Parque El Gato De Tejada is a “famous landmark” in Cali. As you enter the park along the Cali River you’re greeted by El Gato del Rio, a three-ton bronze cat sculpture created by Colombian artist Hernando Tejada!
Tejada moved to Cali from Bogotá at the age of 14 and donated the sculpture in 1996, two years before his death. El Gato De Tejada is part of an improvement project designed to beautify the northern banks of the Cali River.
In 2006, the project expanded to include 15 smaller colorful felines. Each sculpture is cast in the same shape but painted by a different local artist. The cats all have unique stories displayed on plaques in Spanish below the name of the artist. The sculptures are feline depictions of women.
Tejada was born in 1924 in Pereira Risaralda, a coffee-producing area in the Andean foothills region, “situated at the junction of the Andes and the Amazon basin,” in western central Colombia. He studied fine arts at the University of Bogotá.
Oil painting and sculpture are Tejada’s mediums, but his work includes drawings, photography, and audio visual. Tejada learned Renaissance fresco technique from Luis Ignacio Gómez Jaramillo, his teacher at the University of Bogotá. Jaramillo studied with Diego Rivera in Mexico.
On the way to the park, I stopped at a square in the San Antonio District where I met some friendly locals who talked about Cali and provided insight into the city. One, a young Polish man who had lived in Cali for about 8 months, was selling fresh handmade chocolates. Another interesting man, a Colombian economist, had lived all over the world before deciding to move to Cali. He graduated from the University of the Pacific in California and lived in San Francisco.
It was a fun afternoon of good company and being educated about Cali and its people. During the day, New Year’s Eve was quiet. It’s a time Colombians spend with their families. After a late lunch at a small crowded out-door café I spent the afternoon walking around the city. Most businesses in Cali close early on New Year’s Eve. Around 10:00 p.m. fireworks began in the central part of town along the Cali River and people gathered to welcome the New Year.
I was invited to a neighborhood New Year celebration by a friendly waiter I met my first day in Cali. The party was at a small hotel in the San Antonio neighborhood – a unique evening with a fun mixed crowd of people I’ll always remember!
