The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of

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 ...

and is mainly composed of 8

departments 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, ...

located contiguous to the Caribbean. MEMO: Natural Regions of Colombia
Memo.com.co Accessed 22 August 2007. The area covers a total land area of , including the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and corresponding to approximately 1/10 of the total territory of Colombia. The Caribbean region of Colombia is home to approximately 9 million residents according to the

Colombian Census 2005 Colombian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Colombia * Colombians, persons from Colombia, or of Colombian descent **For more information about the Colombian people, see: *** Demographics of Colombia *** Indigenous ...

. The Caribbean region coast extends from the Gulf of Urabá to the

Gulf of Venezuela The Gulf of Venezuela is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and by La Guajira Department, Colombia. The western side is formed by the Guajira Peninsula. A strait connects it with Maracaibo Lake to ...

. Straddling the coast are Colombia's two main Atlantic port cities of

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

and Cartagena. The administration of the region is covered by 8

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, ...

governments: Atlántico, Bolívar,

Cesar Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

Sucre Sucre () is the Capital city, capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the List of cities in Bolivia, 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . T ...

, Córdoba, Magdalena, La Guajira and San Andrés and Providencia. These 8 departments also cover approximately 182

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, 1093 '' corregimientos'' and 493 ''caserios'' according to the

2005 Census 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

DANE Colombia The National Administrative Department of Statistics ( es, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística), commonly referred to as DANE, is the Colombian Administrative Department responsible for the planning, compilation, analysis and ...

. Most of its inhabitants speak a dialect of

Caribbean Spanish * Caribbean Spanish ( es, español caribeño, ) is the general name of the Spanish dialects spoken in the Caribbean region. The Spanish language was introduced to the Caribbean in 1492 with the voyages of Christopher Columbus. It resembles the S ...

with variations within its subregions.

Administrative divisions

Eight departments form the Caribbean region: Partial territory pertaining to: *

Antioquia Department ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

: in the Gulf of Urabá most of the territory of the subregion of

Urabá Antioquia Urabá Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia that consists of two enclaves, one forming the northwest corner of the department the other, the west, both are along the Atrato River and are separated by the El Carmen ...

. * Chocó Department: covering a small territory in the Gulf of Urabá. Chocó is the only Department of Colombia with coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Demographics

It is considered the only tri-racial region giving it the status of the most diverse and mixed region in the country, as the predominant ethnic group in the region is the

Pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...

, a mixture of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

, mainly Spanish, the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

and Afro-Colombian unlike the other regions where predominantly

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

Castizo ''Castizo''Pronunciation in Latin American Spanish: is a racial category used in 18th-century Colonial Mexico to refer to people who were three-quarters Spanish by descent and one-quarter Amerindian. The feminine form of the word is ''castiza' ...

and

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

such as Andean Region and Orinoquia Region and black as is the case of the Pacific Region. During the 19th and 20th century, a wave of immigrants came from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

a, mostly from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. A second wave followed during World War II from other parts of Europe such as

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from other countries affected by the war. There were also important settlements of British,

White Americans White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

, and

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

who founded dozens schools such as

Marymount International School Barranquilla Marymount School Barranquilla (also referred to simply as "Marymount") is a private, co-educational, Catholic school catering to students from Early Childhood to Grade 12 (aged 3–19) located in Barranquilla, Colombia. It operates on the American ...

Colegio Karl C. Parrish Colegio Karl C. Parrish (also known as KCP) is a bilingual private school that offers Preschool through 12th-grade education. The school is located in Barranquilla, Colombia. Description Colegio Karl C. Parrish was founded in 1938. It is acc ...

Colegio Jorge Washington Colegio Jorge Washington (COJOWA), previously the George Washington School, is an international school located in Cartagena, Colombia, with a main campus in Zona Norte and a preschool campus in Bocagrande. The school serves preschool through 12th ...

Colegio Albania Colegio Albania is an American international PK-12 private school in the Mushaisa area in Cerrejón, within Albania, La Guajira, Colombia, serving students from age 1 1/2 to the end of high school.Cartagena, Colegio Británico de Monteria, Altamira International School, British International School Barranquilla, Boston International School Barranquilla, American School Barranquilla, Bureche School of

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 ...

, and Cartagena International School among many others across the region. Most of the immigrants settled in the main urban centers or trade port towns such as in

, Cartagena, Monteria, Sincelejo,

Santa Cruz de Mompox Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department. The town initially grew from its proximity to the Magdalena river and has preserved much of its colonial character. ...

, Santa Cruz de Lorica, El Banco, etc. The two most populous indigenous ethnic groups are the wayuu in the

Guajira Peninsula The Guajira Peninsula ( es, Península de La Guajira, links=no, also spelled ''Goajira'', mainly in colonial period texts, guc, Hikükariby) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean. It is the northernm ...

and the

Arhuacos The Arhuaco are an indigenous people of Colombia. They are Chibchan-speaking people and descendants of the Tairona culture, concentrated in northern Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Name The Arhuaco are also known as the Aruaco, B ...

Koguis The Kogi ( ), or Cogui, or Kágaba, meaning " jaguar" in the Kogi language, are an indigenous group that resides in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains in northern Colombia. Their culture has continued since the Pre-Columbian era. Lang ...

and Arsarios. Black population is mostly concentrated near Cartagena predominantly in the town of San Basilio de Palenque, which was proclaimed

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

for preserving its African heritage.

Economy

The economy of the Caribbean region is based mainly in the exploitation of natural resources such coal and natural gas, salt, agricultural products mainly bananas,

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

, tropical fruits among many other products, livestock raising which is practiced extensively in almost all the territory, in Córdoba, Sucre, Atlántico, Magdalena, Bolívar, Cesar and southern La Guajira. There is also a service industry and a local import-export industry mainly in the ports of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta. Another major part of the economy is tourism, which concentrates also in Cartagena and Santa Marta along with San Andres and Providencia Islands.

Culture

Sports

Like in the rest of Colombia,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is by far the most popular sport in the zone, with teams like Junior Barranquilla,

Jaguares de Córdoba Jaguares de Córdoba is a professional Colombian football team based in Montería, that plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Jaraguay stadium. History The team was created on December 5, 2012 at a meeting he ...

Real Cartagena Real Cartagena is a professional Colombian football team based in Cartagena, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Jaime Morón León stadium. History The origins of Real Cartagena date back to 197 ...

and

Unión Magdalena Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena, ...

competing in the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

divisions of the country. The Caribbean region has been the home of successful football players, many of them world famous like Carlos Valderrama,

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and often captains the Colombia national team. Nicknamed "''El Tigre''" (Spanish for ''The Tige ...

and Carlos Bacca. Unlike in rest of the country, but shared with

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

is an important sport in the region, although its popularity has been fading in the last few years. Nevertheless, the region has produced major league players like Édgar Rentería and

Orlando Cabrera Orlando Luis Cabrera Ramírez, nicknamed "O-Cab" and "The OC", (born November 2, 1974) is a Colombian-American former baseball infielder. He won a World Series championship in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Montreal Expos ...

. The region also is known for its love of combat sports.

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

is a popular sport in certain zones and the region had produced many world champions, such as Antonio Cervantes,

Rodrigo Valdéz Rodrigo Valdez (February 22, 1946 – March 15, 2017) was a Colombian professional boxer who competed from 1963 to 1980. He was a two time middleweight champion, having held the WBC title from 1974 to 1976 and the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''T ...

, and

Miguel "Happy" Lora Miguel Lora Escudero (born April 12, 1961 in Montería, Córdoba), known as Miguel Lora or "Happy" Lora is a Colombian boxer. He reigned as the WBC bantamweight champion of the world from 1985 to 1988. Beginnings and world title Lora started ...

Music and dance

The most popular local rhythms are the cumbia and vallenato however, there is a great musical influence from the rest of the Caribbean nations with

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

, merengue, more recently reggaeton and many

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

rhythms. This influence also developed the ''

Champeta Champeta, also known as terapia, is a musical genre and dance that originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia in the early 1980s. It developed from an earlier style termed chalusonga, which originated in Palenque de San Basilio in the mid-1970s ...

'' which has similarities with reggaeton. Other genres include ''

porro The porro is a musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. It is a Colombian cumbia rhythm that developed into its own subgenre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballro ...

''. Traditional dances are mostly of Afro-Colombian origin with the influence in cumbia and the

mapalé The Mapalé is an Afro-Colombian and Ecuadorian style of dance that was brought over by the slaves, and representing the fishermen after a long day of work. Its name comes from the '' Cathorops mapale'' (fish) when they are out of the water. The ...

Myth and legend

The Caribbean region has a rich tradition of myths and legends that include ''

La Llorona ''La Llorona'' (; "The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer") is a Hispanic-American mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned. Origins Early colonial times provided evidence that the lore ...

'', ''

El Hombre Caimán El Hombre Caimán (The Alligator Man) is a legend from the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast of Colombia that takes place in the riverside town of Plato, Magdalena, Plato: Saúl Montenegro’s passion for spying on naked women turned ...

'', ''

La Ciguapa LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

'', the Vallenato Legend, '' La Madre Monte'', '' El Simborcito'', la Mojana Legend, ''

El Lucio EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

'', etc

Celebrations

The most popular and known celebration in the Caribbean region is the Barranquilla's Carnival, Carnival of Barranquilla celebrated every year in February or March. The Miss Colombia Pageant in Cartagena, the

Vallenato Legend Festival The Vallenato Legend Festival ( es, Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata) is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The festival features a vallenato music contests for best performer of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca ...

in Valledupar,

Feast of the Sea A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

and the Corralejas Festivities in Sincelejo.

Cuisine

The typical food of the Caribbean region varies according to the geographical location in the sabanas the typical meal is the sancocho made with rabo (cow's tail) and accompanied with

coconut rice Coconut rice is a dish prepared by soaking white rice in coconut milk or cooking it with coconut flakes. As both the coconut and the rice-plant are commonly found in the tropics all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures th ...

. In the coast, the typical meal is fish, sometimes fried or sometimes cooked in coconut milk. A popular soup is also prepared with the head of the tarpon,

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 a ...

, plantain,

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

. The '' arepa'' is also a popular dish with numerous variations like ''arepa limpia'' (plain arepa), ''arepa e' queso'' (arepa with cheese) and ''arepa e'huevo'' (arepa with egg).

Cazuela de mariscos Cazuela de mariscos is a popular seafood stew from the Caribbean region of Colombia (especially Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta). Its preparation, as well as its ingredients, tend to vary slightly in different regions. It may have been i ...

, a seafood stew, is also a typical dish found in the region.

References

External links

* {{in lang, es}
Luis Angel Arango Library: Colombian Caribbean

Administrative divisions

Demographics

Economy

Culture

Sports

Music and dance

Myth and legend

Celebrations

Cuisine

See also

References

External links