Diego Echavarría Misas (28 September 1895 in

Itagüí Itagüí () is a city of Colombia, located in the south of the Aburrá Valley in the Antioquia Department. It is part of The Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. Demographics The population at the 2005 census was 230,272. Its density is 1 ...

– 19 September 1971 in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

) was a Colombian businessman. As a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, he contributed significantly to the region of

Aburrá Valley Aburrá Valley (in Spanish ''Valle de Aburrá''), is the natural river basin of the Medellín River and one of the most populous valleys of Colombia in its Andean Region with near 4 million inhabitants in its biggest urban agglomeration: The ...

, especially his hometown,

Personal life

Echavarría was the son of Alejandro Echavarria Isaza, a well known businessman originally from Barbosa, and Ana Josefa Misas Euse. At 16 years old he was sent to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, where he attended high school at the Otto-Kühne-Schule in

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings are ...

. Soon after, he travelled throughout Europe whilst periodically visiting Medellin, where he worked with his father. He eventually settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He married Benedikta Zur Nieden, who known as "Dita". The couple had a daughter, Isolda Echavarría Zur Nieden, and eventually moved to Itagüí. Echavarría died on 19 September 1971, after being kidnapped and murdered by the "El Mono" Trejos gang in Medellín.

Philanthropic projects

Echavarría and his wife Dita bought an estate in Itagüí which he called ''Aires de Dita'', in honor of his wife. He later changed its name to ''Ditaires''. The original land of the estate has since been used for the construction of residential neighbourhoods, as well as the ''casa de la cultura de Itagúí'' (English: ''Itagüí House of Culture''), ''Colegio Alemán de Medellín'' (English: ''German School of Medellín''), and the park ''Recreativo Ditaires''. The main part of Dita and Diego's estate remains intact and its today used as a convention center. Echavarría was motivated to help fund the construction of the clinic in San Antonio de Prado after observing the precarious living conditions of farmers in the region. He alone paid for half of the construction costs. In 1945, he funded the construction of the Fundación Biblioteca de Itagüí, which he would later call one of his favorite projects. Approximately 10,000 readers visited the building in 1960, and by 1971 there were 354,236 annual visitors. Initially, the library hosted painting classes, but the large number of users of the library stretched the institutions resources. In 1987, the building was converted into an auditorium, as the library's collection was relocated to Parque Obrero. Today, the building is known as the ''Biblioteca Diego Echavarría Misas'', in its original patron's honor. In 1970 he donated a large part of land from his estate in Itagüí for the construction of a school in the neighborhood of Santa Ana. The school became named ''Colegio Waldorf Isolda Echavarría'' in memory of his daughter, who had died in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

while attended university due the rare disease

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain often ...

. With the patronage of his family, Echavarría created a foundation for educational and charitable works located in the Pedregal neighborhood. The foundation provided the local population with practical education and medical care. While the center was under construction, Echavarría is said to have visited to monitor its progress almost daily. Echavarría later moved to El Poblado, where he purchased El Castillo, a large estate where he installed his art collection. After his death in 1971, his wife Dita donated the property to a foundation. Today, the building still operates as a cultural center and is open to the public as a museum. Echavarría's last philanthropic project before his death was the creation of a library in Barbosa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echavarria Misas, Diego People from Itagüí 1895 births 1971 deaths Colombian philanthropists 20th-century Colombian businesspeople Kidnapped Colombian people Colombian murder victims People murdered in Colombia Assassinated businesspeople