Cereté is a town and

municipality 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 ...

located in the

Córdoba Department Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may ...

, northern

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 ...

Name origin

Cereté comes from the two indigenous words meaning Chere (fish) and te (shelter).

History

Cereté is one of the oldest administrative divisions in the Sinú Region, founded in 1721 by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Francisco Velásquez and Cristóbal Jiménez de León. In 1731 the

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of Cereté-Mocarí was given to

jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s who were in the process of

evangelizing In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...

local

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 ...

. The settlement of Cereté was not officially established until 1740 when

Juan de Torrezal Díaz Pimienta ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

reorganized the settlement into a village.

Geography and climate

The municipality of Cereté borders to the north with the municipality of San Pelayo, the municipalities of

Ciénaga de Oro Ciénaga de Oro () meaning "Golden Marsh", is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Cór ...

and San Carlos to the east, the municipalities of San Carlos and

Montería Montería () is a municipality and city located in northern Colombia and is the capital of the Departments of Colombia, Department of Córdoba Department, Córdoba. The city is located away from the Caribbean sea, by the Sinú River. The city an ...

to the south and to the west again with the municipalities of San Pelayo and Montería covering a total area of 351.8 km². Cereté has a yearly average temperature of 28 °C and is some 12 m over sea level. The town of Cereté is located some 18 km from the Cordoba Department capital

. The town of Cereté is crossed by the ''Caño Bugre'' (Bugre Stream) an affluent of the

Sinú River Sinú River (), is a river in northwestern Colombia that flows mostly through the Córdoba Department and into the Caribbean. The river is the third most important river after the Magdalena River and the Cauca River in the Caribbean Region. It i ...

. The Bugre stream was once navigable and connected the town with other river towns like

Puerto Wilches Puerto Wilches is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. References Municipalities of Santander Department {{Santander-geo-stub ...

and San Pelayo.

Economy

The economy of Cereté is based primarily in cattle raising with some 270 km² used and agriculture with extensive cultivations of

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 ...

(colloquially known as the "white gold") and

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

covering an area of 80 km².

References

Alcaldía Municipal de Cereté

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerete Cordoba