The bar that turned Parque del Periodista from a lonely plaza into Centro's bohemian living room, 25 years and counting.
El Guanabano opened on the edge of Parque del Periodista in the late 1990s and, per El Colombiano's 25th anniversary profile, shocked the small plaza into life: what had been ancient solitude became the densest bohemian corner in central Medellin. The bar is the reason the park works.
El Colombiano calls it 25 years of creative bohemia; the city's Centro de Medellin project describes it as an emblem of the rock and countercultural mobilization of the city, a meeting place for literature, academia, music, theater, and film.
Who would hate it? Anyone who needs table service, clean lines, or quiet. This is a dive in the honorable sense, and the party spills onto the plaza.
The bar itself is compact, walls thick with posters and decades of accumulated character; the real seating is Parque del Periodista's steps and curbs, which fill nightly with bottles and conversation. Foursquare reviewers describe pleasant music for conversation and a room that is very busy and full of life, with the crowd flowing freely between inside and out.
Order cold national beer, around 8,000 COP a bottle, or a media of aguardiente to share; that is the entire program and nobody has ever asked for more. Latinoplaces and Foursquare reviewers consistently cite good prices and good service as the draw. The kitchen extends to snacks at most; eat before you come.
El Colombiano describes the long night here as music, drinks, smoke, conversation, and a flexible diversity of tastes and ways of being. Students, poets, professors, punks, and salseros share the same square meters. Thursday through Saturday nights run latest; the soundtrack rotates rock, salsa, and rock en espanol.