Buenaventura, Colombia
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Buenaventura is a coastal seaport city located in the
Pacific Region The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
of the department of Valle del Cauca,
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
(
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
). Buenaventura (Spanish for "good fortune") is the main port of
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. As of the 2018 census, Buenaventura has a population of 235,064. Most of the urban development takes place on Cascajal Island, while the majority of the city's land is rural with scattered, small villages. It is served by the Gerardo Tobar López Airport. The city is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network after it was named a "City of Gastronomy" in 2017.


History

The city was founded on July 14, 1540, by Juan Ladrillero through orders from Pascual de Andagoya. Its name, Buenaventura, is Spanish for “good luck”. At that time, it was inhabited by an indigenous tribe called the Buscaja Indians. The city was destroyed by Indigenous Americans before 1600; it was later rebuilt. Buenaventura thrived after the opening of the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
in 1914; and in the 1950s became a regular stopover for the 'international jet set'. Today, the city is crucial for sending raw materials to nearby areas; this has brought prosperity and allowed recent new development to occur.


Demographics


Ethnic Composition

According to the 2018 DANE census, its demographic composition is as follows:
Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...
: 220,318 (85.25%)
Whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...
and
Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
s: 29,825 (11.54%) No response: 4,289 (1.66%) Indigenous: 3,919 (1.52%) Raizal: 48 (0.02%)
Palenquero Palenquero (sometimes spelled Palenkero) or Palenque () is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in Colombia. It is believed to be a mixture of Kikongo (a language spoken in central Africa in the current countries of Congo, DRC, Gabon, and An ...
: 33 (0.01%) Romani: 13 (0.01%) There are ten indigenous reservations fully or partly within Buenaventura. They belong to Emberá people, specifically to Waunana and Chami sub-tribes.


Transport


Port

The city is one of the major ports on the continent, accounting for nearly 60% of all Colombian sea imports and exports. However, due to its strategic position, the city's economy has been hampered by gang-related activity fighting over control of the port, making it among the most impoverished cities in Colombia.


Rivers

The city is surrounded by rivers, including: the Dagua; the Anchicayá; the Calima; the Raposo; the Mayorquín; the Cajambre; the Yurumanguí; and part of the right arm of the Naya River and part of the left arm of the River San Juan at its mouth. In addition, it has many streams and smaller rivers, such as Agua Clara, San Marcos, Sabaletas, San Cipriano and Escalerete, which supplies the municipal capital through an aqueduct.


Road

Well paved and maintained roads, that are designed to be unaffected by landslides, leave the city via Loboguerrero, where it divides to go to
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
, or Buga and then onwards to the cities of
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...
and
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
. This route is known as "La Vía al Mar", as it connects the parts of the country together.


Airport

Gerardo Tobar López Airport connects Buenaventura with direct flights t
Dorado Airport
of 1 hour 20 minutes to
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
via Satena, as well as to other cities.


Crime

Buenaventura has had a notorious history plagued by the
Colombian armed conflict The Colombian conflict () began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates and far-left guerrilla groups fighting each other to increase their i ...
, drug trafficking, violence, and the presence of guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Colombian authorities have seized almost US$28 million in cash from drug kingpins. The money found was in several shipping containers sent from Manzanillo, Colima (
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
) and
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
(
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
), that belonged to brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, also known as the ‘Combas’. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of reported homicides in the city doubled. In 2010, the murder rate of Buenaventura was 175.2 homicides per 100,000, a rate 5 times the national average. To counter the violence, the Colombian government has set up a marine special forces unit in the worst area of the city. In 2011, it seemed that counter-violence efforts had improved crime metrics, even while aspects of the Colombian drug war in that city worsened. According to community activist Victor Hugo Vidal, "If you ask the authorities, they will tell you he cityis better -- that the homicide rates are way down. But for us iving here during the last 10 years, there has been no change."


Education


Universities

The city hosts higher education universities, both private and public:


Public

* Universidad del Valle is the leading academic institution in south-western Colombia, with the third-highest student population in the country. Its main campus is in the city of
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
, but apart from the capital of Valle del Cauca, there are campuses in Barrio San Fernando, where the Faculty of Health and the Faculty of Administration are based, and they have regional headquarters in: Buga, Cartago, Caicedonia, Northern Cauca, Buenaventura, Palmira, Tulua, Yumbo and Zarzal. In has a total of 30,000 students (2007) of which almost 25,000 are undergraduates and 5,000 postgraduates. The headquarters of the Universidad del Valle in the city of Buenaventura, are on the Avenida Simon Bolivar km 9 Contiguo ITI College, GVC. * Universidad del Pacífico - is a University Public Institution of Higher Education. It has five academic programs; Systems Engineering, Architecture, Sociology, Humid Tropics Agriculture, Aquaculture Technology, and Computer Technology. The administrative office is located at Avenida Simon Bolivar # 54A-10 in Buenaventura. It also has offices in Guapi and Tumaco. * Universidad del Quindío


Private

* Universidad Antonio Nariño is one of the largest private universities in the country, with campuses in nearly all major cities in Colombia, including Buenaventura


Geography

Buenaventura is located a few kilometers from the western cordillera of the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
mountain range and about by road from the major city of
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
, the department's capital. It is one of the rainiest cities in the world, with of rainfall annually.


Climate

Buenaventura, like all of the Colombia Pacific Coast, has an extremely consistent, wet, cloudy, humid and hot
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Af'').


Tourism

The most notable tourist venue is the Cascajal Island located in the western part of the city. It is inhabited, and is surrounded by marshes and in it are important tourist and commercial sites including Néstor Urbano Tenorio park, the field of handicrafts sea of the same, the cathedral San Buenaventura Hotel Station, the ramp or site boats to go to nearby islands and the pier. Piangüita, a coastal town near Buenaventura, has the Ecoparque Theme Green Iguanas, created by Rigoberto Gomez. The Ecopark comprises four hectares, and is part of the homelands of the
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
community of Bazán. It also has beaches which attract tourists. Bahía Málaga is a deepwater port designed to provide support to large ships that cannot enter the port of Buenaventura.


Places of interest

*Cathedral of Buenaventura *National Palace *San Cipriano and Escalarete rivers Nature Reserve. *Beaches of La Bocana, Piangüita, Juanchaco, Ladrilleros and La Barra *Hotel Maguipi *Botanical Garden Bushes, within the area of Bahía Málaga Uramba National Natural Park


Other places of interest

*Néstor Urbano Tenorio Park *Tourist floating dock. *Mural "Buenaventura 450 years in space" *Spa on the outskirts of the city *Hotel Station


Notable natives and residents

* Juan Carlos Candelo, former NABF
Light Middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...
champion * Raul Cuero, professor of microbiology at Prairie View A&M University and
Inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
* Margarita Diez-Colunje y Pombo (1838-1919), historian, translator, genealogist * Marbelle, pop singer * Edison Miranda, a 2000 Colombia Olympian, former WBO Latino, NABA, and IBF Latino
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...
champion * Fernando Montaño, soloist with the Royal Ballet in London * Freddy Rincón, retired Colombian
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
midfielder * Adolfo Valencia, retired Colombian
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
striker * Bartolo Valencia Ramos, former Mayor * Bladimir Díaz, footballer


Sport

The city has had two professional football teams; each club played
Categoría Primera B Categoría Primera B, commonly referred to as Torneo BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is the second-division association football, football league in Colombia. The tournament was inaugura ...
and had only a short existence. Pacífico F.C. only existed for the 2010–2011 season, whereas Atlético Buenaventura played between 1991 and 1995.


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Municipalities of Valle del Cauca Department Populated places established in 1545 Port cities in Colombia Ports and harbours of Colombia 1545 establishments in the Spanish Empire