Casa Kolacho Graffitour

The Graffitour run by Casa Kolacho is the most meaningful way to see Comuna 13, because it is led by the people who helped transform it. Casa Kolacho is a self-managed hip-hop cultural centre in the district, named in honour of Kolacho, the rapper Héctor Pacheco of the collective C15, who was killed on 24 August 2009. His ideals inspired friends and fellow artists to turn rap and graffiti into what the newspaper El Colombiano calls a common language against stigma and violence.

The Graffitour itself began in 2011, and the collective's cultural centre followed a few years later. Members describe it not as a tourist product but as a project of historical memory, art and transformation. The tours are led by young people and residents of the comuna, who take visitors through the murals, explain what they depict and tell the story of the district, from the violence of the early 2000s to the community-led changes that followed.

Your fee matters here. Income from the tours funds Casa Kolacho's free hip-hop school, a pioneering project that has trained around 4,000 young people since it was founded, offering cultural, sporting and educational activities that keep them away from violence and gangs. Booking with the collective therefore puts money directly into the neighbourhood. Its spokespeople have said they hope the model can be replicated elsewhere and developed together with government.

The collective is led by the rapper Jeihhco, and the Graffitour has grown enough for members to take its story abroad, travelling with the theatre company Mapa Teatro to Brazil and Mexico. Casa Kolacho's base is about a block from San Javier metro station on Line B, which is the natural starting point for a visit.

The tour suits anyone visiting Comuna 13, especially travellers interested in street art, music and social history. Comuna 13 is a steep district, and its outdoor escalators in Las Independencias, used by more than 10,000 people a day, replaced climbs of between 200 and 380 steps, so wear comfortable shoes. Contact the collective in advance to arrange a tour, and remember that you are visiting a residential neighbourhood where people live and work.