Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
on the coast of 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 ...
in 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 ...
. It is the capital of
Magdalena Department and the fourth-largest urban city 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.[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 ...]
,
Cartagena, and
Soledad. Founded on July 29, 1525, by the Spanish conqueror
Rodrigo de Bastidas
Rodrigo de Bastidas (; Triana, Seville, Andalusia, c. 1465 – Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 28 July 1527) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who mapped the northern coast of South America, discovered Panama, and founded the city of Santa Marta.
...
, it was the first Spanish settlement in Colombia, its oldest surviving city, and second oldest in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. This city is situated on a bay by the same name and as such, it is a prime tourist destination in the Caribbean region.
History
Pre-Colombian times
Before the arrival of Europeans, the South American continent was inhabited by a number of
indigenous groups
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 ...
. Due to a combination of tropical weather, significant rainfall, and the destruction and misrepresentation of many records by Spanish conquistadors, our understanding of the peoples of this region is limited.
The
Tairona
Tairona (or Tayrona) was a Pre-Columbian culture of Colombia, which consisted in a group of chiefdoms in the region of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Cesar, Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia, South America, which g ...
formed mid- to large-size population centers, consisting of stone pathways, terraces, protected waterways, and spaces dedicated to agricultural produce. Their economy was primarily agricultural, cultivating corn, pineapple, yucca, and other local foodstuffs. The Tayrona are considered quite advanced for their time period. Surviving archaeological sites consisted of formed terraces and small scale underground stone channels. They also were known to actively collect and process salt, which was a significant trading commodity. We know that they traded with other indigenous groups along the coast and interior. Archaeological excavations have recovered significant works in pottery, stonework and gold.
Flag
Santa Marta's flag consists of two colors: white and blue. White symbolises peace, in that all are united without restriction. Blue symbolises the sky, the sea, the magic found in the horizon, and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.
Geography
Santa Marta is located on Santa Marta Bay of the Caribbean Sea in the province of Magdalena. It is 992 km from Bogotá and 93 km from Barranquilla. It is bordered to the north and west by the Caribbean and to the south by the municipalities of Aracataca and Ciénaga.
Climate
Santa Marta experiences a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSh'') with largely uniform temperatures year round. The dry season lasts from December to April, while the wet season lasts from May to November.
Economy
Santa Marta's economy is based on tourism, trade, port activities, fishing and agriculture, in that order. The main agricultural products are:
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
and
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 ...
.
Infrastructure
Santa Marta is a major port.
Simon Bolivar International Airport is from the city centre. Historic figure
Simon Bolivar
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
died here, a significant event for South America as a whole. His villa known as
La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino
The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino ( en, Quinta of Saint Peter of Alexandria) is an ''hacienda'' or ''quinta'' built in the 17th century, famous for being the death place of Simón Bolívar on December 17, 1830. The hacienda is located in the ...
is located just outside the city centre. As the main city centre is located close to the coast, the city itself has had difficulty controlling expansion. Although, technically a separate locality, Rodadero is part of Santa Marta itself.
Gallery
File:AnfiteatroQuinta.JPG, Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino
The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino ( en, Quinta of Saint Peter of Alexandria) is an ''hacienda'' or ''quinta'' built in the 17th century, famous for being the death place of Simón Bolívar on December 17, 1830. The hacienda is located in the ...
in Santa Marta
File:Santa Marta 2.JPG, Casa de la Aduana y Alcapulca
File:2018 Santa Marta (Colombia) - Estatua de Rodrigo de Bastidas.jpg, Statue of Rodrigo de Bastidas
File:2018 El Rodadero (Santa Marta) - Playa principal desde el Canal de Las Iguanas - Colombia.jpg, Rodadero, Santa Marta
File:Acuario el rodadero2.jpg, Rodadero aquarium
file:2018 Santa Marta (Colombia) - Casa amarilla en la esquina de la calle 18 con carrera 4.jpg, Traditional house in Santa Marta
File:Faro de Santa Marta.JPG, Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
in the bay of Santa Marta
File:Isla El Morro en el horizonte.jpg, El Morro island off the coast of Santa Marta
File:2019 Santa Marta - Containters y grúas en el Puerto.jpg , Harbour of Santa Marta
File:2019 Santa Marta - Ensenadas en el Parque nacional natural Tayrona.jpg, Tayrona National Natural Park
File:Кафедральный собор (внутренний вид).jpg, The cathedral (inner view)
File:На центральной площади.jpg, On central square
File:Кафедральный собор САНТА-МАРТА (Колумбия).jpg, The cathedral
Notable people
*
Carlos Vives
Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo (born 7 August 1961) is a Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his interpretation of traditional music styles of Colombia such as vallenato, cumbia, champeta, bambuco and porro as well as genres ...
, singer of vallenato music
*
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 ...
, professional footballer
*
Taliana Vargas
Taliana María Vargas Carrillo (born December 20, 1987) is a Colombian actress, model, and television personality who was crowned Miss Colombia 2007 and placed 1st Runner-Up at Miss Universe 2008. Vargas is a student of Journalism at the North ...
, actress and model
*
Alejandro Palacio, singer of vallenato music
*
Sergio Díaz-Granados Guida, IDB Executive Director for Colombia and Peru
*
Maria Claudia Lacouture, executive director of the Colombo American Chamber of Commerce
*
Carlos Valderrama
Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''El Pibe'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking mid ...
, professional footballer
*
Andrés Solano, professional footballer
*
Johan Vonlanthen
Johan Vonlanthen Benavídez (born 1 February 1986) is a Swiss former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger.
Having made his Swiss Super League debut BSC Young Boys at the age of 16, ...
, professional footballer
*
Arturo Reyes, football coach
*
Inés María Zabaraín, journalist
Media appearances
Santa Marta is the production location of the TV series
The White Slave.
See also
*
Taganga
Taganga is a traditional fishing village and corregimiento of Santa Marta, located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia at about 10 minutes or north of Santa Marta. Both Santa Marta and Taganga were founded by Rodrigo de Bastidas on July 29, 1525, ...
*
Ciudad Perdida
Ciudad Perdida (Spanish for "lost city"; also known as Teyuna and Buritaca-200) is the archaeological site of an ancient city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, within the jurisdiction of the city of Santa Marta. This city is beli ...
*
Tayrona National Natural Park
References
External links
*
UNIMAGDALENA*
Bank of the Republic, economic history of Santa Marta*
*
*
{{Authority control
Capitals of Colombian departments
Municipalities of Magdalena Department
Populated places established in 1525
Port cities in the Caribbean
Ports and harbours of Colombia
Port cities in Colombia
1525 establishments in the Spanish Empire