Aracataca (colloquially sometimes referred to as "''Cataca''") is a municipality located in the

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Magdalena, in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Caribbean Region The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of Colombia and is mainly composed of 8 departments located contiguous to the Caribbean.Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

mountain range into the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. Aracataca is south of the Department capital

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...

. The town is best known as the birthplace of Nobel literature laureate

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Geography and climate

The municipality borders to the north with the municipalities of

Zona Bananera Zona Bananera () is a municipality of the Magdalena Department in northern Colombia. Its main town is Prado Sevilla. References External links Zona Bananera official websiteGobernacion del Magdalena - Zona Bananera Municipalities of Ma ...

and Cienaga, to the east with the

Cesar Department Caesar Department ( es, Departamento del Cesar, links=no) or simply Caesar () is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with ...

, to the south with the municipality of

Fundación Fundación is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of Magdalena. Its people are known as Fundanenses. The primary economic activity is livestock-raising, for production of both meat and milk. Other crops are: corn, yuca, o ...

, and to the west with the municipalities of

El Retén El Retén is a town and municipality of the Magdalena Department in northern Colombia. References External links Gobernacion del Magdalena - El Reten Municipalities of Magdalena Department {{Magdalena-geo-stub ...

and Pueblo Viejo. Aracataca's climate is tropical: warm and humid year-round.

History

Aracataca was founded in 1885. It achieved the status of municipality on 28 April 1915, when it separated from the municipality of Pueblo Viejo. In the late 19th century, companies that would later merge into the

United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

colonized the land and started to cultivate bananas in the wide region. After some decades, the downfall of the company initiated and completed soon after, partly because of the worldwide recession and the war soon after. On June 25, 2006, a referendum to rename the town "Aracataca-Macondo" failed due to a low turnout.

Politics

Administrative divisions

Rural

=Corregimientos

= * Buenos Aires * Cauca * Sampues * La Fuente

=Veredas

= Aracataca contains 13 veredas: * Tehobromina * El Torito * Macaraquilla * La escondida * Bocatoma * La Ribiera * La Fuente * Cerro Azul * El Volante * El porvenir * Marimonda

=Caserios

= Aracataca has 3 caseríos: * Serankua * Yechikin * Dwanawimaku

Urban

=Neighborhoods

= The town of Aracataca has 33 Barrios: La Esperanza, La esmeralda, Zacapita, 2 de febrero, 20 de Julio, Ayacucho, Nariño, Loma Fresca, 7 de Agosto, El Carmen, Cataquita, Macondo, El Suiche, El Pradito, 11 de Noviembre, 7 de Abril, Ciudadela macondo, San José, Base, Marujita, Las delicias, Centro, Boston, El Porvenir, 1 de Mayo, Galán, San Martín, Bello Horizonte, Raíces, Macondo, Villa del Río I y II.

Economy

Aracataca relies heavily on agriculture, mainly producing

Oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its co ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

common bean ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green bean, green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a Leaf vegetable, vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its Pla ...

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

yuca ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

and on

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

raising like cattle, equines, mules, donkeys,

domesticated Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, goats and pigs. Commerce represents another form of income and is mostly done informally, especially along the main highway to Santa Marta where large lines of stands selling beach towels are placed.

Transportation

There are several companies that offer inter-municipal and inter-departmental transportation on medium-size buses,

minivan Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

s and taxi cabs. Most tourists and locals use Berlinas del Fonce which has busses leaving the Santa Marta terminal every 30 minutes between 5am and 6pm. $9.000 p.p. From the transportation office in Aracataca you can get almost everywhere using a ciclotaxi for just $1.000 p.p. The rivers are not navigable and there are a few small rudimentary airfields used by small aircraft for agricultural fumigation. The municipality and town are crossed by the Highway 45 that extends from

, crosses Aracataca,

, El Copey,

Bosconia Bosconia is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Cesar. Geography The municipality of Bosconia is located in the northwestern part of the Cesar Department. Borders to the north with the municipality of El Copey, to the east ...

, Curumani into the Cesar Department and turns south towards the Colombian Andean Region. The railway no longer works for public transportation, it is used almost exclusively to transport

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

from the region of La Loma Calentura in the Cesar Department to the Port of Santa Marta.

Culture

Festivities

Aracatacans celebrate the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

tradition of

Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

on January 6 of every year,

Carnivals Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

and the

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

between February and March, a cultural week, The Festival of the Unedited Song (''Festival de la Canción Inédita''), The municipality's anniversary in April and the River Festival (''Festival del Río''). The Fiestas Patronales which consist of large outdoor concerts and semi bullfights this year is being held from 15 July till the 24th. Aracataca train station

Tourism

Tourism in Aracataca is growing, but still at a low level. The most famous attraction is the house in which Gabriel García Márquez grew up, now the Casa Museo (Museum House). Another museum, Casa del Telegrafista, is also popular. In addition, the recently renovated train station will serve as an exhibition hall for photographs by

Leo Matiz Leonet Matiz Espinoza (April 1, 1917 – October 24, 1998) was a Colombian photographer, caricaturist, newspaper publisher, painter and gallery owner. Early life Matiz was born in the small village of Aracataca in the Magdalena Department of ...

, a native of Aracataca.

In popular culture

The town is the birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning author García Márquez and is widely recognized as the model for the mythical "

Macondo Macondo is a fictional town described in Gabriel García Márquez's novel '' One Hundred Years of Solitude''. It is the home town of the Buendía family. Aracataca Macondo is often supposed to draw from García Márquez's childhood town, Aracat ...

", the central village in García Márquez's popular novel, '' One Hundred Years of Solitude''. His childhood home, now the Casa Museo, and the church where he was baptised are both major tourist attractions.VIVA Aracataca Travel Guide - Plan your Aracataca vacation. Aracataca flights, tours, hotel reviews and maps

Gallery

Casa natal de Gabriel García Márquez (SAM 5602).jpg,

's Birthplace Museum Garcia Marquez Wall in Aracataca.jpg, García Márquez Wall Aracataca1.jpg, Billboard of

in Aracataca. The billboard reads: "I feel I am an American from every country, without never renouncing to the nostalgia for my land, to which I returned one day and discovered that between the reality and nostalgia was the Feedstock for my work". -

El rio Aracataca.jpg, Riverlife Schoolkids in Aracataca.jpg, Schoolkids Freemason lodge Aracataca.jpg, Freemason lodge Oilpalmmagdalenacolombia.png,

plantations in the municipality of Aracataca African palm tree forest in Aracataca.jpg, African palmtree forest, from which palm oil is being won Aracataca-hr 13.jpg, The house of the Telegrafist Aracatacatrain.png, Aracataca railway Train station of Aracataca by night.jpg, Train passing by the station

References

External links

Alcaldia de Aracataca

Tourist Informacion
{{Coord, 10, 35, 37.30, N, 74, 11, 34.11, W, display=title Municipalities of Magdalena Department