Plaza Bolivar

The Plaza Bolivar is the seat of Colombia’s government and the place where Bogotá was founded in 1539 – after having been founded the year before in the Plaza del Chorro. The Plaza Bolívar has seen many momentous historical events, including the start in 1810 of the revolution against the Spanish empire, in the Casa del Florero (House of the Flowerpot) the M-19 guerrillas’ 1985 attack on the Palace of Justice and the ongoing parapolitica scandal.

The Plaza Bolívar is surrounded by the four powers of the state, as conceived of by the colonial Spaniards: The Justice Palace on the north, the Cathedral on the East, the Congress on the South and City Hall on the west.

The plaza is a happening place: it’s popular with tourists, protesters, artists, photographers and sellers of grain to feed the innumerable pigeons.

Plaza Bolivar and the Justice Palace in the background. In 1985, M-19 guerrillas attacked the palace and took the justices hostage. In the ensuing government counterattack, about 100 people were killed and the building was destroyed. Today, some ex-leaders of the M-19 are in Congress.

The ants, whose main body parts were molded using human skulls, represented Colombia's displaced people. The country has more than 2 million displaced persons, mostly poor peasants driven from their farms by guerrillas or paramilitaries.

During early 2010 a local artist got permission to place 1,500 giant ants on the Congress building.

After about six weeks, the ants came down. But the displaced people drama continues.

Showing off organic honey in the Plaza's monthly 'mercado campesino.'