American lifestyle guru and business magnate, Martha Stewart, was in Medellín and surrounding areas this past weekend. ”We had a great time in the newly crowned ‘most innovative city’ Medellin. We learned so much about politics, food, horticulture and beauty”, she tweeted for 2,5 million Twitter followers.

On Saturday night, Stewart talked about visiting Carmen de Viboral, where she “looked at orchids and beautiful hand-painted pottery. Had a true Colombian meal for lunch”.

“In medellin-everyone exhausted after day of travel-watching woody allen and ordering in pizza-i never do this in US,” she said in another tweet.

As EL COLOMBIANO’s director-in-charge and to celebrate the newspaper’s 101^st anniversary, singer/songwriter Carlos Vives is inviting ‘paisas’ to write the lyrics to a song about love, filled with the traditional values that distinguish the people of Antioquia. Vives was asked to be EL COLOMBIANO’s ‘director for a day’ in honor of the upcoming birthday.

Residents of Medellín or any other town in Antioquia, ages 15 and up, are eligible to participate in the contest. Lyrics must be about love and may not have any sexual content or be offensive to women in any way. People are encouraged to remember that the winning lyrics are meant to be a reggaetton, produced and recorded by Carlos Vives and his studio, Gaira Música Local.

The deadline to submit an entry is Sunday, February 3^rd at midnight. Carlos Vives will select the winning lyrics himself and the winner will be announced in a special anniversary edition of EL COLOMBIANO scheduled for publication on February 6th.

The 22nd La Macarena Bullfighting Festival kicks off tomorrow at 4:00 pm with Spaniards Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza and David Mora and Bogotá native, Ramsés, in the ring.

Santiago Tobón, the executive director of Cormacarena, the festival’s organizer, explained that the fights will have all three parts including the animal’s death, except in the case of a pardon.

Last year several local leaders, including Medellín’s Mayor, Anibal Gaviria, and 17 out of 21 councilmembers, campaigned to eliminate pain, suffering and death from bullfights but the effort didn’t make it very far and failed to bring about the changes they were asking for.

The import of 944,081 imitation ‘vueltiao’ hats from China is jeopardizing the economy of the Zenú people of Córdoba, the manufacturers of the traditional hats.

The National Government plans to take immediate action to protect the industry, with the cooperation of Dian (the national tax and customs authority), and will not only ban imitations but also meet with the Zenú community next week to assess the situation.

One of the Chinese companies that makes the imitation hats is the Cangnan Fanlin Arts & Gifts Co. Ltda, but in China there are hundreds of factories that copy accessories from all over the world. For decades, the Chinese have made imitation cowboy hats as well as copied and commercialized hats from other countries in South and Central America. For the Chinese, therefore, the controversy sparked in Colombia by the most recent knockoff is practically meaningless given that Colombia is just another destination among many for their products.

Artesanías de Colombia, a branch of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Commerce, is urging people, especially merchants and consumers, to value the items born from the originality, creativity and ability of hundreds of Colombians whose livelihood depends on the manufacture of products like the ‘vueltiao’ hat.

This particular hat was born in the savannahs of Córdoba and Sucre and is considered a national symbol. While it’s unknown exactly when the first one was made, they have undergone constant evolution. At the beginning they were plain cream-colored hats and the black designs all around it came along later.

The hats are currently made with cañaflecha in black and khaki. While it used to be an activity exclusive to men, women now do it as well and the use of machines is permitted.

Colombia’s beloved sculptor and painter, Fernando Botero, was approached by Antioquia’s Fábrica de Licores to create a commemorative bottle and label for rum that’s been aged 15 years.  The artist immediately agreed and got to work, sketching a bottle as unique as his paintings and sculptures with a detail from a painting he made in 2011 as the label. “It shows two men drinking,” he explained, adding that he thought it was appropriate, more so than a drawing of a woman would have been.

Proceeds will benefit the Antioquia Museum and Antioquia’s Institute of Culture; each will receive, if all 100,000 bottles are sold, 970 million pesos. The collector’s edition is yet another way to celebrate the artist’s 80th birthday and will be available next week, between November and January. The rum is made, according to production manager, Leonardo Gutierrez, “with crops that have been carefully tended to for many years. It’s a blend and has the finest attributes.”

The future of Medellín’s Bullfighting Festival will begin to take shape on Friday when Council starts debating the bill aimed at eliminating pain, suffering and death of a bull during the fight.

For Victor Diusabá, one of the country’s most respected bullfighting commentators, the festival is an age-old cultural expression (…) a ritual. Its essence is the fight between man and a unique animal such as the fighting bull using artistic, aesthetic and ethical elements (…)”

But animal rights activist, Natalia Parra, insists on the need to protect bulls against pain and suffering, freeing them from what she refers to as a “tribute to death”.

Next to capitals like Toronto, Hong Kong and New York, Medellín was nominated as one of the world’s 25 most innovative cities of the year. The announcement was made by the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit organization founded in 1936 that seeks to promote ideas, experiences and projects that improve quality of life.

Medellín was chosen from among 200 cities. The Metro which reduces CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons a year, the escalators in Comuna 13,  a significant reduction in homicides and the construction of library parks all over the city are just some of the factors that influenced Institute’s decision.

The Washington D.C.-based organization makes nominations based on sustainability, comprehensive mobility plans, management of renewable energy sources. Medellín and Sao Paulo were the only two Latin American cities on the list. People can vote daily thru October 5th at:  http://online.wsj.com/ad/cityoftheyear. The top three cities will be announced on October 19th.

In an effort to improve mobility and reinforce the city’s EnCicla program, Eafit University launched Sibi, which in Spanish stands for Bicycle System.

Twenty bikes built by the School of Engineering will help students and visitors get around the 119,465 sq-mt campus; only the Junín area is off limits because it is so highly transited. Eafit president, Juan Luis Escobar, along with other campus and student representatives, took the first bike ride on campus.

Depending on response to the program, more bikes may be built soon.

It’s finally official: Lady Gaga will be performing in Colombia. The concert, however, will be in Bogotá and not Medellín as it had been previously rumored.

On November 9th, Mother Monster will bring her Born This Way Ball to the El Campin Stadium; this is the pop diva’s third world tour. AV Villas account holders will have access to early ticket sales on August 27th, but the general public will have to wait until the 30th.

Ticket prices will range from 142,000 to 422,000 pesos, but considering Lady Gaga’s reputation for over-the-top, extravagant  performances, they’re sure to be well worth the price.

In an atmosphere filled with tradition and history, 120 ‘silleteros’ representing the 500 members of Santa Elena’s Silleteros Corporation, received 500,000 flowers to use in the ‘silletas’ they will create for the Flower Festival. Marcos Ossa, regional director of Asocolflores in Antioquia, gave the donation to the craftsmen in a ceremony at the convention center of Comfama’s Arvi Park. “It’s an honor for us to give these flowers to them who are the artists and main characters of the parade,” Ossa said.

“You are a living poem,” said Secretary of Citizen Culture, Maria del Rosario Escobar,“and when you march you carry our tradition on your backs.”