Jump to content

Santa Marta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Annefrank22 (talk | contribs) at 11:35, 8 September 2011 (→‎External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the Colombian city. For other uses, see Santa Marta (disambiguation).
Santa Marta
City
El Rodadero Beach
El Rodadero Beach
Flag of Santa Marta
Flag
Nickname: 
America's Pearl (La Perla de America)
Location in the Department of Magdalena. Municipality (dark gray) City (red)
Location in the Department of Magdalena.
Municipality (dark gray)
City (red)
Country Colombia
RegionCaribbean Region
DepartmentMagdalena
FoundationJuly 29, 1525
Founded byRodrigo de Bastidas
Named forMartha
Government
 • MayorJuan Pablo Diazgranados Pinedo (Liberal)
Area
 • City2,393.35 km2 (924.07 sq mi)
 • Urban
55.10 km2 (21.27 sq mi)
Elevation
6 m (20 ft)
Highest elevation
At Pico Cristóbal Colón
5,775 m (18,947 ft)
Population
 (2005)[1]
 • City415,270
 • Density170/km2 (450/sq mi)
 • Urban
385,122
 • Urban density6,989.5/km2 (18,106.3/sq mi)
 DANE
Time zoneUTC-05 (Colombia Standard Time)
Websitesantamarta-magdalena.gov.co

Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia (Santa María la Antigua del Darién was founded earlier, but abandoned soon after). Located between the Santa Marta Mountains and the Caribbean Sea, the city is a popular tourist destination due to its history, colonial architecture, beaches and nearby nature reserves.

Simón Bolívar died at an estate named Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino on the outskirts of Santa Marta on December 17, 1830. The city has been affected to some extent by the Colombian Armed Conflict.

History

Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino in Santa Marta.

Prior to the Arrival of Spanish explorers, the area where Santa Marta lies was inhabited by Amerindians from the Tairona culture, and its subsequent families: Arhuacos and Koguis, among others.

The city was founded on July 29, 1525 by Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, accompanied by some two hundred of his men and a few Amerindians. He named the city after the Catholic day for Saint Martha, which in Spain was celebrated with festivities. However, many historians argue that he named it after the Spanish city of Santa Marta de Astorgas, which he had visited.[2] With its foundation, the Spanish colonization also started the conquering of lands from this region, and the set up of administrative functions for the colony, including a maritime port and the construction of defenses to prevent pirate raids.

During the Colonial times the city started losing its importance as maritime port to nearby city port of Cartagena.

During the mid-19th century, French, English and North American immigrants along with some locals started to introduce industrial ways of productions and founded trade associations among industrials and the farmers. As a result they built railways which would connect productive networks.

In 1871, the University of Magdalena was founded, initially with two faculties: law and medicine.

During the 20th century the city served as a main port for massive exports of bananas and coal, produced inland with the assistance of major multinational corporations.

In 1968 the government decentralized the Port Authority, leaving Santa Marta with its own Port Authority (Capitania de Puerto).[3]

In recent years, Santa Marta has attracted large numbers of people displaced by the paramilitary groups operating in the area. The warm climate and the possibility of occasional work serving the tourist industry has increased the city's population drastically.

Geography and climate

Climate

Global positioning of Santa Marta.

Temperatures in the city of Santa Marta ranges from 27 to 35 degrees Celsius at sea level, but the Municipality of Santa Marta stretches up to the highest snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and each 100 meter of higher altitude means 1 Celsius lower temperature. Rainfall in this region varies from 12 to 975 mm per month.

Economy

Tourism

Tourism has its peak during December 15 to January 15 and another peak during the Easter week. The district of Rodadero is a favorite resort of Colombians together with Cartagena and San Andres. The recently renovated downtown of Santa Marta with its blend of colonial and republican architecture attracts many visitors among them several cruise ships a week. Downtown Santa Marta is also building its own international marina, planned for completion in 2011. In this way Santa Marta hopes to attract international sailing boats, especially during the hurricane season, since Santa Marta is protected from hurricanes by the surrounding mountains. Las Fiestas del Mar (The Festival of the Sea) is an annual celebration during the midyear vacation period. One of the main events in the festival is the jetski show organized by Santa Marta Esqui. There are beauty pageants, parades and parties in the city. The Festival's slogan is "Santa Marta, la magia de tenerlo todo" ("Santa Marta, the magic of having it all").

  • Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino: Built in the 17th century, was the last home of Simon Bolivar, today it is a house/museum in his honor.
Port of Santa Marta one of Colombia's most important maritime ports.
  • The Cathedral: it is a national monument built in 1766, it held the remains of Simon Bolivar until 1842.
  • La Casa de la Aduana (Customs House): it is the oldest house of America, built in 1530. Today it is the Tayrona Museum.
  • Madame Agustine House: a jewel of colonial architecture.
  • San Fernando Fort: built by Spanish conquerors to protect the city from the pirates, it is a fine sample of colonial military architecture.
  • Tayrona National Natural Park: located 34 km north of Santa Marta, it is the most important ecological reserve in Colombia. It has camping zones, virgin beaches and tropical forest. The park also has its own archeological site, Pueblito (also known as Cahirama); it is one of the 200 pre-Columbian cities discovered near Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
  • Quebrada Valencia: a majestic waterfall emerging in the middle of the rain forest.
  • Taganga: an authentic fishing town, a popular destination for scuba diving, with beautiful beaches nearby.
  • The Mamancana Natural Reserve: a wildlife reserve and a venue for practising extreme sports such as paragliding, downhill, rock climbing, and canopying.
  • Rodadero Sea Aquarium and Museum: an aquarium with a small dolphin and sea-lion show.

Sister cities

Santa Marta has one sister city:[4]

Sports

The town has a football (soccer) team, Unión Magdalena, nicknamed El ciclón bananero (The Banana Cyclone).

Santa Marta is the birthplace of Colombia's most famous football player, Carlos Valderrama, as well as Radamel Falcao and Swiss international Johan Vonlanthen.

It is also the birthplace of Grammy Award-winning singer, actor and songwriter Carlos Vives.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Censo General 2005 (PDF) (in Spanish), Bogotá: DANE, 2005, p. 486, ISBN 978-958-624-072-7, retrieved June 1, 2009
  2. ^ Santa Marta: City government santamarta.gov.co Accessed 29 September 2006.
  3. ^ DIMAR: Port Authority of Santa Marta dimar.mil.co Accessed 29 September 2006.
  4. ^ Miami Beach Sister Cities Program

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Santa Marta.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Marta&oldid=449122271"