For six days it looked like, for first time in recorded history and possibly ever, the Western Hemisphere would be at peace.

On Monday, after 52 years of fighting, the government of Colombia and the revolutionary guerilla movement FARC signed an official truce. It brought to an end one of the bloodiest wars in generations, one that killed over 220,000 people. But more significantly, it was an end to the last ongoing war in the Americas.

Democracy is more prevalent, and the people who used to do the fighting and dying are now doing the voting.

That evening, in Bogota, thousands gathered in the central Plaza de Bolivar to watch the ceremony on massive screens, to dance and celebrate. I arrived there directly from the airport and had to be dropped off three blocks away due to crowds. It was impossible for me to navigate from one side of the plaza to the other without getting a tearful hug and several high-fives. The happiness was so real and personal I was embarrassed to be there; it felt like I had crashed a private family party.

Image: Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, attend the inauguration of their 10th conference in Yari Plains, southern Colombia, September 17, 2016. AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan.