ABSTRACT
Women and youth in Comuna 13, Medellín have led many grassroots organizations that deal with the pain of the community and have transformed the urban territory through their artistic and cultural practices. This chapter examines the work of two such groups, Mujeres Caminando por la Verdad (Women Walking for Peace), a collective of women and families who are searching for the disappeared in La Escombrera, and Agroarte Colombia, an organization that creates actions of memory and resistance. Their work includes Cuerpos Gramaticales (Grammatical Bodies), a political and artistic performance that narrates stories of violence through theater, dance, weaving, writing, and “sowing the body,” and Galería Viva (Live Gallery), an artistic project, located in Cementerio Parroquial La América, that consists of murals, graffiti, and gardens of memory designed to mourn the victims of the conflict. The author argues that these performances serve as symbolic reparation to victims of state crimes and that these projects are not only artistic and political actions, but also represent real possibilities for community governance.
