los buses, las fotos. No nos gusta que haya muchas peleas. Nos gustaría cambiar las carreteras, las canchas, la gente que toma sustancias que la dañan. Nos gustaría ver en el barrio una escuela futurista, un parque. Buen escrito a todos y todas.
Above Manrique, the upper part of Bello Oriente rises beyond 2,000 metres. You climb up through very steep streets; below lies the whole Aburrá Valley.
02
the workshop
The project starts from a simple gesture: walking, observing, photographing, then putting into words what you see, what you want, what you experience and what you dream of changing. The photographs are not taken from inside a closed workshop: you walk through the neighbourhood, you look at the paths, the meeting places, the places to play, the views over Medellín. The writing comes afterwards, to name the images and turn them into a story.
¿por qué escogí esta foto? ¿qué cuenta esta imagen? ¿qué dice de mi barrio? ¿qué quiero guardar como memoria?
03
the images
Ten images and their texts, then a black-and-white series, in three rooms: friends, from up high, black and white.
exhibition plan
01room6 images
friends
High up in Bello Oriente, the children pose with the city behind them: friendship as the first subject.
mis amigas
my friendsThey’re really good friends with me. The one missing is me, the one lying down, and that makes me laugh. That’s it.
photograph · Bello Oriente, 2026
las mejores amigas de vivir
best friends for lifeLooking at the city while they’re looking pretty, the best friends.
photograph · Bello Oriente, 2026
las tres amigas
the three friendsMy friends get on well. We have a good friendship, and that’s what keeps us together.
photograph · Bello Oriente, 2026
los amigos posando
friends posingPolito is a really good person. Dilan is a good friend. Here he’s sitting looking at the city, and he loves it. The city is beautiful. The two crazy ones in the park: they’re crazy because they’re always doing crazy things. And I chose this photo because they’re my friends. They’re all good friends, together as a community.
photograph · Bello Oriente, 2026
grupo
the groupThis is a walk with everyone who was there and shared it. Everyone is here.
en el parque
in the parkMy friends are waving. I chose this photo because my friends are in it.
02room4 images
from up high
The highest neighbourhood in comuna 3, at a child's height: the city below, the little brother, the slide.
medellín
I chose this photo because I like how everything looks, like the houses and the trees.
photograph · Bello Oriente, 2026
mi hermano
my brotherHe’s 11. I chose the photo because I think it’s beautiful.
olhar profundo
deep gazeMy name is Allyn, I’m 10 and I like strawberries. I chose this photo because I love myself. The most beautiful one.
tobogán
the slideA boy playing on the slide. I like playing, that’s why I chose this one.
photograph · Bello Oriente, 202603room8 images
in black and white
A black-and-white series: the paths, the games, the faces of the community.
04
the voices
What the children wanted to say about their community, in four short phrases.
la unidad.el amor de los amigos.la comunidad auténtica.la comunidad paciente.
Unity. The love of friends. An authentic community. A patient community.
05
the exhibition
The posters were pasted onto the orange, pink and yellow walls of the neighbourhood, along the steps, and in a community space.
In a community space in the neighbourhood, the children prepare the posters and paste them up.
the exhibition, wall by wall
02poster 02 / 05
mis amigas · las mejores amigas de vivir · las tres amigas · los amigos posando · grupo · en el parque
on an orange and green house front
03poster 03 / 05
medellín · mi hermano · olhar profundo · tobogán
on a white wall, inside a frame painted pink
06
the archive
the partners
with Señales de Humo
credits
Photographs and videos: the children and young people of the four neighbourhoods and the mOst team.