Sincelejo () is the capital and largest city of the Colombian

department of Sucre Sucre () is a department in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 904,863, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia. Sucre is bordered by the Caribbean on the northwest; by Bo ...

. It is also the main city in the denominated '' Región Sabanas'' (Savannas Region), a subdivision of the

Caribbean Region of Colombia 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.http://www.dane.gov.co Censo 2005 Dane It is located 30 kilometers from the Caribbean Sea by the

Gulf of Morrosquillo The Gulf of Morrosquillo ( es, Golfo de Morrosquillo) is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Colombian Departments of Sucre and Córdoba. From West to East it runs approximately from Boca de Tinajones, mouth of Sinú River, in Córdob ...

, 125 kilometers from Cartagena, and 200 kilometers from

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 ...

Origin of Name

The origin of the name Sincelejo is a subject of controversy with no consensus as to its source. The most widely accepted theory is that the Spanish city is named after Cincel, who is reputed to have been the leader ("cacique," often translated, "chief") of the indigenous people who inhabited the area where the town was founded. One author states, without citation, that this theory is supported by documents in the General National Archives (AGN) in Bogota.

History

The land comprising Sincelejo was inhabited in the

Prehispanic In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

age by several groups of indigenous people known as the

Zenú The ''Zenú'' or ''Sinú'' is a pre-Columbian culture in Colombia, whose ancestral territory comprises the valleys of the Sinú and San Jorge rivers as well as the coast of the Caribbean around the Gulf of Morrosquillo. These lands lie within t ...

. Sincelejo was founded on October 4, 1535, the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

Francis of Assis Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

i, with the name San Francisco de Asís de Sincelejo. The village used to be a part of Alonso Padilla's ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

'' between 1610 and 1640, and was located on the site of a small Zenú indigenous settlement. At that time the indigenous people were overpowered and exploited by the Spanish colonizers, or

encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

. On November 21, 1775, Sincelejo was re-founded by the Spanish captain and engineer, Antonio de la Torre y Miranda, following orders from Cartagena's governor,

Juan de Torrezar Díaz Pimienta Juan de Torrezar Díaz Pimienta (sometimes ''Juan de Torrezal Díaz Pimienta'') (died 11 June 1782 in Bogotá) was a Spanish military officer and colonial official. He was twice governor of Cartagena de Indias, after which he was promoted to vic ...

. The construction of the town began with a church, the lands around the church given to people who used to live across the region; this was to create a religious and political center in the zone. Sincelejo was intended to follow the classical Spanish colonial grid, with the main church and its square in the center of the town, but this was not possible because of several creeks that ran through the town. In 1812, Sincelejo became shelter for the revolutionary priests in ''La Rebelión de los Curas'' (the Priests' Insurrection). By 1887, Sincelejo was one of the leading towns in the Province of Cartagena. In 1908 it became the short-lived capital of the department of Sincelejo, ultimately becoming part of the Province of Cartagena again in 1910. In 1912, Sincelejo almost disappeared because of a massive

conflagration A conflagration is a large fire. Conflagrations often damage human life, animal life, health, and/or property. A conflagration can begin accidentally, be naturally caused (wildfire), or intentionally created (arson). A very large fire can produc ...

which destroyed most of the central zone; nevertheless the town was rebuilt. With the creation of the

Sucre Department Sucre () is a department in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 904,863, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia. Sucre is bordered by the Caribbean on the northwest; by Bo ...

in 1966, Sincelejo subsequently became the capital. On January 20, 1980, the Corralejas Stadium collapsed, killing at least 200 people.

Geography

The geography of Sincelejo is typical of mountain scenery, consisting of irregularly-shaped surfaces with variable slope and altitudes ranging from 50 to 260 meters. The weather is hot and damp (mean daily humidity 95% and temperature ranging from 25-33 C), with average annual rainfall of 500–1200 mm. The hilly landscape is the most defining feature of the town, extending from the mountains to the borders of the plateau in the north and south. Erosion is present in the rugged topography of rolling hills, which are moderately to strongly broken, with slopes between 7–50%. The small mountain foothills in the municipality span from the marine fluvial plain in the west to the border shared with the town of

Palmito Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, most notably the coconut (''Cocos nucifera''), juçara ('' Euterpe edulis''), açaí palm (''Euterpe oleracea''), palmetto (''Sabal'' spp.), and p ...

. The terrain varies from flat to inclined.

Boundaries of the city

Sincelejo is bordered by the municipalities of

and

Tolú Tolú is a small municipality and town in Sucre Department, northern Colombia by the Caribbean sea. The municipality has an area of 500 km². It is named for the Tolú, one the Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples of South Amer ...

to the west,

Sampués Sampués () is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia. References Gobernacion de Sucre - SampuésSampués official website Sucre {{Sucre-geo-stub ...

and

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 ...

to the south, Corozal and

Morroa Morroa is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia. References Gobernacion de Sucre - MorroaMorroa official website Sucre {{Sucre-geo-stub ...

to the east and

Toluviejo Toluviejo is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia. References Gobernacion de Sucre - Toluviejo Cafe Internet Toluviejo Sucre - compuserver Sucre Sucre () is the Capital city, capital of Bolivia, the ...

to the north.

Climate

Sincelejo is in the tropics, so its temperatures remain fairly consistent throughout the year, with an average temperature of about 27 °C ( 80.6 °F). It has a

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(''Aw'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. The Drought season usually starts in the first or second half of December and extends until the end of February to the first half of (month). The

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * ''T ...

starts sporadically and gradually increases, peaking in April or May. In (month) and July,

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

decreases (in a period called "''Veranillo de San Juan''") until it increases once more.

Administrative divisions

Sincelejo is subdivided into an urban zone and a rural zone. The urban zone is divided into 9 ''Comunas'' (

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

), while the rural has 21 divisions named ''Corregimientos''. Urban DivisionSincelejo, Knol http://knol.google.com/k/carlos-mario-castro-navarro/sincelejo-colombia/1i29ptfum49sf/18# Rural Division

Demographics

In 2018, Sincelejo had a population of 277,773. 83.7% of residential buildings are houses, while 12.1% are apartments; 98.1% of the housing has regular electricity; 83.7%, is connected to a

sewage system Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and screeni ...

; 79.7%, has a regular

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

; 79%, has natural gas and 50% has

telephones A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...

. In Sincelejo, 51.6% of the residents are women, while 48.4% are men. The

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

is 87.5%. 11.5% of the citizens of Sincelejo recognize themselves as indigenous people, 3.4% as African-Colombians, and 85.1% recognize themselves as

Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

and

Mestizos (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ...

(

mixed-race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

Economy

The main economic activities of the municipality of Sincelejo revolve around the area and neighboring department specifically in the livestock sector, agriculture, commerce, and other services. Because of the excellent quality, and breeding of is cattle, Sincelejo has been called the ''Capital Cebuísta de Colombia''. It has facilities for fattening herds. Dairy farming is done on a smaller scale but is an important contributor to the city's economy. Agriculture, is secondary to livestock farming, and is highlighted by the production of maize,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, 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 ...

, yams, and

bananas 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 ...

. Trade and other services, especially the government, are important economic activities in Sincelejo, supplementing the primary activities of the agricultural sector. Industry is beginning to grow in the city with its new factories, including

Postobón Postobón, S.A. ( ) is the largest Colombian beverage company, and also one of the largest in South America. The company has a wide portfolio of products that includes soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water, tea, an energy drink, and coffee. ...

stands (drink stand), almidón (starch production), clothing, footwear, icopor (styrofoam), metal equipment, bricks, concrete, construction materials, and wood processing in particular, highlight the microenterprises in the municipality. The economy of Sincelejo is sustained by: trade and services offered by banks, chain stores, clinics, restaurants, service stations, fixed and mobile telecommunications, road and air transport, automobiles, workshops. According to a recent census of the Industry and Commerce department, there are about 3000 establishments of all kinds of operating in the capital.

Culture

The traditional music of Sincelejo includes ''

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 ...

'' and ''

fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

'' (similar to samba in Brazil), and ''

Vallenato Vallenato () or "Szlager" in Wayuu language (from the German "Schlager"), is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing th ...

''. The typical dish of this city is '' mote de queso'' which is a soup with cheese. The city is known for its ''hamacas'' (

hammocks A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wov ...

) and the '' sombrero vueltiao'' (turned hat), which are both made by the native inhabitants. The ''sombrero vueltiao'' is also as a national symbol of Colombia. The city is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sincelejo. Every January, Sincelejo opens the holiday for ''Fiestas del dulce nombre de Jesús'' (The party of the sweet name of Jesus) which takes place on January 20. The festival begins a few days earlier and includes a number of parades, a beauty contest, and several days of bullfighting within a temporary wooden circular structure similar to a stadium named ''Corraleja''. This is why the holiday is also called ''Las Fiestas de Corraleja''. On January 20, 1980, a combination of overcrowding and panic caused the bullring's wooden bleachers to collapse, killing 222 persons, although some estimates place the death toll at almost 400. This tragedy put traditional Corraleja on hiatus. In 1999 the municipality authorized the construction of the wooden structure renewing the bullfighting. The ''Encuentro Nacional de Bandas'' (National Meeting of the Bands) also takes place in Sincelejo. This is a musical contest where folk bands perform the traditional musical styles of the Savanna Region:

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 ...

and

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

. The contest began in 1984 and takes place in the mid-year and it awards creativity and performance. Another cultural yearly event in Sincelejo is ''Festival Sabanero del Accordeón'' (Savanna's Accordion Festival). Unlike the National Meeting of Bands, this festival is about the folk musical styles played on the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

and it includes four styles: Paseo, Merengue,

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

and

Puya Puya may refer to: * ''Puya'' (plant), in the family Bromeliaceae * Puya (river), in Russia * Puya, a variety of Guajillo chili * ''Puya'' (Meitei texts), traditional or mythological texts of the Meetei people * ''Culoepuya'' or ''Culo'e Puya'', V ...

. The first winner of this contest was Lisandro Meza in 1974. The festival was created to show the Savanna's culture to the country and to the world. There is always some controversy when the styles of

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Caesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. ...

, specially the paseo, win. Sincelejo has several institutions devoted to cultural work such as ''La Escuela de Bellas Artes'' (School of Fine Art), Batuta among others.

Sites of interest

Majagual Plaza: Usually called ''La Placita de Majagual'' (The Little Plaza of Majagual), it has been referred to in several folk songs by artists such as

Joe Arroyo Álvaro José Arroyo González (also known as Joe Arroyo or El Joe; 1 November 1955 – 26 July 2011) was a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer, composer and songwriter. He was considered one of the greatest performers of Caribbean music i ...

. This plaza was the epicenter of the January 20 ''Corralejas'' for many years before it moved to La Plaza de Mochila where it took place until the disaster of 1980. Since then, Majagual Plaza was only used for activities related to sport., In 2007 it was relaunched with a new concept and post-modern design with an arch-shaped sculpture and a wide square for cultural events. Santander Park and Saint Francis of Assis Cathedral: As old as Sincelejo, the Santander Park was opened in 1776 and it was the first place where the January 20 ''Corralejas'' took place in 1845 running until 1964 when it was moved to Majagual Plaza. Just next to the park is the ''Catedral San Francisco de Asís'' ( Saint Francis of Assis Cathedral), which was established in 1853. It is the center of the religious celebrations that take place throughout the year in Sincelejo such as: Easter, Virgin Mary, Sacred Heart and the most important celebration that takes place on January 20 – ''Las Fiestas del Dulce Nombre de Jesús'' (The party of the sweet name of Jesus). Sincelejo's Municipality Theater: It was established in 1997 and it is a beautiful facility where concerts, musicals, folk events and theater operas take place. It is the cultural facility for excellence in Sincelejo. VIVA Sincelejo Shopping Center: The VIVA Sincelejo Shopping Center (''Centro Comercial VIVA Sincelejo'') was opened in August 2006, as ''Saint Francisco Shopping Center'' (Centro Comercial San Francisco). It had a play ground for children, four movie theaters, and shops. It was located on Las Peñitas Avenue (''Avenida Las Peñitas''), the investment was about ten thousand million pesos. In 2011 construction of a new mall in the same place began. The VIVA Sincelejo Shopping Center will have 91 shops where it is possible to find clothes, shoes, food and entertainment. The mall's area is about 31,000 square meters including parking space for 453 cars and 201 motorcycles. The very first stage of the mall was inaugurated in May 2013, the second one in August, and the third one in November. The total investment for this facility is twenty-five thousand million pesos (About 12.5 Million US Dollars). This mall holds the biggest shopping center in Sincelejo: Almacenes Exito.http://www.exito.com/AmpliarPublicacion.aspx?id=572 Centro Comercial San Francisco

Corraleja

Sincelejo is best known for its yearly folkloric and religious party – January 20 Party ''Fiestas del dulce nombre de Jesús'' (The party of the sweet name of Jesus) also known as Jesus' Sweet Name Party. This party includes a structure known as ''Corraleja'', which is a temporary crafty wooden

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are o ...

, where the main attraction is watching the bullfighters facing the bulls. There is no official remuneration for the

bullfighter A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

s who dare to enter the ring, but usually the wealthiest landowners state an unofficial monetary incentive for those who stab the bull using small prickers. The

picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...

s are also a part of the show, but they belong to cattle raising farms and they're paid for their work, but the unofficial incentive also applies for them. The construction of the temporary bullring starts at the end of December, and civil engineers and architects supervise the work of dozens of workers. The bullfighting takes places in four or five journeys (a journey a day), usually including the weekend. Different cattle rising farms (previously chosen) are in charge of supplying the bulls – about 40 bulls per day – so at the end of the last day the most entertaining journey is chosen, with people's participation, and the cattle rising farm is awarded with an official incentive. A ticket to watch a bullfighting journey costs about 15–35 US Dollars and usually the last journey is the most expensive. The main criticisms of the ''corraleja'' is the treatment of the animals, not only in the bullfighting but as it is being prepared, the safety of the usually unskilled bullfighters, and the consumption of alcohol within the bullring by watchers and bullfighters. Anyone who dares to join the bullfighters must have insurance, which is sold on site, so if they are hurt their medical costs are covered.

Media

Two local dailies circulate in Sincelejo: ''El Meridiano de Sucre'' and ''El Universal Sincelejo''. There are also regional and national newspapers such as: '' El Tiempo'', ''

El Espectador ''El Espectador'' (meaning "The Spectator") is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It changed from a daily to a weekly editio ...

'' and '' El Heraldo''. There are several radio stations. On the A.M. band there are Radio Caracolí, Radio Piragüa, Radio Chacury, Radio Sabanas, Radio Sincelejo, Ecos de la Sierra Flor and local stations of

RCN Radio RCN Radio (''Radio Cadena Nacional'', "National Radio Network") is one of the main radio networks in Colombia. Founded in 1949 with the integration of ''Radio Pacífico'' (Cali), ''La Voz de Medellín' and ''Emisora Nueva Granada'' (Bogotá). Carl ...

and

Caracol Radio Caracol Radio (''Cadena Radial Colombiana'', "Colombian Radio Network") is one of the main radio networks in Colombia. Founded in Medellín in 1948 when ''La Voz de Antioquia'' station acquired the 50% of ''Emisoras Nuevo Mundo'', based in Bogotá ...

. On F.M. there are: Olimpica Stereo, Tropicana Stereo, Primavera Stereo, Bésame, 94.3 F.M., Marina Stereo and Unisucre FM Stereo, and Radio Tiempos. Sincelejo receives five national television channels: RCN,

Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, ...

Canal Uno Canal 1 ( en, Channel 1; pronounced "Canal Uno") is a Colombian state-owned television channel. It is owned by the Government of Colombia and managed by Plural Comunicaciones, S.A.S, a private company. From 1957 to 2017, the channel was administe ...

Señal Colombia Señal Colombia is a Colombian public Terrestrial television, which offers opinion, informative, entertainment, educational, sports and cultural content and is part of RTVC Sistema de Medios Públicos. History Señal Colombia began its broadca ...

and

Señal Institucional Canal Institucional is a Colombian public Terrestrial television channel launched on February 2, 2004 to replace Canal A after its merger with the programmer Audiovisuales. The television station broadcasts the sessions of the Congress of the ...

. There are two cable TV services: Claro and Cable Unión. Claro has the only local TV channel named Canal Doce (Channel 12) which is available for its subscribers. It includes several programs as well as a newscast devoted to Sincelejo and its zone of influence.

Transportation

Sincelejo is known for being an important crossroads on the Colombian Caribbean coast. It is placed close to several important towns in the region –

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 ...

Magangué Magangué is a municipality of Colombia in the Department of Bolivar. The town is located in the Magdalena River; 20 km north of the mouth of the Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental an ...

Coveñas Coveñas is a Resort town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia. It was established in the 16th century as a port for slave traders, then it became an oil port in the twentieth century . It became a municipality in 20 ...

and

San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...

– and it is also relatively close to important cities in Colombia like

, Cartagena,

and

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. There is regular transportation from Sincelejo to these cities by bus and taxi, with taxis being a little more expensive. 15 kilometers away from Sincelejo is Las Brujas Airport where there are daily flights to the major cities of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

and

Education

As the main city in Sucre and the Savannas Región, Sincelejo has a large number of students, with 35 public schools and several private schools. Also, there are several universities:

Universidad de Sucre The Universidad de Sucre (Unisucre) is a public university, public, department (administrative division), departmental, coeducational university located in Sincelejo, Sucre Department, Sucre, Colombia. The university has three campuses in the c ...

, which is the only public university in Sincelejo and Sucre. There are several private universities: CECAR, CORPOSUCRE, CUN, Universidad San Martín, Universidad Santo Tomás, Remington and there is a local office of the Universidad de Pamplona. There are several institutions offering technical and technological training the most important being the local facility of SENA.

Notable residents

Jorge Alfaro Jorge Mario Alfaro Buelvas (born June 11, 1993) is a Colombian professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. Alfaro signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 2010, and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015. He made his ML ...

, Major League baseball player *

Ariadna Gutiérrez Ariadna María Gutiérrez Arévalo (born 25 December 1993) is a Colombian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Colombia 2014. She represented Colombia in the Miss Universe 2015 competition on December 20, 2015, an ...

, Model and Beauty Pageant Titleholder *

Verónica Alcocer Verónica Alcocer García (born 26 May 1976) is the current First Lady of Colombia since August 7, 2022, as the wife of President Gustavo Petro. She has law studies, Alcocer has become a voice of the most vulnerable communities. Alcocer is th ...

First Lady of Colombia The First Lady of Colombia (First Lady of the Nation) is the title held by the hostess of the House of Nariño, usually the wife of the President of Colombia, president of Colombia, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the fi ...

External links

Sincelejo Town Hall Website

References

{{Authority control Capitals of Colombian departments Municipalities of Sucre Department