My Bogotá: booming metropolis, dangerous labyrinth, chaotic megacity. Its smoggy industrialism may shock those expecting to sip piña coladas in flowered button-downs; this absence of little cocktail umbrellas is made even more noticeable by the pervasive presence of life-size umbrellas, to combat the Colombian capital’s endless rainfall.

For more than eight years, Bogotá has had a bad batch of local mayors. Following the successful and regenerative reigns of Enrique Peñalosa and Antanas Mockus, the local administration became so steeped in corruption that one of our mayors, Samuel Moreno, was actually arrested during his term of office. All that was achieved during the administrations of Peñalosa and Mockus – the creation of bike paths, new schools, the recuperation of public space for citizens – were thwarted by what followed. And while the current mayor, Gustavo Petro, came to power promising to transform the city by ridding it of corruption, the Bogotá air is still full of mistrust, insecurity and negativity.

And yet, among the congested streets and smog ridden skies, a burgeoning cultural scene is arising. Creative entrepreneurs – from restaurateurs to designers, curators to artists – are transforming our city’s cultural industry. They have found new spaces and new ways to interact with the public, offering new experiences for tourists and residents alike. Abandoned houses are turning into restaurants, independent cinemas, alternative theatres and exhibition spaces.

Last year’s Odeón contemporary art fair. Photograph: Espacio Odeón

Imagine, for a moment, walking into a contemporary ruin – a space so large it is striking, so neglected it is dumbfounding, so full of potential it is overwhelming. This was my experience three years ago when I first walked into what is now known as Espacio Odeón: Centro Cultural. Back then it was an abandoned old theatre located in the middle of La Candelaria, Bogotá’s cultural neighbourhood – seat of government, student-hub, historic heart of the city, yet also one of its must unequal districts and one of the few whose population has diminished significantly in recent times.

Over the past 60 years, this building has gone by many different names. Teatro Odeón in the 1940s; Teatro El Buho in the 1950s; Teatro Popular de Bogotá until the late 1990s. For more than a decade at the start of the new millennium, it lacked a name altogether. It was home to nothing but pigeons, homeless drifters, and carelessly disgarded memories of a once brilliant cultural past.

The abandonment of Espacio Odeón was not an isolated incident. La Candelaria itself has also been largely neglected. Once known as the glitziest corner of the city, packed with theatres and cafés, you are now more likely to find homeless drifters sleeping on top of empty sidewalks here than women in fur-lined coats. To many Bogotanos, La Candelaria remains a dangerous, risky and dirty neighbourhood from which they prefer to steer clear – citing the city’s notorious traffic as an excuse for their fear and laziness.

The decline was caused by a variety of factors – episodes of violence, natural expansion of the city, the revolts of 1948, the siege of the justice palace in 1985, a vicious cycle of poverty, among other things. Where once there were gardens, crystal windows and a general cleanliness, now vines swallow whole houses, gardens grow on roofs, graffiti covers walls, and doors and windows are broken.

Such images can sound romantic, but with abandonment comes neglect. The reality looks more like this: a homeless man trying to find refuge from the rain on the doorsteps of the old houses; streets leading up to the mountains filled with crater-like holes; pigeons wandering about abandoned spaces with propriety; pedestrians clinging on to their belongings as they stroll “casually” through the streets. It is not rare for crack-addicts to use the street as their toilet, and to hassle a tourist for spare change.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest For many years the theatre was home to pigeons, homeless drifters, and carelessly disgarded memories of a once brilliant cultural past. Photograph: Espacio Odeón

Abandoned and forgotten spaces are only charming on paper. In truth, they are a constant struggle to maintain and, if you’re lucky, to establish once again. Yet when we first walked into Espacio Odeón, an immense feeling of nostalgia washed over me. Even though I had never witnessed the building in its glory days, its history became entwined with my own ideas for the future.

I have always believed that culture is instrumental to the development of society, and the revival of a city. When a neighbourhood becomes abandoned, its buildings left for the pigeons and dust to take over, then the streets around them deteriorate and, eventually, the local population forgets about those buildings. Conversely, when they are recovered for public use, this breathes new air not just into the space but the neighbourhood itself. Using them for culture creates an even more positive effect, because it offers people the chance to learn, create and think.

In 2011, thanks to the vision and generosity of Espacio Odeón’s new owners, we began a project that had, at its core, the recuperation of this iconic building through contemporary art installations. We wanted to give artists the opportunity to create and explore a historic landmark, and in the process open the theatre’s doors to new generations of Bogotános.

Over the past three years, we have hosted more than 20 exhibitions, five theatre shows and countless lectures, workshops and film screenings, and established a contemporary art fair which promotes emerging artists and galleries, giving them the opportunity to enter and become a part of the Colombian art market.

Happily, we are not alone. Houses that have been abandoned for years have new owners interested in restoring them to their original glory by establishing hotels, restaurants, shops, galleries and theaters. Recently, through the initiative of the Ministry of Culture, the Colon Theater – one of Bogotá’s most famous theaters in the 1980s – has been refurbished and re-opened. Everything about this area of the city screams potential, and finally Bogotá is beginning to look to its historic centre for new opportunities and development.

Colourful facades in the Candelaria district of Bogotá. Photograph: Stefano Paterna/Alamy

However, while there are some excellent examples of local government and private investors working together to make La Candelaria a better place, the process has been much slower than anticipated. Part of the reason for this is Bogotá’s notorious bureaucracy and corruption: funds that are meant to go towards restoration of streets and landscapes mysteriously disappear into public-servants’ pockets; permits for construction can take over six months to process.

Because most properties in La Candelaria are listed as historic monuments of the city, the processes are even slower and more complicated. The lack of transparency and efficiency from the local government can dissuade many potential investors to participate in the district’s recuperation.



The heart of Espacio Odeón’s vision is to become a space where citizens from all walks of life can gather to share, learn and create. There are incredibly few spaces in Bogotá where people of different socio-economic backgrounds can meet and engage. But culture can help change that, and help create a more equal and educated society.



Tatiana Rais is director and founding member of Espacio Odeón: Centro Cultural, a non-profit cultural centre in the heart of Bogota, and winner of theBritish Council Young Creative Entrepreneur Award 2014. Follow her @tatirais. To learn about other creative innovators like Tatiana visit the British Council’s Blurring the Lines exhibition, open until 19 December.

