We had a whirlwind Cartagena visit. The first thing that struck us was that the area immediately outside the cruise terminal that you had to pass through to get to transportation was one of the best welcoming areas a place could have. There were so many brightly colored birds (parrots, peacocks, flamingos), as well as some tortoises and even a sloth we saw just hanging out on a tree.
After leaving that area, we caught a cab for the four of us to the old town (only $10 and saved us an hour walk). There, we walked around the area, seeing the famous gate and clocktower (la Puerta y la Torre del Reloj), the bóvedas (the vaults), Plaza Santo Domingo and the lovely La Gorda Gertrudis, the Portal de Los Dulces (Sweets Portal), and the Museo del Oro Zenu (Zenu Gold Museum). We walked along and on top of the Murallas de Cartagena (Cartagena City Walls). We also meandered over to Getsemaní where we walked along Calle de la Sierpe (Serpent Street) – among other streets – and saw Café Havana (albeit closed when we were there in the day). All around the area we saw a lot of palenqueras in their bright dresses and bowls of fruit and individuals with a couple dozen hats on their heads to sell. A little wandering through a church, browsing for souvenirs, and then back to the ship for us. We’ll undoubtedly remember this location, with its brightly colored streets and heat that made us melt.
Below are some fast facts for Cartagena that I found interesting.If, after reading these, you want to visit there virtually or you are going and want to extend your stay, consider watching Missing (2023) or reading the book Hotel Cartagena. Click on the links for my reviews of those for your armchair travel pleasure. Enjoy!
1. Cartagena is often called the Walled City, and for good reason. At the end of the 16th century, Cartagena decided to build a seven-mile wall around the city to protect it from pirates and invaders. This wall complemented the existing forts and castles located in the city. The wall, or Las Murallas, was also used to separate the city’s rich and poor population (jerks). The wall is still intact today, and we were able to walk on the top of it to admire the ocean views. The wall, along with other forts in the city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2. Cartagena is a city of festivals. For example, the Cartagena Film Festival, or FICCI, is Latin America’s longest running film festival. Taking place in March each year since 1959, it draws people from all over Latin America to the city. Music enthusiasts also flock to Cartagena every January to enjoy a diverse array of classical, jazz, and traditional Colombian music performances. The Cartagena Music Festival hosts more than 40 concerts every year in world class venues including San Felipe castle, La Popa hill, Getsemani auditorium and the Adolfo Mejia theater. The musicians even give free master classes to young Colombian musicians, which is a pretty cool feature of the festival. Unfortunately, we arrived days before this festival starts (on the 5th) so we just missed it. Another festival – Hay Fest – is a “festival of stories and ideas.” Considered one of the most important literature festivals in the Hispanic world, it brings together literature, visual arts, journalism, music, environment, and politics. Held late Jan/early Feb, we clearly missed this one too.
3. Plaza Santo Domingo lies in the heart of the old walled city of Cartagena and is one of the city’s most famous squares. The square is named after the Santo Domingo Church that stands in one of its corners and is lined with charming colonial buildings. Sadly, the square has a sordid past and was the site of executions during the Spanish Inquisition where Jewish people and non-Catholics were persecuted. There is even a legend that the Devil himself tried jumping on the roof of the Church of Santo Domingo. Within Plaza Santo Domingo is La Gorda Gertrudis, a voluptuous beauty that lies naked on a pedestal in the square. Supposedly, if you give her breast a rub, you will have good luck. Oh – important point here: I’m talking about a bronze statue – not an actual nude woman lying in the square. Please don’t rub actual women’s breasts for luck. Anyway, the statue was created by the world-famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero whose signature style depicts figures with voluminous and exaggerated proportions. Proof we tried to get a little luck here…
4. Cartagena’s San Pedro Claver Church is dedicated to the patron saint of slaves. The church honors San Pedro Claver (aka Saint Peter Claver) and his work in defending the rights of enslaved Africans. Born in Spain, he joined the Jesuits at age 20 and was eventually assigned to Spain’s colonies in the Americas. He first arrived in Cartagena in 1610, completed his studies in Bogotá, and returned to Cartagena in 1616 after being ordained a priest. By this time, Cartagena was a major slave trading center. Claver’s mentor in Cartagena, Alonso de Sandoval, ministered to the slaves and Claver essentially continued this work. He would head down to the overcrowded slave ships upon arrival, treat the sick and wounded, and minister to them. He is thought to have baptized 300,000 slaves over the course of his career. He died in 1654, and his work and the compassion earned him the nickname of the “slave to the slaves.” He was canonized as a Catholic Saint in 1888 and is considered the patron saint of human rights. Within San Pedro Claver Church, you can see San Pedro’s living quarters along with a slave’s quarters, the infirmary where Claver died, and an altar carved from Italian marble with the remains of Claver at its base.
5. It’s hard to visit Cartagena without making your way to Getsemaní, a neighborhood that serves as the city’s cultural nerve center, complete with Café Havana – a Cuban-themed nightclub that pulls in locals and tourists alike – and streets lined with umbrellas and miniature flags. The interesting thing is that this popular, trendy spot in Cartagena used to be an impoverished barrio that was primarily home to servants and lower-class individuals. But, after some renovations and transformations, the now-artsy neighborhood has become a sort of cultural mecca – and only a super short walk from the old Walled City.
6. All over the old city, you’ll find one of the city’s most iconic people – the palenqueras. You can’t miss them. These Afro-Latina women wear brightly colored ruffled dresses and are often seen carrying baskets of tropical fruit (sometimes in bowls on top of their heads!). Descended from African slaves brought over during Spanish colonial rule, they now live approximately 30 miles away from Cartagena in San Basilio de Palenque. Nowadays, you can find many African influences remain, including the beats within their music, the funeral rites, and West African-influenced meals. They even speak a form of Bantú, a Spanish-based creole language with ties to the Congo and Angola. Unfortunately, the town was historically cut off from the rest of society and had limited access to resources. As a result, the town was (and still is) extremely poor. So the women of the community – the palenquaras – make the trek to Cartagena (often by foot) to sell their produce. Of course, fruit is going to gather only so much money, so they supplement it nowadays by posing for photos for tourists. So be ready to give a tip if you want that perfect shot of these colorful ladies. We actually didn’t get any good pics of the women – free or paid.
7. This next fact goes to the birds. The Maria Mulata to be specific. This is the official bird of Cartagena, Colombia. The medium-sized bird of iridescent black or brown that looks like a raven is actually the great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). The traditional tale is that, long ago, in the barrio of Getsemaní, people and exotic animals co-existed. One of those animals was the Maria Mulata, a vividly colored bird. One day, a raging fire overtook the neighborhood and Maria Mulatas carried people to safety. Unfortunately, the birds’ feathers were blackened by the fire and smoke. However, with proper sunlight, you can see a hint of Maria Mulata’s former plumage, iridescent and radiant. The birds’ valor is celebrated throughout the city via numerous artistic works in the historical center of Cartagena. For example, a mural in Teatro Heredia features the birds dancing among muses, and outside the walled city is a Maria Mulata mural showing the birds emerging colors from a golden background.
8. Nobody expects (the next fact to be) the Spanish Inquisition! Cartagena, was a center of Spanish trade and military power during the colonial era. Therefore, it was a logical location for an office of the Inquisition, that horrible tool to enforce the power of the Catholic Church and Spanish crown. The office was founded in Cartagena in 1610, the third site of the Inquisition in the Americas after those at Veracrúz, Mexico and Lima, Peru. It had jurisdiction over the colony of Nueva Granada, which included present day Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela. During its 200 years in operation, the Inquisition in Cartagena investigated close to 900 people. Of those, 56 were convicted and made to carry out acts of penance, 12 of those publicly, and 5 of whom were sentenced to death. You can explore the history of the Spanish Inquisition in Cartagena in the Palacio de la Inquisicion, a museum that delves into the dark chapter of the Inquisition and its impact on the city’s history. Within the museum, you can see some of the torture equipment used on victims during the inquisition as well as a model of a guillotine (which actually was not ever used in Cartagena) and a model of a gallows. You can even take a picture with the noose around your neck if you’re into that sort of thing.
9. This next fact is about the iconic Gate and Clocktower (“la Puerta y la Torre del Reloj”), which can be seen at the main entrance of the walled city. The instantly recognizable pastel yellow clocktower (which makes me think of a tiered cake you’d see at Easter) is considered by many to be among the most beautiful clock towers in the world. Among the locals this gate is known as Boca del Puente, but for non-natives of Cartagena it is simply the Puerta del Reloj. Of the three open doors there, only the central one existed originally; the other two were occupied by a gunroom and a chapel. It was the main entrance to the city for a long time, and today still leads to the historical center of the city. And additional fun fact – the clock actually wasn’t a part of the initial structure; it was added much later. In 1874, a clock was brought from the United States, and 63 years later it was replaced by the current clock, imported from Switzerland.
10. Hidden within the walls of the old city are the remnants of dungeons. Yep, dungeons! The bóvedas (the vaults) are within a large building that has 47 arches and 23 domes. The bright yellow facade is hard to miss. This building was built between 1792 and 1796 and was the last major construction project carried out in colonial times. Originally, the vaults were used as storerooms for munitions and provisions. Later they were turned into a prison. Supposedly, since this was so close to the water, the prison cells would often flood knee-deep with water. This treatment of prisoners might be what makes a prison cell a dungeon. Anyway, nowadays the vaults house mostly souvenir shops and thanks to reclamation of land surrounding the walls, it is far enough from water that there are no more concerns about flooding.