The streets in the 7 de Agosto, or El 7 neighbourhood reveal Colombian mechanics: public spaces converted into workplaces and peopled by a host of colourful characters.
For almost two decades now, this working-class district has been dedicated to the repair business which has always taken place in the street. Different types of goods are handled in the district: original spare parts, second-hand spares (known as “chimbos”) and spare parts stolen from abandoned cars. There are also mechanics who have their own repair shops, itinerant mechanics, accessory salesmen and the so-called “para calles” (who manage to fit spare parts or make quick repairs without the customers having to get out of their vehicles).
The repairs carried out in these streets also require small devices: toolboxes attached to posts, carts laden with all kinds of bits and pieces and different mobile workshops.
El 7 is a paradigm of the informal economic dynamics that operate in the city of Bogotá, where the appropriation of public space is an eloquent sign of the real needs of a city subjected to an increasing process of regulation.