The president of the Colombian Senate tours the sculpture garden with organizers.
On Friday, September 17 the South Florida Colombian community and South Miami city officials welcomed Juan Diego Gómez, presidente del Senado de Colombia. He was greeted at the Colombian Consulate office in Coral Gables and after remarks from many dignitaries and a reception, proceeded to Dante Fascell Park in the City of South Miami for a site visit to the Colombian Sculpture Garden, a project of the Sister City between South Miami and the City of Medellin.
At the reception Consul General Pedro Valencia’ recognized the significance of art in bringing communities together and acknowledged his meetings with South Miami Commissioner Josh Liebman in developing this concept. The consul general noted “how I see this wonderful place, the concept of the Colombia Sculpture Garden in the City of South Miami: It is a place to recognize Colombian culture and specially Medellín as a city, as a sister city, and a place for South Miami to be proud of: beautiful, cultural, further I´d say multicultural, diverse, inclusive.”
After a guided tour of the garden led by Commissioner Liebman and Dr. Medina, dignitaries gather for photo in front sculptor Luis Jimenez’s (third from left) illuminated work. 
He exhorted people to visit Medellin, South Miami’s sister city. “I know that visiting Medellin will give people an overview on the social inclusion, urban security, public transportation and economic progress that Medellin has accomplished in recent years. This transformation led the city of Medellin to be ranked today as ‘the most innovative city in the world’ according to the Wall Street Journal and Citibank.”
