Afondo is a family business founded in 1988 by Eduardo Calvete and Gloria Orrego with the mission to discover the world and share all its nuances from an integral perspective, experiencing each destination from its history, culture, architecture, gastronomy, religion, nature, and habits.
The history of Afondo, like any journey, begins with an encounter. Eduardo Calvete, a curious Spanish soul who worked as an economist and public official, decided to guide a trip through Europe following his passion and hunger for exploring the world. On this trip, he first met Gloria Orrego, who had graduated in law in Colombia and shared his restless nature. The forty-day tour changed its name in the course of conversations: it was actually a summer love between guide and traveler, a first kiss at the Trevi Fountain, a “let’s keep writing letters, but that’s it.”
After Europe, Gloria and Eduardo saw each other five times. They traveled through Colombia together. He proposed to her because he knew what he wanted, and his desire sought a yes. She accepted because, as she always tells her children, it’s better to regret what you do than what you don’t. They got married in Medellín and went to live in Spain. There, their first daughter, Varinia Calvete, was born. Eight months later, Gloria decided she wanted a more family-oriented life, and since for Eduardo, a descendant of sailors and diplomats, moving was never synonymous with conflict, this time he said yes.
After working for a short time in a travel agency, he had the idea to start his own business with Gloria: Afondo.
With their first office in a garage in Envigado, the agency was born with a seagull logo because the dream has always been to fly, to go from here to there with illusions as wings and fuel. The purpose from the beginning was to teach Colombians how to know the world with the six letters of its name. And since family has been the priority since then, with three children on board: Varinia Calvete, David Calvete, and Juan Manuel Calvete, they made their company grow, their factory of fulfilled dreams. The Calvete family has grown to create a larger home: children, employees, and travelers. They are not alone: in 120 countries, there is someone who lives tourism through the values of the agency. Meanwhile, in the penthouse of the Danzas building in Medellín, a team works that gets up every day to do things with a higher purpose:
