Cumbre de las Americas

While we were away at the wedding, there was a lot of excitement in Cartagena. The city hosted the 6th Summit of the Americas on April 14-15, and almost all of the heads of state from the Western Hemisphere (including President Obama) were here for a series of meetings. The Summit of the Americas is held every 3 years and discussions include topics such as reducing poverty, fighting organized crime, and managing natural disasters.

Most of the meetings were held at the Convention Center. Here is a picture of it the week before the Summit began:

The city was all dressed up and ready for its spotlight on the international stage. And then "the scandal" happened, and it's all anyone in the States heard about. The Colombians worked very hard to prepare as hosts and it's so unfortunate that bad behavior overshadowed the rest of the news about the Summit and the important regional issues that were discussed.