The Mythological World of Carmen de Bolívar
Artist Talk & Conversation
Katherine Salazar Villamil
10 October 2025
BGSW / Podgrodzie
Curated by: Sylwia Starkowska, Agnieszka Kilian
In the heart of the Montes de María, where the wind caresses the hills and the sun gilds the cultivated fields, lies a town woven from stories, songs, and legends — El Carmen de Bolívar. There, every path hides a secret, every river whispers ancestral names, and every night becomes a canvas on which the spirits of the past continue to dance to the pulse of the drums.
Its mythology, born from both Indigenous and African roots, is the invisible soul that sustains its culture. Within these stories live La Madremonte, guardian of forests and waters, and La Candileja, a wandering flame that warns against excess and forgetfulness. These figures are not merely folkloric fantasies, but symbols of humanity’s bond with nature — reminders of reverence for life and the enduring power of oral tradition.
El Carmen is a place where art and myth are inseparable, where the music of flutes and drums is also a call to the ancestors. Every note, every colour, every gesture becomes a form of resistance — a song of identity carried by the people of El Carmen, persisting despite the passage of time.
In this poetic and ancient world, myth does not belong to the past — it is alive, a mirror of the joy, strength, and spirituality of its people. El Carmen de Bolívar, a land of love and dreams, remains a sanctuary of tradition, art, and memory, where history is sung and myth blossoms like an eternal spring.
