Cali’s Galerías

Still is dark but you can see movement at the end of the night, big trucks are full with packages and many people moving around, uploading and loading. When the first lights appear in the sky and this change the dark for pink, yellow and orange rays, emerge in front of you a symphony of smells, colours and sounds.

It’s a marketplace, in Colombia named “Galería” where you can find many things, but you have to be prepared for all: the “Galería” is a popular site, here come all kind of people and isn’t a common market. There are various “galerías” in Cali, the most important are Santa Elena and Alameda, because they are the biggest.

A strong smell, mix of fruits, garbage and people receive you in Santa Elena, the streets around galería are full of dirt and mud, people selling fruits, vegetables and food in improvise stands and throwing trash to the floor. You can also find stores: minimarkets, butcher's shops and fish markets. If you buy there, you can find the best, cheapest and freshest products in the city.

The things are some different in Alameda, here you can find stores around the Galería too. Besides, there are some restaurants whose speciality is seafood; delicious native food from the Pacific Sea. 

Inside the galería you discover a party of colours and forms, stands of fruits and vegetables regardless of the season.

However the Alameda isn’t only a fruit and vegetable market, stands of fique baskets (a vegetable fibre) of different sizes, flowers of all colours and forms, all kind of household utensil made of wood or clay, and stands with criolla food: rellena, chorizos, arepas, aborrajados, empanadas, surprise you in its hall.

Another thing that you can find are the esotericism stands and herb stands; our culture is a mix of black and indigenous cultures, thus some people believe in the occultism and magic, and the medicinal property of the plants, in these stands you can find ingredients for a love potion, a fortune incantation or a natural medicine.

 

Finally, the people aren't the unique resident of the galería, this place is house of some animals like cats and dogs, that make of this place their home.

 I invite you: if you visit Cali, you will know these magnificent places.