Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

on the coast of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

in northern

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 ...

. It is the capital of

Magdalena Department Magdalena () is a Departments of Colombia, department of Colombia, located in the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea, with more than 1.3 million people. The capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Mag ...

and the fourth-largest urban city of the Caribbean Region of Colombia, after

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

, Cartagena, and Soledad. Founded on July 29, 1525, by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, it was one of the first Spanish settlements 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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. 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-Columbian times

Before the arrival of Europeans, the South American continent was inhabited by a number of indigenous groups. 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 cultures of Colombia, 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 Department, Cesar, Magdalena Department, Mag ...

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 were known to actively collect and process salt, which was a significant trading commodity. They traded with other indigenous groups along the coast and interior. Archaeological excavations have recovered significant works in pottery, stonework and gold.

Simón Bolívar

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

, the liberator of much of South America, spent his last weeks in Santa Marta, and died of tuberculosis in 1830, at the age of 47 at Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, Santa Marta. He was buried in the cathedral of Santa Marta, but subsequently his remains were moved to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

.Many references may befound in the article on Simón Bolívar

University

The Universidad del Magdalena is located in Santa Marta.

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

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta desde el espacio

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

tropical savanna 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 ...

(

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 ...

''Aw''), bordering on a hot

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

climate, 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 – berry (botany), botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called pla ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

, cocoa 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, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

Infrastructure

Santa Marta is a major port. Simón Bolívar International Airport is from the city centre. Historic figure

died here, a significant event for South America as a whole. His villa known as La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino 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 in Santa Marta File:Santa Marta 2.JPG, Casa de la Aduana 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 lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

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

* Antony de Ávila, professional footballer * Jaime Bateman Cayón, founder and leader of the M19 political movement *

, liberator of Gran Colombia, died in Santa Marta * Julio Bovea, musician * Sergio Díaz-Granados Guida, IDB Executive Director for Colombia and Peru * Lalo Ebratt, Reggaeton singer *

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios F.C., Millonarios. Nicknamed "El ...

, professional footballer * Jesús Ferreira, professional footballer * Maria Claudia Lacouture, executive director of the Colombo American Chamber of Commerce * Alejandro Palacio, singer of vallenato music * Arturo Reyes, football coach * Aldo Leão Ramírez, professional footballer * Li Saumet, vocalist of Bomba Estéreo band * Andrés Solano, professional footballer * Luis Javier Suárez, professional footballer * Carlos Valderrama, professional footballer * Taliana Vargas, actress and model *

Carlos Vives Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo (born 7 August 1961) is a Colombians, Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. One of the List of best-selling Latin music artists, best-selling Latin music artists of all time, with over 20 million records world ...

, singer of vallenato music * Johan Vonlanthen, professional footballer

Media appearances

Santa Marta is the production location of the TV series The White Slave.

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