Free Tours
Free Cali Salsa & Resistance Street Art Tour
- 3 hours
- Monday – Saturday at 10:30, 15:00
- Cali
- English / Spanish
- Small groups
- Based on tips
Discover the rebel soul of Cali through our exciting salsa and urban art tour! Immerse yourself in the passion and energy of Colombia’s salsa capital as you explore its streets filled with color, creativity and its memories. Join us for a unique experience where music, dance, and art blend into the very essence of Cali!
Cali is characterized by its energetic nightlife with a varied musical offering but at the same time very concentrated on salsa, the icon of local identity. Many people visit the city to learn to dance Cali salsa due to the fame of its technique and style, or simply to appreciate this art that combines music, joy and flow.
However, apart from the dance and the local nightlife, we intend that with this Tour you understand that salsa exists thanks to a historical process of African emancipation that many of our ancestors lived and left in us as a cultural and social legacy. Salsa is part of the “cultura popular” of our people and is a social movement whose lyrics tell us moments of revolution, crazy loves, historical events and social manifestos.
From its beginnings in the Caribbean Antilles, through a great musical mix and its definition in New York, to the boom years of cultural development in Cali between the 60’s and 80’s, salsa has served as a means of connection between society and guilds, and has become a romantic, folkloric and revolutionary art. Today you can see salsa characters painted on various murals in tribute to their musical and social contribution in the streets of Cali, and curiously close to them you will find more radical and activist messages from other social movements linked to a popular struggle and cause.
We want to make you see salsa as a movement and lifestyle that has revolutionized our passions and whose musical manifestation is a celebration of a struggle in life.
At the end of this Tour you will appreciate salsa with a different perspective and you will understand the effervescence of the Cali people that has led us to face social outbreaks, protests and solidarity struggles where art, music and activism are tools of resistance.
Highlights / What you will learn
- Origins of “Calle del Pecado”
- Fine Arts School & Movements
- “Cultura Popular” Activism
- 5th Avenue Largest Murals
- National Strike Nov 21st
- Cali’s Salsa Identity: lyrics & characters
- Buziraco Cultural Leyend
- Salsa Cult Bars
- And much more!
Experience preview
Meeting point
Find us right at the Plazoleta Jairo Varela with our red umbrellas! GMaps
Finishing point
Cimarrón salsa cult bar
Included
- English-speaking tour guide
- Accurate knowledge of Cali’s salsa history and “cultural popular” revolution
- Sightseeing of the most representative salsa movements of Cali
- Active street art murals and content
- Recommendations of salsa cult bars
- Benefits and discounts with our recommended partners if you show our Free Walking Tour Map in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/bccali
Not included
- Drinks, food or souvenirs.
- Transportation to and from your hotel.
- Transportation on the tour. We’ll be walking and taking resting stops.
- Tickets or entrances. We won’t take you to places where sudden extra charges apply!
- Exclusive tour guide. Remember this is a shared tour, we’re sure you’ll meet new amazing people.
Recommendations
- An open mind to comprehend all our history.
- Umbrellas or capes. Please bring your favorite rainproof coat or umbrella, we can’t control the weather yet.
- Water or your preferred form of hydration. This is a walking tour, and you may feel thirsty.
- Comfortable shoes. You’ll walk about 4 km while also making some stops to listen to the guide.
- Comfortable clothes. No pressure to look amazing, feel free to wear what makes you feel better.
- Keep your friends close, and your belongings even closer. We’ll visit some crowded areas, so don’t give papaya!
