Plaza de Bolívar was the venue that hosted the ‘La Paz es Productiva’ fair to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the Colombian Peace Agreement.
More than fifty ventures and grass-roots businesses participated, operated by victims and signatories of the Peace Agreement. This event was made possible thanks to the Mayor's Office, through the High Council for Peace, Victims and Reconciliation, and the UN.
The event was attended by the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres and Mayor Claudia López. Several local and national personalities made an appearances; accompanied by the choir of sons and daughters of peace and the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra. The event created a space for reflection on how to move forward, address the challenges ahead and steps that need to be taken to ensure a lasting peace.
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This fair served as a place where peace, memory and reconciliation can come together. A place where people who have suffered the consequences of war could showcase their economic initiatives, one of the many ways to promote peacebuilding in the city.
The Plaza de Bolívar was center-stage for art, culture and the sale of different products, including hand-made artisanal products and grass-roots ventures. The Plaza provided a place where it will be re-affirmed -- through these ventures -- that the Agreement and its fulfilment is a commitment to be made by each and every one of us.
Hand-in-hand with the Comprehensive Peace System, Bogotá stands firm in the objective of becoming the epicenter of peace and showing that, this area continues to improve.
The Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated the 5th Anniversary of the Peace Agreement
As the day began in the Plaza de Bolívar, the ‘Hijos de la Paz’ Choir took to the stage. The choir is comprised of 48 boys and girls, all between the ages of two and sixteen. Among whom are children of peace signatories who were born after the agreement was signed. In recent months, these boys and girls have participated in various musical training sessions conducted by the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra.
“We have worked intensively in the formation of this choir, consequently, with the enthusiasm that peace has stirred within us. We want to celebrate the fifth anniversary with music and re-iterating the message that a better country is possible,” said General Director of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, David García.
The Choir of ‘Hijos de la Paz’ performed 'Palomita de la Paz', composed by Jairo Andrés Sáchica, the artist who created the project. The Choir also played songs such as 'Te llevo Aqui' by Charito Acuña and 'Toy Contento' by Luis María ¨Billo¨ Frometa, in the version of María Cristina Rivera. The Choir is under the direction of Maestra Sandra Patricia Rodríguez. At the Choir’s presentation -- which had the support of the United Nations Verification Mission -- the Secretary General of said organization, António Guterres, was also present. "Our Orchestra is present at every fundamental juncture for the country, and the fifth anniversary of the peace agreement is one of them," Director Garcia concluded.
Following this opening act, the Orchestra performed the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The "Ode to Joy" -- under the conduction of maestro Joachim Gustafsson -- brought together national and international soloists, the youth philharmonic choir and the Orchestra musicians and above all, The Bogotá Philharmonic in celebration of the city.
