Rodrigo de Bastites was the first to name Cartagena the bay that is now occupied by Cartagena de Indias.

In 1502, on a four-month trip, Rodrigo de Bastites discovered the Caribbean coast of Colombia and, with it, the bay of Cartagena de Indias, which he named as being as closed as that of Cartagena, Spain. The name Cartagena del Poniente came in 1533 to differentiate it from Cartagena del Levante in Spain, where most of Pedro de Heredia's sailors were from, who founded it because the place (where he had found an indigenous settlement called "Calamarí") became very propitious for a strong square.

Cartagena's name is a derivation of "Nova Carthage," a name given by the Romans to the city founded by the Carthaginians, Qart Hadasht, after the single wars.

Flag

The Cartagena de Indias flag has been adopted since it was declared an independent Sovereign State of Spain in 1811. It has three red, yellow and green quadrillators from outside, respectively, and in the center of the green ring is an 8-pointed white star. The flag is called a quadrilonga because of its shape.

Viral Shield

Cartagena Shield granted by Felipe II of Spain, in force from 1574 to 1811.

Philip II of Spain

This shield was created in 1574 when King Philip II of Spain decided to grant a coat of arms with "two red and raised lions, having a cross in the middle, handheld and as tall as the lions, up to the top, in the gold field, and on top of the cross, a crown among the heads of those lions, with their doorbell and foliage." This decision was taken after Cartagena de Indias had acquired great importance as the central port of the new virreinal territory where the shield was intended to be used in all official acts of the city.

Republican Shield

The present Cartagena de Indias shield was adopted when the city had declared its independence from Spain and had become a Sovereign State in 1811. It features an Indian sitting under the shade of a coconut tree, with her quiver behind her back, holding on her right an open grenade from which a turpel feeds, with her left hand holding an arch, with his left foot, he steps on a broken string. At the bottom stands the hill of the Popa, the highest geographic accident in the city. The shield represents the independence and freedom that the city claimed as the first of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Today it is the shield that the city possesses and has undergone several changes, among which the inclusion of the fortress of San Felipe de Barajas at the far end, an architectural icon built during the colony. ​ thank you for seeing..

The history of Cartagena de Indias is divided into several periods that have as their starting point the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the American continent. It begins with the period before the arrival of the Spanish or pre-Columbian empire, a time of which there are hardly any cultural vestiges, and continues with the "discovery" and colonization by Spain, the independence movements, the Republican era, the civil conflicts, until it covers recent history. The Caribbean city of Cartagena de Indias was founded in 1533 by Don Pedro de Heredia on lands inhabited by the indigenous Kalamari, was an important Hispanic enclave in the Spanish imperial Caribbean.

Pre-Columbian period: 4000 a. C.-1500 d. C.

Ranchería of the indigenous Wayuu group, who lives in the northwestern Caribbean region of Colombia.

The culture of Puerto Hormiga, which lies on the Caribbean coast, particularly in the area of the Sinú River Delta to Cartagena Bay, seems to be the first human community documented in what is now Colombia. Archeologists estimate that around 4000 BC, the formative culture is located near the border between the current departments of Córdoba and Sucre. In this area, archeologists have found the oldest ceramics in the Americas, dating back to around 4,000 BC. The main reason for the proliferation of primitive societies in this area is believed to have been the relative softness of the climate and the abundance of wildlife, which allowed hunting people a comfortable life. Archeological research, the decay of the culture of Puerto Hormiga and its corresponding adjustments of about 3000 BC. The emergence of a much more developed culture, Monsú, which lived at the end of the Dique Canal near the Pasacaballos neighborhoods, today in Cartagena and the Honda swamp in the northernmost part of Barú Island, has raised the hypothesis. The Monsú culture seems to have inherited the use of Puerto Hormiga culture from the art of pottery and they have also developed a mixed economy of agriculture and basic manufacturing. People's diet Monsoo was mainly based on seafood, fresh fish and saltwater. The development of the Sinú society in what is today the departments of Córdoba and Sucre, maintained these first developments around the area of the Bay of Cartagena. Until the Spanish colonization, many cultures derived from the "Karib", the linguistic families Arawak Malibu and lived along the Colombian Caribbean coast. At the end of the pre-Columbian era, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was home to the Tayrona people, whose language was closely related to the Chibcha linguistic family. Around 1500 the area was inhabited by different tribes of the linguistic family Karib, more precisely the sub-family Mocanae, including:

• In the center of the island: Kalamari
• On the island of Tierrabomba: Carex
• On the island of Barú, next, peninsula: Bahaire
• On the eastern coast of the outdoor bay: Cospique
• In the suburban area of Turbaco: Yurbaco

Some subsidiary tribes of the "Kalamari" lived in today's Pie de la Popa neighborhood, and other Cospique subsidiaries lived in the Membrillal and Pasacaballos areas. Among these, according to the first documents available, the Kalamari took precedence. These tribes, although physically and administratively separate, share a common architecture, such as shack structures, with circular halls with high ceilings, surrounded by wooden defensive fences.

First sightings of the Europeans 1500-1533

After Alonso de Ojeda's failed attempt to found Antigua del Darién in 1506 and the subsequent unsuccessful foundation of San Sebastián de Urabá in 1517 by Diego de Nicuesa, the southern coast of the Caribbean Sea became unattractive to colonizers. They preferred the best known one from Hispaniola and Cuba. Although the Recruitment House gave permission to Rodrigo de Bastites (1460-1527) to carry out a new expedition ahead of this area, Bastites explored the coast and discovered the Magdalena River on his first trip from the Guajira peninsula to the south, in 1527, a journey that ended in the gulf of Urabá. De Nicuesa and De Ojeda pointed out the existence of a large bay on the way from Santo Domingo to Urabá and the Isthmus of Panama, which encouraged Bastites to investigate.

The House of Austria

The Bay of Cartagena de Indias was inhabited by the Calamari nations of the Karib group, called Caribes by the Spaniards. ​ A quote from the time described the indigenous people as follows:

"Calamarí, which in indigenous language meant crab and which Heredia and its Spanish people called him simply Calamar, was the name with which the natives called a village located at the last retreat of the bay of Cartagena de Indias to the north. A stray town with roofs that almost reached the land, surrounded by a strong circular waterfall and thorny trees crowned with skulls whose inhabitants were plunged into secular barbarism, but also in absolute freedom." ​

Site of Cartagena de Indias (1741).

Cartagena de las Indias Plan, done in 1735 and published in the Work Historical Relationship of Travel to South America, by Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa.

Map of the city in its recent creation and without the walls (c.1550)

During the Spanish imperial era, it was one of the most important ports in the Americas. ​ de Cartagena exited the greatest riches that the Spanish Crown required for the maintenance of that giant conqueror company, by sea routes that ended in the Spanish ports of Cartagena, Cádiz and Sevilla. ​ was also the largest trade point for black slaves brought from the African continent. ​

The first Spaniard to arrive at what is today Cartagena de Indias was Rodrigo de Bastites, notary in Seville. Bastites had participated in one of the first trips of the discoverer Christopher Columbus to America. The area was originally named Gulf of Barú by Bastites himself. ​ In 1503, Spanish cosmologist Juan de la Cosa asked the Queen of Spain Isabel la Católica to change the name Gulf of Barú to "Bay of Cartagena". The Queen then ordered to change the name to Real Provision. The name Cartagena was given due to the similarity of the bay to Cartagena de Levante in Spain and was given by agreement between Juan de la Cosa and the Queen herself. ​

The city was founded in the time of the Holy Emperor Charles I of Spain on June 1, 1533 by Pedro de Heredia and the soldiers who accompanied him, many of them from Andalusia and Extremadura. The capitulation that he authorized said: "I give you license and power so that you can do and do in the province a fortress that suits the defense of the Spanish that they resided in it, in the part that you think best." On Calamarí Island, where there was an indigenous village, Heredia settled its barracks and proceeded to name the Cabildo and map the city. ​ For the settlement of Pedro de Heredia and the founding of Cartagena de Indias was the key link made by the Catalan Indian, as stated in a Probanza del Alguacil de Cartagena in 1535, Álvaro de Torres This document was transcribed from the General Archive of India and published in 2006 by Hernán Urbina Joiro. If they know that Mr. Pedro de Heredia, governor of that city, came to populate and pacify the land, played in Santa Marta to take languages, and that they would not give it to them, they put a guard on all the coast, so that nothing on earth could take hold, and that while I was in that province, against the will of Garcia de Lerma, governor of it, I gave a tongue to Pedro de Heredia but he did not ask for or take anything for her. If they know that with this language which I gave him, the saying Peter of Heredia has settled this land, because it is that language as it is, niece of the main chiefs of this province, and that she appeased them and made them all peace, which without it could not be done, as Christians and the very bellicose land ​.

In 1538, the Crown authorized the general distribution of Indians among neighbors, and assessed the taxes. Cartagena is a society of managers. The port became important thanks to its bay protected by the Spanish military, the construction of the fort and walls, and its proximity to Panama City, another important Spanish port. ​ In the following years, Heredia was imprisoned for crimes against the people of Sinú and later sentenced to death. Contrary to what is believed, the Crown already protected human rights under the "Indian Laws". But Heredia managed to escape to Spain. He would have no value, for he died when his ship sank in the middle of the ocean.

Pedro de Heredia founded Cartagena in 1533.

The Catholic Church established the Inquisition to oversee the power of the Catholic faith, given the propensity of slaves to pagan cults that included forms of witchcraft. ​

Cartagena de Indias was assaulted numerous times by British corsaries and troops (Francis Drake, 1586), French and Dutch. For this reason, King Felipe II entrusted field master Juan de Tejeda with the task of building walls and fortifications. The fortifications system served as a defense to the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. ​ Italian engineer Bautista Antonelli started the construction of the walls and fortifications of Cartagena de Indias, such as the stronghold of Santo Domingo in 1614, among others. His son, Juan Bautista Antonelli, nicknamed "El Mozo", continued the work with his cousin, the Spanish-Italian engineer Cristóbal of Roda Antonelli. Fortification is the most complete in South America and was completed in 1796 by the Spanish engineer Don Antonio de Arévalo.

In 1697, the army and French corsaries attacked the city, led by Baron de Pointis and Ducasse. The bay was courageously defended by the hero Don Sancho Jimeno, but the weakly protected city and possibly its governor Don Diego de los Ríos had sold out to the interests of the French and was looted.

Reconstruction after the Cartagena Expedition in 1697 was initially slow, but with the end of the Spanish succession war around 1711 and the competent administration of Juan de Torrezar Díaz Pimienta, the walls were rebuilt, the strong reorganized and restored, and public services and buildings were reopened. By 1710, the city was fully restored. At the same time, slow but steady reforms of restricted trade policies in the Spanish Empire encouraged the establishment of new commercial houses and private projects. During the reign of Philip V of Spain, the city had many new public works initiated or completed, including the new Fort of San Fernando, the Hospital de la Obra Pía and the complete paving of all streets and projects in the opening of new roads.

Virreinal period 1717-1810, the House of Bourbon

The last serious attempt to take over the city and invade the New Granada was made by Edward Vernon, who failed on one of the largest military expeditions sent by England.

Blas de Lezo, the Spanish sailor, who was the city's key strategist and defender in the face of the British attack in 1741, for the final Spanish victory in a big numerical disadvantage.

Although the 18th century started with many problems for the city, things soon started to get better. The economic policies favorable to the trade of the new dynasty in Madrid reinforced the economic aspects of Cartagena, and the establishment of the Viceroyalty of the New Granada in 1717 put the city in the position of being one of the greatest beneficiaries of the Indias. The eighteenth century brought the Bourbon Dynasty and its pro-trade policies, from which the city benefited, back to prosperity.^{[quote required]} During this period, the city passed the psychological barrier of the 18,000 inhabitants, which at that time was the largest population of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

On March 13, 1741, the city was besieged by British Admiral Edward Vernon's troops, kicking off the site at Cartagena de Indias. The British squadron consisted of 186 ships and 28,000 men, who clashed with Spanish forces, which numbered 6 vessels and 4,000 men. The battle was a disaster, with between 8,000 and 11,000 casualties (mostly due to the spread of a yellow fever epidemic), ​ ​ and the rest of the forces having to withdraw after the siege failed. That siege was repelled by the Spanish Army Lieutenant General Blas de Lezo, Slava's viceroy Sebastian, and Engineer Colonel Carlos Suillars de Desnaux and his men. The British retreated to Jamaica, previously destroying all the strengths in their power.

Silver Age 1750-1808

Juan de Torrezar was governor of Cartagena de Indias, for two consecutive occasions.

After Vernon, the one that has been called the "Silver Age" of the city (1750-1808) started. This time it was a permanent expansion of existing buildings, massive immigration from all the other cities of the Viceroyalty, increased the economic and political power of the city and accelerated growth of the unequal population since then. The political power that was already moving from Bogotá to the Colombian coast has completed its relocation, and the viceroys decided to reside permanently in Cartagena. The city's inhabitants were the richest in the colony, the aristocracy erected noble houses of their lands to form large properties, libraries and printing centers were opened, and the first cafe in New Granada was established later on. The good times of steady progress and progress in the second half of the eighteenth century came to an abrupt end in 1808 with the general crisis of the Spanish Empire that came from the Aranjuez Mutiny and all its consequences.

When the defenses ended in 1756, the city was considered unassailable. Legend says that Carlos III of Spain, while looking in Madrid at the revision of Spanish defense expenditures for Havana and Cartagena, looked through his spanish catalog and said: "This is outrageous! For this price, the castles are seen from here." Among the 18th century censuses was the special census of 1778, imposed by the governor of the time, Mr. Juan de Torrezar Díaz Pimienta, who was Viceroy of New Granada then by order of the Marquis de la Ensenada, Minister of Finance - in order to provide a number for his project Fiscal Cadastre, which imams he put a universal property tax that he believed contributes to the economy while boosting real incomes dramatically. The 1778 Census, besides being important for economic history, is interesting, since every house had to be described in detail and its occupants listed, making the census an important tool. The census revealed that Ensenada had waited. However, his enemies in court convinced King Charles III to oppose the tax plan.

Republican era

1808-Nineteenth Century

The former president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and the former president of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, during the World Economic Forum held in 2010, in Cartagena de Indias.

More than 275 years old, Cartagena was under Spanish rule. It had been the largest city of the viceroyalty until November 11, 1811, when Cartagena became the second territory that declared absolute independence from Spain in present-day Colombia, after Socorro was born on July 10, 1810. ​ The War of Independence marked the beginning of a dramatic decline in all respects for what had become the virtual capital of New York Grenada.

On August 20, 1815, the Free State of Cartagena was the subject of a reconquest campaign led by Spanish general Pablo Morillo, who implanted a naval and ground siege to suppress entrenched insurgents in the walled city. ​ This situation remained for three months, leaving those insurgents suffering hunger, epidemics and death. The desperate rebels decided to confront the Spanish until death. ​ As a result of this episode, the city would be entitled "Ciudad Heroica" (see 1815 Cartagena Siege). ​ The practically destroyed city was evacuated by sea and was again under Spanish control from December 6, 1815 until October 10, 182 1, the day when the last Spanish governor was defeated by Republican army under General Mariano Montilla and had to leave the city. Cartagena, the last city in Colombia to be freed from the Hispanic government, became a ghost town. Among 500 freed African slaves inhabited the city, whose palaces and public buildings were in ruins, many with collapsed walls.

After the 1880s, the city began to recover from the crisis. Progress continued, albeit slowly; after the Great Depression, spanish, syrian, palestinian, lebanese, italian, german, and several communities of chinese and other immigrant nations arrived in Cartagena this time.

20th century-present

The Summit of the Americas was held in Cartagena in 2012, in which presidents Juan Manuel Santos, Barack Obama, Dilma Rousseff, Sebastián Piñera, Cristina Fernández, among others, were present.

20th century and development are synonymous in the history of Cartagena. At the beginning of the new century, the city underwent a phase of profound economic, social, political and cultural transformations. Industrial development and the consolidation of a business elite, represented by merchants, bankers and industrialists associated with foreign migration, marked this transformation that was translated into the urban, art, literature, customs and cultural identity of the carthageners. Cartagena wasn't touched by the civil wars that shook Colombia. The peace and the opening of the railway that linked the city with the port of Calamar over the Magdalena River allowed the bay to regain its strategic role as a commercial port over the Caribbean Sea. Some families had succeeded in consolidating capital around the activities of foreign trade and the manufacture of consumer goods, and the first tests of industrialization were being conducted. In 1891 there was already an electric power plant, in 1904 with an aqueduct, and from 1905 a planned transformation of the city started. The Clock Tower was built on what was originally the only door in Cartagena. It was built by architect Luis Felipe Jaspe Franco ​ on behalf of the council in 1876. That door was equipped with a lift bridge, which stood over the San Anastasio pipe. This one went from the Bay of Animas to the so-called Lake of Cabrero or Santa Catalina, through what is today the urbanization of La Matuna.

Between 1930 and 1970, the city recorded population growth at rates above the national average. In 1970, population growth was faster, but the population has tripled since the 1980s thanks to a mix of privatization of port infrastructure, decentralization of tourism, and the fact that, proportional to its population, Cartagena is the city that has received the majority of the displaced from the countryside with the escalation of civil war in the 1910s 990 in the Andean regions.

On September 26, 2016, the city was the site chosen for the signing of the peace accords between President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC-EP guerrilla group, Timochenko. With the assistance of victims of the conflict, 13 heads of state from Latin America, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; US Secretary of State John Kerry; King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin; several Colombian governors and other national and international personalities, which led the city to become the epicenter of news worldwide and to be labeled the city of peace.

Branches of public power

Urban area of Cartagena.

Cartagena is administered by the Mayor, elected for four years, who represents the executive branch, is pronounced by decrees and serves as the legal, judicial and extrajudicial representative of the district. The mayor also has the participation of the local mayors of the District of Cartagena, who are appointed by the Mayor in Public Assemblies convened by the Mayor. They have the function of representing and coordinating their respective localities in the district government together with the elected mayors, who are members of the Local Administrative Boards of the three localities in which the city is divided.

Cartagena de Indias is a special district of Colombia, so its hierarchy is superior to that of a common municipality and it has greater autonomy before its departmental entity.

The Mayor of Cartagena de Indias is made up administratively of the district secretariats, administrative departments, decentralized institutes and mixed corporations.

Administrative Division

The political, administrative and fiscal regime was defined by Law 768 of 2002. The Cartagena Council, by agreement 029 of the same year, then defines for the District of Cartagena three localities that form the rural and insular area of Cartagena: ​ ​

Historic Center of Cartagena, Colombia

Historical and Northern Caribbean Town (1): Tourist and Port Development consists of the communal units of government 1,2,3,8,9 and 10 and the island districts of Barú, Bocachica, Caño del Oro, Isla Fuerte, Isla Palma, Isla Panda, Islas del Rosario, Islote de San Bernardo, Leticia, Santa Ana, Tierra Bomba. It has a population of 355,943, according to the 2005 DANE census.

• Town of the Virgin and Tourism (2): Recreative and Agricultural Tourism Development has a population of 319,436 inhabitants, distributed in 4 communal units of government, 4,5,6 and 7. It includes the municipalities of La Boquilla, Punta Canoa, Pontezuela, Baytruno, Arroyo de Piedra and Arroyo Grande.
• Industrial Village of the Bay (3): Social, Industrial and Port Development Comprised of the communal units of government 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Its population is 237,295 inhabitants according to the 2005 census. It covers the municipalities of Pasacaballos, Sector Membrillal, Sector Variant and Cordiality.

Neighborhoods by Communal Units of Government

Historical and Northern Caribbean Town (1):

• Urban communal unit 1 Castillogrande, Laguito, Bocagrande, El Centro, La Matuna, Getsemani, San Diego, El Cabrero, Marbella, Torices, Crespo, Chambacú, Pie de la Popa, Manga.
• Urban communal unit 2 Pie del Cerro, El Espinal, Lo Amador, Nariño, Torices, Pedro Salazar, San Pedro y Libertad, Los Comuneros, Petare, Paulo VI 1, Paulo VI 2, Republic of the Caribbean, Loma Fresca, Palestine, La Plaza, Paraiso, San Bernardo de Assisi, Virgen del Carmen.
• Urban communal unit 3 Canapote, Crespito Daniel Lemaitre, Santa Maria, Seven August, San Francisco, San Bernardo. La Heroica La Paz, July 20.
• Urban Commune Unit 8 Zaragocilla, Escallón Villa, La Campiña, Los Calamares, Los Almendros, Camagüey, Los Executives, Los Angeles, Barlovento, Los Laureles, Britania, Santillana de los Patios, El Country, La Troncal, Buenos Aires, Tacarigua, Villa Sandra 1, Villa Sandra 2, Cavipetrol, Delicias, El Carmen, El Rubí, La Gloria.
• Urban Commune Unit 9 Barrio Chino, Martínez Martelo, El Prado, Brussels, Antwerp, Spain, Juan XXIII, Paraguay, Junín, La Gloria, Las Brisas, New Granada, Nine de Abril, José Antonio Galán, Piedra de Bolívar, Armenia, Mirador de Nuevo Bosque.
• Urban communal unit 10 Nuevo Bosque, Alto Bosque, El Bosque, Los Cerros, Republic of Chile, San Isidro, Altos de San Isidro, Bosquecito.
• Land-omba fixes, Golden Canyon, Bocachica, Santa Ana, Barú.

Location of the Virgin and Tourism (2):

• Urban Communal Unit 4 La María, La Quinta, Barrio Obrero, La Esperanza, Alcibia, Boston, La Candelaria.
• Urban Commune Unit 5 Tesca Viejo, Tesca Nuevo, Republic of Lebanon, Olaya Herrera, Chiquinquirá.
• Urban communal unit 6 Olaya Herrera, Fredonia, New Paradise, Las Americas, Villa Estrella, El Pozón.
• Urban communal unit 7, June 13, Republic of Venezuela, Las Gaviotas, Cyprus, La Floresta, La Castellana, Los Alpes, El Gallo, Viejo Porvenir, San José obrero, Nuevo Porvenir, Las Palmeras, Las Palmas.
• La Boquilla, Punta Canoa, Pontezuela, Baytruno, Stone Arroyo, Large Arroyo.

Industrial Town of the Bay (3):

• Urban communal unit 11 Ceballos, Santa Clara, Policarpa, Albornoz, Barato Rice, Iron Gate, Bellavista, Libertador, July 20, Antonio José de Sucre.
• Urban communal unit 12 Los Corales, Admiral Colon, Los Caracoles, El Socorro, Blas de Lezo, Santa Monica, San Pedro, El Campestre.
• Urban communal unit 13 Santa Lucia, El Recreo, La Concepción, Ternera, Anita, San José de los Campanos, Villa Rosita, La Providencia.
• Urban Commune Unit 14 La Victoria, San Fernando, Simón Bolívar, 11 November, Villa Rubia, Jorge Eliecer Gaitán, María Cano, Camilo Torres, La Florida, Nueva Dely, La Esmeralda 2, Los Santanderes, El Nazareno, El Silencio, New Jerusalem, New Villa Fany, United Sectors, La Sierrite, Nelson Mandela.
• Urban communal unit 15 Villa Hermosa, Luis Carlos Galán, Cooperative, San Pedro Mártir, El Reposo, La Victoria, Los Jardines, La Consolata, El Educador, Henequén.
• Pasacaballos Corrections, Membrillal Sector, Alternative Sector, Cordiality.

Barú Peninsula in Cartagena.

La Popa Hill is one of the oldest formations in the city.

Cartagena is located in the north of the department of Bolívar on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. It is located at 10º 25' 30' latitude north and 75º 32' 25' west. ​

Geographic Coordinates

Latitude: 10º 25' 30" N Length: 75º 32' 25" W

Politically, Cartagena borders the east with the municipalities of Santa Catalina, Clemencia, Santa Rosa, Turbaco and Turbaná; North and West with the Caribbean Sea; and to the south with the municipality of Arjona.

Northwest: Caribbean Sea	North: Caribbean Sea	Northeast: Santa Catalina
West: Caribbean Sea		This one: Santa Catalina Clemency Santa Rosa Turbaco Turkey
Southwest: Caribbean Sea	South: Caribbean Sea Arjona	Southeast: Arjona Turkey

It is located in a typical, rugged and irregular coastal area, made up of geological processes related to the sea. Among the most important geographical elements of the city are the island formations of Barú and Tierrabomba along with other smaller islands, the archipelago of Rosario, the bay of Cartagena de Indias, the Bay of Barbacoas, and coastal lagoons such as the swamp of Tesca or the Virgen ... The area is also an area of marine and river confluence due to the presence of the mouth of the Dique canal that generate delta formations in the bay of Cartagena and Barbacoas. In the city, the formation of La Popa with an antiquity between the Pliocene upper and the Pleistocene lower. It is composed of rocks and corals, in the shape of a long hill, strong slopes and stockings where alluvial fangs, carcavas, escarpes and cliffs are found. Flat and low areas near the coastal coast are deposits of quaternary origin which constitute jetties, coastal cordons and deltas governed by coastal drift. ​

Geographic History

Cartagena became a city full of history and Hispanic memories. From the beginning and throughout the colonial period it was an important and strategic port, terminal of navigation on the Magdalena River and place where Spanish fleets from other South American ports, and especially those that brought Peruvian silver to Spain, were gathered. This role of strategic port is reflected in the fortresses (San Fernando, San José, San Sebastián del Pastelillo, San Lorenzo, San Felipe, La Tenaza) and in the walls surrounding the old city, which has churches, houses, squares and typically Spanish streets. The old city is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea to the O, the Bay of C. al S and a series of lakes and lakes to the N and E. With independence begins a decadent era for C.: on the one hand, the spanish commercial monopoly collapses, and on the other, the canal that connects the city with the Magdalena river gets lit.

Cinderella of the Virgin.

Dusk in Cartagena.

Electric storm in Cartagena.

The city has a warm semi-arid climate, an average annual temperature of 29 °C. Cartagena de Indias has a relative humidity of +90%, with the rainy season typically between April-May and October-November. It should be noted that although the weather is usually hot all year round, the breeze makes the weather pleasant. November to February are the most windy months of the year. Although the months of September and October are the most cloudy and rainy, the sun is often present every day. A breeze can be felt in the months of January and February, allowing you to appreciate a stay on the beach. Sometimes the tide is high for one or two weeks, at the beginning of December. ​ ​

Midday in Cartagena

The sun is at its peak twice a year in Cartagena, around the beginning of May and towards the end of August, and it is commonly important to protect oneself from the sun all year round in order to avoid skin burns. Cartagena de Indias has the advantage that it is never touched by hurricanes that do affect other Caribbean capitals like Havana, Santo Domingo, Cancun, Kingston, Miami, and San Juan. The reason for this is that the city is located further south and is part of the South American continent, far from the hurricane halls. The last hurricanes that hit the city were Hurricane Joan in 1988, which came very weakened after his passage through Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 from Venezuela being category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. ​ ​

Mean climate parameters of Cartagena de Indias
Month	Jan.	Feb.	Sea.	Apr.	May.	Jun.	July.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. Aps. (°C)	40.0	38.0	38.0	38.0	40.0	39.8	39.0	38.0	39.6	39.0	40.0	38.0	40.0
Temp. max. mean (°C)	30.5	30.6	30.8	31.1	31.3	31.6	31.6	31.5	31.3	30.9	30.9	30.6	31.1
Temp. mean (°C)	26.6	26.7	27.0	27.6	28.2	28.4	28.1	28.2	28.1	27.8	27.7	27.0	27.6
Temp. min. mean (°C)	23.6	24.0	24.5	25.2	25.6	25.7	25.3	25.5	25.4	25.1	25.1	24.2	24.9
Temp. min. Aps. (°C)	19.0	19.0	19.0	19.5	19.0	19.0	20.0	18.0	18.5	19.0	19.0	18.5	18.0
Total precipitation (mm)	4	3	2	24	115	100	110	125	135	230	138	35	1,019
Rainfall Days (≥ )	3	0	3	3	10	12	10	13	14	16	11	3	94
Sun Hours	279	240	245	210	197	188	216	204	177	175	202	245	2,578
Relative humidity (%)	80	79	58	80	81	81	81	81	81	83	82	82	80.8
Source: Institute of Meteorological Hydrology and Environmental Studies ​ ​ ​

Hydrography

The Bay of Cartagena de Indias receives the main contribution from the Dique channel, the tributary of the Magdalena River, acquiring special conditions of productive wealth for fishing and aquaculture purposes. To the south is the Barbacoas bay, which also receives the contribution of the Dique canal through the Lecherica and Matunilla taps that give it a estuaric character in the northeast of the bay. ​

Coastal areas

According to the Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute, the coastal zone of Cartagena has two landscapes called flat areas and shallow areas. Flat areas correspond to marine beaches and fluviomarine areas of calcareous and non-calcareous origin, which are generally found in the islands of Tierrabomba and Barú. Coastal dunes formed by wind sand sediments are located on the coastal coast, mainly on the beaches of the Northern Zone of the city; low and high mangroves along the Tesca swamp; carcass dykes consisting of marine fluvial alluvions deposited on the edge of the Dique Canal. The soils have a sedimentological formation with high levels of fine gray sand and large concentrations of organic clays in depressions where the various caños of the city pass. In swampy areas, the sediment is generally soft ochre and large amounts of quartz and sedimentary rock in flooded parts.

Bay of Cartagena de Indias.

Because of the configuration of the continental shelf much of the coast of Cartagena has suitable features for coastal suggestions where in addition its strategic location and parallel arrangement with regard to trade winds is ideal. The hydrological dynamics of Cartagena are determined by the integration of the systems of the bays of Cartagena and Barbacoas with the channel of the Dique that contributes its waters to them and influences their circulation patterns. The bay receives the largest contributions of marine water during dry seasons with winds coming from the north increasing its salinity while in rainy seasons with winds coming from the south the bay receives more contributions from the water of the Dique canal decreasing its salinity. For the Barbacoas bay, the opposite is true because it is in the south and the protection of the winds that the island of Barú exerts. ​

Flora and fauna

The main exponent of the flora and fauna of Cartagena is the Guillermo Piñeres Botanical Garden ​ 130 meters in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Turbaco. According to the studies carried out by this foundation that contributes to the floristic and fauna knowledge of the Colombian Caribbean, the most representative species are Sterculia apétala (Camajorú), Bursera simaruba (Indian leather), Tabebuia rosea (Roble), Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Carito), Tabemae montana cymosa (Cojón de fraile) Nectandra turbacensis (Ají), Hura crepitans (Water Ceiba), Cedrela odorata (Cedro), Anacardium excelsum (Caracolí) and Ficus maximus (Copei). The main representative ecosystems are Herbal medicinal, Arboretum, Palmetum, Frutal, Ornamental, Xerophytic. There is also a variety of animals typical of the Caribbean region, such as the colorful augling, lazy, bats, sluts, wild rabbits, squirrels, birds, iguanas, lizards, snakes, insects and other invertebrates, as well as the representative bird of the city that is Mariamulata (Quiscalus mexicanus).

Young cartageners in sample of their ethnography.

Marqués de Ensenada was Minister of America and responsible for many of the policies, which resulted in the city's first modern census in 1778.

The ethnic composition of Cartagena is the one resulting from the merger of the three primitive ethnicities: amerindia or originally, white people from Spain, Italy, and Middle Eastern immigrants who arrived in the city years ago in search of refuge, and black people enslaved from Africa. The symbiosis of these races manifests itself in a predominantly mixed and mulatto population.

Period 1900-1950

• Slow growth between 1871 and 1905 increased from 8,603 to 9,681.
• The annual growth rate (0.4%) was lower than Barranquilla's (3.5%) and the country's total (1.2%).
• The population of extra-wall areas started: El Cabrero and Pie de la Popa neighborhoods.
• Between 1912 and 1951 the growth rate of Cartagena was the highest in its history until that time: 3.2% ​

Period 1951-present

• Between 1951 and 2001 the population of the city increased seven times, from 129,000 to 827,000. * The annual growth rate (3.9 per cent) was higher than that of Barranquilla (3.0 per cent) and that of the country as a whole (2.6 per cent), but lower than that of Bogotá. (4.6%). Cartagena is the fifth city in the country in population after Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla.
• Since 1990, as a result of the opening and privatization of ports, Cartagena has become the main port of Colombia, both for exports and imports.
• The total population of the head is 985 600 inhabitants; The metropolitan area population is 1,288,490 (with the municipalities of Turbaco, Arjona, Turbana, Santa Rosa, Santa Catalina, Clemencia, María La Baja, Mahates, San Etanislao (Arenal), Villanueva).

Ethnic composition

According to the figures presented by the DANE of the 2005 census, the ethnographic composition of the city is: ​

• No ethnic belonging: 63.2%
• Black, Mulatto, Afro-Colombian or Afro-descendant: 36.1%
• Palenquero: 0.3%
• Indigenous: 0.2%
• ROM: 0.1%
• Raizal: 0.1%

Puerto, Strong and Monumental Set of Cartagena
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Scratch on the walls.
Country	Colombia  Colombia
General Data
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, vi
Identification	285
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean
Enrollment	1984 (8th meeting)
Official website

The historic center of Cartagena, "La Ciudad Amurallada" (The Walled City), was declared a National Heritage Site of Colombia in 1959, while in 1984, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee listed it as "Puerto, Fortaleza and Monumental Set of Cartagena de Indias". Also during the Spanish domination, Cartagena played a crucial role as a shopping center and port of embarkation of the Crown treasures. Its main heritage and attraction is the extraordinary military architecture it possesses, characterized by the solid walls and castles to defend it from pirates, corsaries and armies who, in their time, sought the plundering of wealth accumulated by the trade in valuable goods and slaves. Since independence, he has acquired the title of "The Heroic City", and he also has attractive streets and squares that are admired interspersed with modernity and the "Republican" style. Cartagena de Indias has become, over the years, a city that envelops the past with the present. "Heroic City", named after its inhabitants in Cartagena who rejoice in their independence, being the first province to declare itself free from Spain and to win against the British fleet in 1741. This old citadel enclosed in ramparts, colonial houses that stand out with the color of flowers hanging on each of its balconies, small squares, Renaissance domes and roofs earthenware tile and thick walls of those homes that today show a city with tradition. The stage where prominent pages of his story took place, characters such as Catalina India, Francis Drake, San Pedro Claver, El Bón de Pointis, Blas de Lezo, Antonio de Arévalo, Pedro Romero, Simón Bolívar and Rafael Nuñez.

San Pedro Claver Church from Cartagena Bay

Cartagena, after being declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, found its main cultural and heritage sites in:

• The main entrance to the historic center is the Clock Tower or Bridge Mouth, built on the wall in the 19th century.History, photos and geocalization
• The Getsemane district and the pier of the Pegasos.History, photos and geocalization
• Inside the walled city is the Plaza de los Carches, surrounded by colonial houses and presided over by the statue of Pedro de Heredia; The Royal Prize Marquis House, the Customs House, the Church, and the Convent of San Pedro Claver, built in the 17th century by the Jesuits and where the remains of San Pedro Claver, one of the defenders of the black population cause rest. There are also the current Mayor's Building, the Inquisition House, the Gold Museum and the Museum of Modern Art where exhibitions of Colombian artists are presented. History, photos and geocalization (broken link available on the Internet Archive; see history and latest version).
• San Felipe de Barajas Castle, a Spanish fortress built to protect the city from the siege of enemy troops.History, photos and geocalization
• The spas include Bocagrande, Laguito, Boquilla, Castillo Grande and Tierra Bomba and del Rosario islands.
• See also Monuments and tourist attractions (broken link available on the Internet Archive; see history and latest version).

Cartagena de Indias has a solid, multifaceted economy thanks to its diversified productive structure in sectors such as industry, tourism, trade and logistics for international maritime trade, which is facilitated by its strategic location over the Caribbean Sea in North-South America and in the center of the American continent. In recent years, during the diversification of its economy, the petrochemical sector, industrial processing and international tourism have excelled. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the city is experiencing a growth in the construction sector, ranging from the construction of large shopping malls to multiple skyscrapers, which has completely changed the city's urban landscape. ​

Industry and trade

Industry is one of the main economic activities of the city, contributing 10% of the jobs. One of the most prominent industrial activities is the manufacture of chemicals and petroleum refining products. Most of the industries are located in the industrial park of Mamonal, considered one of the most important industrial zones of Colombia, where 209 large and medium-sized enterprises are located, generating about 8.04% of the country's gross industrial product (2004) and the industrial zone of El Bosque where the main free zones of the city's several are located.

Downtown Cartagena

Currently, 400 hectares have been enabled for industrial use, i.e. the Industrial Village and the Bay, as well as new free zones have been created that provide incentives for new industrial developments. The previous industrial structure makes Cartagena a empire specialized in the petrochemical, chemical and plastic sectors, therefore large multinationals have their production and distribution center in Cartagena among them Dupont and Drummond. The city is also home to Colombia's most important refinery, the Cartagena Refinery (REFICAR), an Ecopetrol expansion that was delivered October 2015 in partnership with the US subsidiary Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI). Today, it is one of the most important refineries in Latin America for its production of more than 165,000 barrels of oil per day. The project to expand this refinery covered a planned investment of $3,993 million (2009), which eventually increased to $8016 (2015). ​

National Beauty Competition

The National Beauty Contest or "CNB" is a competition that has been held in the city of Cartagena de Indias since 1934; the winner receives the title of Miss Colombia and is the representative of Colombia at Miss Universe, the National Virqueen, receives the title of Miss Colombia International and represents the country at Miss International.

Other prominent companies include: Cements Argos S.A., Kola Román, Indufrial, Amazon Pepper, National Beauty Contest, Astivik S.A., Transport & Logistics Portuaria S.A., Distributor of Refrigeración Ltda, Ingenio Central Colombia, Perfummería Lemaitre, Refinería de Cartagena, Cellux Colombiana S.A. ​, Harina Tres Castillos Polyban International S.A., SabMiller, Cement Argos, Dow Chemical, Cemex, Dole, Abocol.

Cartagena has an emerging commercial vocation, being a city of more than 900 thousand people and a tourist destination par excellence, the city offers a varied commercial offering where you will find recognized chain stores, shopping centers, international franchises and trade zones. Today the city shows a continuing trend of population growth that began in the mid-1980s. Birth rate and relatively normal mortality rates feed the ongoing economic expansion.

Panoramic of Cartagena from San Felipe de Barajas fort.

Free zones

Free zones are areas within the national and local territory that enjoy a special customs and fiscal regime and are intended to promote the industrialization of goods and the provision of services mainly oriented to external markets and, subsidiarily, to the domestic market.

"Zona Franca la Candelaria": With an area of 141 hectares built and fully operational for 20 years, it houses 52 companies and has 2200 workers, it is located in the heart of the Mamonal Industrial Zone, one of the most important industrial and service-delivery complexes in Colombia. In 2014, it accumulated 47,000 US foreign-trade operations worth $2.81 trillion. It is currently planning a third expansion that will incorporate the construction of a Business Port, or Business Center with a built area of 30,000 square meters, designed to accommodate companies that provide specialized support services such as banks, restaurants, hotel, clinical laboratories, bookstores, etc.

Pays spring

Zona Franca Parque Central S.A.S: Located in the municipality of Turbaco, in a zone of conurbation with the District of Cartagena de Indias, which has 64.8 hectares of extension in its first phase, and a second extension in the process to complete the 128 hectares that the project covers. It has excellent design features and will have the most modern inventory software in Colombia. It has a Permanent Free Zone (Phase 1 - Phase 2) and a Logistics and Commercial Zone for SMEs. They are currently selling and leasing their warehouses, lots, patios and offices for companies in various clusters. ​

The walls of Cartagena are part of the tourist area.

Cartagena Zofranca S.A. located 14 km from the city center, at the end of Mamonal's industrial sector and has a private dock.

Free Tourist Zone: located on Baru Island, within the Portonaito swamp, it is the only free tourist zone that offers lots on water in navigable canals, marine and urban tourism development, villas and all the conveniences of a Caribbean urbanization.

Zona Franca Unientrepreneur de la Refinería de Cartagena: A new free-for-all area that will deliver investments worth more than $2.7 billion, and a generation of jobs that involves hiring 3,500 people for construction. Start of operations for 2012. ​

Zone Special Permanent Franc Argos S.A: a new free zone located in the industrial area of Mamonal where a gray cement plant with an additional capacity of 1.8 million tons per year is being assembled. ​

Special Permanent Franc Zone Gate of the Americas: located in the northern part of the city, its focus will be on services, and will include a hotel center, convention center, health center and shopping center. ​

Corruption and poverty

Cartagena is one of the cities in Colombia with the highest incidence of poverty and political corruption. According to the National Planning Department, Cartagena is the second largest city in Colombia with the highest monetary poverty, only behind Quibdó in El Chocó. ​ according to the DANE, 29.1% of the cartageners live in poverty, and 5.5% in extreme poverty. ​ is also the second most socially excluded city among the 13 main Colombian cities. ​ according to the survey by Cartagena Como Vamos, ​ an estimated 25% of respondents eat less than 3 meals a day. ​ In 40 of the poorest neighborhoods, 80% of the population have no aqueduct, 82% have no sewerage, and 70% of school-age children did not attend school. ​

In 2018, Cartagena has had 12 mayors in eight years, the product of dismissals for corruption and replacements for health status, which has negatively affected the governability of the city.​ ​ At the end of 2017, a report from the Office of the Attorney General indicated that local politicians, from all parties, have become owners of public procurement and they have arranged local elections to illegally distribute contracts and resources. ​

In this report, José Julián Vásquez, the cousin of captured ex-mayor Manuel Duque, ran a network of influence and corruption trafficking, despite being barred from holding public office for 10 years. ​ According to the Attorney General's Office, Vázquez handpicked officials who did not train the city control office, which caused the tragedy of Lezo I's Blas Portal building It left 21 dead and 23 injured. ​

The electoral abstention in Cartagena reaches 70%, weakening the democratic processes. ​

Cartagena de Indias is one of the most important tourist destinations in Colombia and Latin America. Tourism became a potential factor of the city thanks to its natural attractions and rich history, evidenced in the variety of architectural styles. In Cartagena you can see Spanish Baroque architecture, Spanish colonial architecture, neoclassical style, among others. The fact that it was considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO strengthened it as a tourist power in the region. The city has gained recognition from different illustrious visitors, such as presidents, actors and different celebrities of the world. The city possesses in its main destinations historical places such as the Castle of San Felipe, the Palace of the Inquisition, the Clock Tower, the ramparts, the colonial streets, as well as natural beauties such as the beaches of the Boquilla, Bocagrande, Castillo Grande, El Laguito and the nearby islands of the Rosario and Barú. Due to its architecture, Cartagena has been home to filmmaking of different soap operas and films. In 1990 Cartagena de Indias receives the price of tourism Pomme d'or. ​

Tourism in Cartagena de Indias
San Felipe de Barajas Castle	Walls of Cartagena	Clock Tower	La Popa Convent	Customs Square	Fort of San Sebastián
Palace of the Inquisition	Bocagrande	India Catalina Monument	San Pedro Claver	Fort of San Fernando	Colonial Architecture

Port and logistics

Port of Cartagena.

Strategically located, Cartagena has the highest-moving port system in Colombia ​ where important public-use terminals such as the Cartagena Port Society (CONTECAR), Muelles El Bosque and the port of Mamonal are located. These three main terminals handle 20% of the total load mobilized while the rest are handled on more than 50 piers of private companies located along the industrial zone of Cartagena Bay of Indias. It has been consolidated as a major international logistic and transshipment port specializing in container trade. Mamonal Harbor is a maritime terminal specializing in handling bulk and coal loads with the highest environmental standards. By 2012 it has budgeted investments greater than $50 million USD. Cartagena is the leading city in the management of export containers to the United States, with a participation of 47%, followed by the ports of Buenaventura (24%), Santa Marta (18%) and Barranquilla (11%). The other activity to which the port of Cartagena is devoted is cruise tourism, where approximately 150 cruises arrive annually and the city is also a port of embarkation for the Royal Caribbean Cruises line. In 2018, the port movement in the Bay of Cartagena was 2,862,787 TEU ranking 4 on the Latin American and Caribbean port activity list. ​

Terrestrial

Common buses are the most common transportation system in Colombian cities. It consists of about 35 routes which cover the Periphery the most common routes are Campestre Bocagrande Laguito - Campestre Bocagrande Castillo-Ternera Avenida-Caracoles Avenida-Cootransurb-Zaragocilla Laguito-Pemape-Bayuni-Pasacaballos. These buses are mostly owned by private owners. In general, all routes run from end to end of the city, using the three arterial axes of the city: Pedro de Heredia Avenue, Avenue of Bosque-Crisanto Luque and Avenue Pedro Romero. Currently these buses are being scrapped to make way for the Integrated Mass Transport System (SITM) locally known as Transcaribe.

Transcaribe

María Auxiliadora station of the Transcaribe system.

Transcaribe is the Integrated Mass Transport System of the city of Cartagena and part of its area of influence over neighboring municipalities. The system is currently in operation, at a cost of $2,500 pesos (about $2,500 pesos), and was inaugurated on November 27, 2015, after the completion of the pedagogical stage for drivers started ten days earlier. The pedagogical stage for citizenship was inaugurated at the time by Mayor Dionisio Vélez and manager Carlos Coronado Yances. However, the System was inaugurated on March 29 in its commercial phase by Mayor Manuel Vicente Duque and President Juan Manuel Santos , along with the manager Humberto Ripoll Durango and the Minister of Transport Natalia Abello vives. In Cartagena, the idea of integrating the system into a water transport system has been considered.

Air

Rafael Núñez International Airport

Cartagena has the Rafael Núñez International Airport, in honor of the Cartagena politician of the same name. It is located within the urban perimeter of Cartagena de Indias, allowing easy access from anywhere in the city. The runway is connected to the parking platform with 3 right-angle taxis, there is no parallel taxiway, planes going north cart on the runway 1000 m until they reach the turn-key and then do about 300 m to the clear position, the runway is 60 m wide and 2600 m long they do air operations, thanks to length. Since 1996, the Airport Society of the Costa S.A. (SACSA), a Colombian company with the experience and technology of its partner operator in Spain AENA, has managed the Airport. Rafael Nuñez is currently undergoing renovations to make its passengers more comfortable. Rafael Núñez has direct flights to and from major Colombian cities and international destinations such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Lima, Amsterdam, Toronto, Atlanta, Quito, Madrid, Caracas and Panama. During the holiday season he receives charter flights from Italy, Canada, Ecuador and Spain. The runway is 2,600 meters long on its runway and provides sufficient capacity for modern transatlantic aircraft to operate smoothly. All necessary services are provided: food, fuel and appropriate handling company.

The Cartagena International Airport of Indias has a parking capacity for eleven airplanes and an open skies policy for charter flights. This airport is one of the highest passenger inflows in the country, and is the second largest driver of foreign passengers, making it one of the main airports in Colombia. The passenger terminal is modern, air conditioned and has a medical service. There are restaurants, shops, cafés, Vip lounges, Duty Free and other services.

Convention Centers

The city has a large International Convention Center and two smaller Convention Centers strategically located in well-known hotel chains in the city. They are used for the development of business events, fairs, exhibitions and shows thanks to the modern audiovisual equipment and state-of-the-art technology that facilitate telecommunications at the national and international levels. The excellent infrastructure offered by these event centers together with the city's 5 star hotels make Cartagena home to important congresses, business meetings, policies and institutions. ​ For 2010, Cartagena hosted the World Economic Forum for Latin America. ​

Cartagena Indian Convention Center "Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala"

Cartagena de Indias Convention and Exhibition Center: located in the Getsemaní neighborhood and officially called Julio César Turbay Ayala, it is the city's main event center with a capacity of 4,000 people. It has a large hall with a capacity of 2000 people, in an auditorium, divided into four smaller lounges. Each of the sub-halls has four simultaneous translation booths and a press balcony. ​ The Sixth Summit of the Americas took place here.

International Convention Center of the Americas: Capacity for 2,000 people in auditorium, 4,200 square meters of flexible space, large gardens ideal for outdoor events and the latest technology at your disposal, with all the resources needed to make your presentation, congress, exhibition or convention a success.

Hotel Hilton Cartagena Convention Center: Part of the Hilton Cartagena Hotel, it can accommodate up to 1,500 people and is equipped with the latest technology and meeting media.

Convention Center Hotel Intercontinental Cartagena de Indias: Part of Hotel Intercontinental, it can accommodate up to 2,000 people.

Libraries

• Biblioteca José Fernández Madrid Universidad de Cartagena: It began in 1821 when the university was known as the "University of Magdalene and Ithsmus." It mainly serves students and faculty at this university, but also the general public.
• Bartolomé Calvo Library: founded in 1843 and established in its present place in 1900, it is one of the main libraries of the Caribbean Coast and the largest of the city located on Calle de la Inquisition in the Historical Center.
• Library of the Academy of History of Cartagena de Indias: opened in 1903, but many of its books date back more than a century before donations from members and benefactors. Their entry is more restricted due to the care that old books require, but can be requested at the Academy's office in Plaza de Bolívar.
• Library of the Technological University of Bolívar: opened in 1985, its forefront is its sections on engineering and electronics, standing out in this academic field.
• Library of the Spanish Cooperation Training Center: it has been in service since 1993 and has been providing bibliographic material specializing in Spanish Literature, History of Spain-America and Art, among others. It is open to all participants in the International Courses and Seminars held at the Training Center, visitors and users.

District Libraries

The District Public Libraries Network is a set of libraries located in different popular neighborhoods of the city that promote education and culture in these sectors, led by the Cultural Promotion Division of the Institute of Heritage and Culture of Cartagena IPCC.

• Jorge Artel Library: opened in 1997, it serves the southwestern part of the city, serving approximately 200 people every day from communes 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, representing about 132 neighborhoods in the south-west and the entire city.
• Library Juan de Dios Amador: located in the town of Virgen and Tourist. Built in 1994, it covers communes 3, 4 and 5, which correspond to approximately 60 neighborhoods in the south-eastern part of the city and part of the central area.
• Balbino Carreazo Library: located in the main square of Pasacaballos, district of the Cartagena district in the southeast of the city, it serves most of the suburbs of Pasacaballos, Arca, Leticia del Dique and Matunilla.
• Bayuni Public Library: it attends to the district of Baytruna belonging to the District of Cartagena. It has ongoing school programs for modern art, plastic arts, literature and music; they also set up forums, health campaigns and cultural activities for the benefit of the community.
• José Vicente Mogollón Library: located in the town of Manzanillo del Mar, 20 minutes from the city center of Cartagena de Indias. Born by the community management of Manzanillo, it has the collaboration of the Proboquilla Foundation and the Christian Foundation for children and the elderly among others.
• Fredonia Public Library: it is born as a community initiative in a very vulnerable sector of the city, where cultural and community meetings and activities are held to improve the quality of life of the population in this sector.
• Cayman Public Library and Estefanía Caicedo Cultural Center: located in the district of La Puntilla, which won the national prize for the best public library in the country in 1992, it was born by the community management, serving more than 250 people daily.

Museums and cultural centers

Cartagena Naval Museum of the Caribbean.

Among the most important museums and cultural centers are the Gold Museum, Cartagena Museum of Modern Art, Rafael Núñez House Museum, Caribbean Naval Museum, San Pedro Claver Museum, Bolívar Museum House, German Colombo Cultural House, Cartagena Spanish Cultural Cooperation Center, Colombo Americano Center, Valdehoyos House of Marqués, Inquisition Palace, BSE School The Arts of Cartagena, Alliance Colombo Française de Cartagena, Headquarters International Film Festival, Cultural Hall "Domingo López Escauriaza" and Museum of Modern Art of Cartagena. History, photos and geocalization

Theaters

Outside view of the Teatro Heredia of Cartagena, one of the most important and visited in the city.

Inside view of Teatro Heredia, an example of republican architecture.

Teatro Adolfo Mejía: it is the main theatrical venue of the city which was built in 1911 to commemorate the centenary of Cartagena's independence. Its architecture was carried out by Don Felipe Jaspe inspired by the Teatro Tacón de La Habana, built in a horseshoe shape with palaces and divided balconies. The ceiling and curtain were the works of the Cartagena artist Enrique Grau, ​ events such as the Cartagena International Festival of Music and the Hay Festival literary meeting are held.

Teatro Recula del Ovejo (Count of the Ovejo) theater hall: Concerted with the Ministry of Culture and the Cartagena Public Improvement Society, this venue hosts the Cartagena Theater Season organized by the same theaters in the city in an effort that develops various modalities such as adult programming, children's theater, community programming, stage facilities, poster exhibit, posters and cartoons, and the gathering of theater delegates from the Coast, with a view to the V Congress National Theater.

Architecture and urban planning

Historical helmet.

The Spanish architectural heritage is reflected in Cartagena as one of the most beautiful cities of the new world. The Old City is surrounded by strongholds, structures similar to the walls but without their height, in a polygonal way, which were built so that in case of a foreign invasion or looting the city could defend itself and protect its riches. What is now known as "Ciudad Amurallada" (Walled City) began its construction around 1600 and ended in 1796 by engineer Antonio de Arévalo.

The old city is surrounded by sectors such as the traditional island of Manga, the neighborhoods of Castillogrande, Laguito, Bocagrande, Pie de la Popa, Crespo, Los Nuevos Jardines, El Pozón, Los Caracoles, Las Americas, Los Corales, Spain and others where most of the population lives, or Nelson Mandela, where most of the displaced people live from the northern region of Bolídio Department var.

• San Pedro Claver Church from the bay.
  Manga neighborhood: the old houses of the neighborhood on the island of Manga in Cartagena are mostly national heritage for their great historical and architectural value. However, these houses are threatened daily by the construction of modern apartment buildings and the abandonment to which they are subjected by their owners and the State. The construction of these houses peaked in the first decade of the 1900s. XX, as a response of the upper classes to the overcrowding that lived through that time in the historic center of the city. Among the most well-known, this is the Roman House, home of Teresita Román de Zurek, Mudéjar style, declared the historic heritage of the city and Cultural Interest Property of Colombia.
• Bocagrande, Castillogrande and El Laguito: it is the modern area of the city, where residential buildings and hotels projects are being developed. Due to its privileged situation, which has both a view of the bay of Cartagena de Indias (or the rams) and the Caribbean Sea, this sector has become the tourist area par excellence. The Avenida San Martín is the main road in the area and is surrounded by many restaurants, clubs, casinos and hotels.
• Popa Foot: it is one of the first neighborhoods of Cartagena, it has important colonial houses, in addition to having a lot of wealth in history. The large mansions built at the beginning of the 20th century belonged to and were inhabited by families of the aristocracy cartagenera. Their streets, better known as alleys, have in their names the most representatives of the families who inhabited them: alley Trucco first, alley Trucco second, alley Lecherica, alley Franco, alley Méndez, alley Vicentico.
  Historic Center of Cartagena
• Getsemane: it is one of the most representative neighborhoods in the city, given that it was the area where slaves lived in colonial times and it was the area where they were called for independence in 1811. In this neighborhood you will find the trendy Julio César Turbay Ayala Convention Center, the Third Order Church, the Centennial Park and the Martyrs Camelon.
• La Matuna: it is the financial area of the city, it includes industries such as tourism, international trade, education and transport among others. La Matuna developed precisely in one of the places where part of the wall was cut off and subsequently redesigned and suitable as a business center.
• La Boquilla, Marbella, Crespo and Zona Norte: this area is home to Rafael Núñez International Airport and many miles of beaches. It is the sector with the highest growth and tourism projection in the city.

Music

Since long before the generalization of champeta, Cartagena has distinguished itself as the cradle of excellent musicians and source of various musical expressions. It is considered by some the main original musical culture of the city of Cartagena today; named after more than twenty years, it would then translate to a dance type and finally a musical genre. The champeta is inspired by European-African music and originates from Cartagena de Indias and San Basilio de Palenque.

Racalé, cumbia and el son, among others, are air that have found an environment favorable to their development in the city.

Some of the most important Carthagonian musicians of Coastal music include Sofronín Martínez, Rufo Garrido, Joe Arroyo and Juan Carlos Coronel. The city is currently internationally represented by the Kalamary Big Band.

Since 2007, the Cartagena Festival Internacional de Musica has been held, an event that seeks to strengthen the musical development of Colombia with classical music exponents; this festival is organized by the Salvi Foundation which has brought great musicians from the world and uses the squares and streets of the walled city as stages.

Cartagena has zarzuela seasons, Philharmonic orchestras, folk groups, big bands and all kinds of bands.

Cartagena's Jaime Morón Olympic Stadium during the U-20 World Cup in a match between England and Mexico.

Cartagena has many teams in the Colombian professional sport, notably the Indians of Cartagena, who acts in the Colombian Professional Baseball League; Real Cartagena, a team currently active in the second category of Colombian Professional Football; and the Cartagena crackers, a basketball team that plays in the Colombian Professional Basketball.

The city has two representatives in professional microfootball: Cartagena Heroics, formerly known as FSC Rhinos, who play the Men's tournament and the Caribbean Mulatas team who play the women's tournament. Finally, Club Deportivo Rodríguez Torices is a professional five-a-side soccer team that the Liga Argos plays.

Historical teams from Cartagena include Eagle, Tigers and Professional Baseball Turks.

Very important are water sports such as windsurfing and kitesurfing. Skating has been very important in the city, it has been the cradle of such figures as Cecilia Baena, Yersi Puello and Kelly Martínez. Other sports practiced are archery or archery, fencing and combat sports such as judo, taekwondo and karate.

Infrastructure

The city has excellent sporting venues legacies of the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games between July 15 and 30, 2006, which were listed by ODECABE as the best in history. It also hosted the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2011, when it hosted group-stage matches, and one in quarterfinals. The most important sports scenarios are:

• Jaime Morón León Stadium.
• Eleven Stadium in November.
• Coliseum Bernardo Caraballo.
• Northon Madrid Coliseum
• UDC-C Atletico Stadium.
• "Iron Boy" Fitness Center.
• Coliseum of Combat Sports and Gymnastics.
• Sports Unit of El Campestre District.
• UD Fidel Mendoza Carrasquilla Aquatic Complex.
• Argemiro Bermúdez Villadiego Stadium.
• Northon Madrid Picot Volleyball Coliseum.
• Naval Base Stop Field.
• Raquetas complex.
• Naval Base Covered Colosseum.
• Multifunctional Coliseum - Rocky Valdez Sports Unit
• Jaime González Jhons Aquatic Complex

Cartagena de Indias' own gastronomy is based on traditional gastronomies coming from Spain, the existing Amerindia and from various places in Africa, which later become the basis for the creation of their own gastronomy. One of the most popular gastronomic traditions comes from Africa, and is the sale of fruits by the "Palenqueras", who sell fresh fruit at various points of the city, or as a splash.

The most detailed account of this gastronomy can be found in the accounts of Teresita Román de Zurek who has dedicated her life to the rescue of the city's gastronomy. His book, Cartagena de Indias en la Olla, Colombia's first cookbook published in 1963 and a national best seller retains the memory of the country's most important cuisine.

In Cartagena, most of the typical meals of the rest of the Caribbean region in Colombia are born, such as empanada with egg, carimañola, shrimp cocktail among other seafood, frijol buñuelito, Kola Román, among other meals. Also, because it is a city with a high rate of tourism, it has a significant number of restaurants with different gastronomes of the world, like Italian food, Mexican food, Mediterranean food, Chinese food and obviously Colombian food.

On July 19, 2015, Cartagena managed to be recognized by Guinness World Records, for making the largest shrimp cocktail ever made in world history, just below the State of Tamaulipas - Mexico that currently holds the title Guinness Records. Lacides Venera Morillo, owner of the Sombrerón Ostrería, a popular-class restaurant, located in the public area of the historic center of Heroica (a Panama street with a sketch). Av. Venezuela), convened oysters from different organizations after 2 years of work on the project to get the whole world to know the reason for the shrimp cocktails prepared in Cartagena de Indias.

With 30 volunteer oysters at the Customs Square in Cartagena, they came together to challenge the unattainable and achieved a weight of 1,320 kilos of shrimp cocktail, an estimated 16,000 people had eaten. This record has been won by the Red Sea Ostrería with the support of the IPCC (Cartagena Heritage and Culture Institute - Official Entity of the Mayor of Cartagena de Indias) and private companies. It confirms the culinary cultural richness of the heroic cartagena in the world of cuisine, since it is estimated that 7 out of 10 people who visit the small stone coralito eat the shrimp that is prepared in this magical city.

Religion

The church of San Pedro Claver is one of the most important in the city.

St. Catherine Cathedral of Alexandria.

Before the arrival of the Spanish, and despite the fact that the indigenous people were known to be polytheists, there is very little information on religion, since they did not have written language and Spanish chroniclers did not enter it, so in relation to religious custom reference is made to the Mayans, since by inheritance these are the predecessors of the indigenous tribes based in what is today Cartagena ena de Indias. ​

After the Spaniards arrived on Carthagene lands, Catholicism became the religion of the place. The so-called Holy Inquisition Office was created by Pope Gregorio IX in 1233, extending its action to all European Christianity. By the year 1480, the Catholic Kings established the Inquisition throughout the kingdom to use it as one of the instruments in their strategy for the religious and political unification of the nation. The Cartagena Inquisition Court was established in 1610.

The Inquisition was aimed at suppressing heresy, as it was not only a sin, but a crime that violated national unity. The state was prevented against the heretics by prosecuting them through the Inquisition. Among the methods used by the Inquisition to inquire or achieve the truth was torment; the confession of misdemeanors, obtained through torture, was admitted at that time. The penalties usually imposed by the Inquisition consisted of fines, confiscation of property, banishment, flogging, rowing, public shame, imprisonment and death at stake. The Cartagenera Inquisition was suppressed following the November 11, 1811, revolution and the house was looted by mobs. It had lasted 201 years.

Today, Catholicism is the predominant religion in the city of Cartagena. When the Spaniards arrived in the city, they built different temples that have made the "Walled City" a religious destination often visited by different parishioners from other nations. Some of the most well-known churches in the city include San Pedro Claver, Santo Domingo, San Roque, Trinidad and Tobago.

Holidays

• January: The Cartagena International Festival of Music, an event of classical music that has become one of the most important festivals in the country. It takes place in the Walled City for 10 days, where classes, conferences and national and international artists are present.

• Caribbean Taurina Fair (recently canceled, for stage maintenance).
• Hay Festival
• Summerland (Festival), the most important electronic music festival in the country.
• February: Festival of Our Lady of Candelaria, Festival of Frito.
• March: Cartagena International Film Festival, Nautical Fair.
• April: Sweet Festival.
• June-July: Summer Festival, Sail Cartagena.
• November: November 11th or Independence Festival, during which the National Contest of Beauty of Colombia is celebrated.
• December: Jazz Festival Under the Moon.
• December: Cartagena Rock.

Cartagena de Indias is internationally recognized for its suitability for events. That is why the city has hosted important events such as:

Predecessor: XXII General Assembly of IDB 1981   Madrid

XXIII General Assembly of IDB 1982   Cartagena de Indias   1,982

Successor: XXIV General Assembly of IDB 1983   Panama City

Predecessor: Headquarters of the sessions of the Committee on World Heritage   Santa Fe

Headquarters of the sessions of the Committee on World Heritage   Cartagena de Indias   1,993

Successor: Headquarters of the sessions of the Committee on World Heritage   Phuket

Predecessor: III Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government   Salvador

IV Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government   Cartagena de Indias   1,994

Successor: V Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government   San Carlos de Bariloche

Predecessor: X Summit of Heads of State of Non-Aligned Countries   Jakarta

XI Summit of Heads of State of Non-Aligned Countries   Cartagena de Indias   1,995

Successor: XII Summit of Heads of State of Non-Aligned Countries   Durban

Predecessor: XXXIX General Assembly of IDB 1997   Barcelona

XL IDB General Assembly 1998   Cartagena de Indias   1,998

Successor: XLI IDB General Assembly 1999   Paris

Predecessor: XIX Central American and Caribbean Games   San Salvador

XX Central American and Caribbean Games   Cartagena de Indias   2,006

Successor: XXI Central American and Caribbean Games   Mayagüez

Predecessor: III International Congress of the Spanish Language   Rosario 2,004

IV International Congress of the Spanish Language   Cartagena de Indias   2,007

Successor: V International Congress of the Spanish Language   Valparaiso 2,010

Predecessor: XVI General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization   Dakar 2,005

XVII General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (WTO)   Cartagena de Indias   2,007

Successor: XVIII World Tourism Organization General Assembly   Astana 2,010

Predecessor: World Economic Forum 2009   Rio de Janeiro

World Economic Forum 2010   Cartagena de Indias   2,010

Successor: World Economic Forum 2011   Davos

Predecessor: 2009 U-20 Football World Cup   Egypt

2011 U-20 Football World Cup   Cartagena de Indias   XVIII edition - 2011

Successor: 2013 U-20 Football World Cup   Turkey

Predecessor: V Summit of the Americas   Port of Spain 2,009

VI Summit of the Americas   Cartagena de Indias   2,012

Successor: VII Summit of the Americas   Panama City 2,015

Predecessor: XXIV Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government   Veracruz

XXV Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government   Cartagena de Indias   2,016

Successor: XXVI Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government   Antigua Guatemala

Other Events Performed

• Ottawa Convention, Anti-Personnel Mines - 2009
• HIGH Leaders Forum - 2009
• 10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention - 2011
• World Summit of African-descended Mayors and Mandatorians - 2013
• 57th Commission for Latin America of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) - 2014

Films and TV series

• Queimada (1969), with Marlon Brando and Evaristo Márquez, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo.
• Romancing the Stone (1984), with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
• Episode Smuggler's Blues from Miami Vice series (1985).
• The mission (1986), with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, led by Roland Joffé.
• Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), with Javier Bardem and Giovanna Mezzogiorno, directed by Mike Newell.
• Episode Agent Afloat of NCIS series (2008).
• Lessons for a Kiss (2011), with Cristina Umaña, José Julián Gaviria and Vanessa Galvis, directed by Juan Pablo Bustamante.
• Project Genesis (2019), with Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong, led by Ang Lee.
• The Queen of Indias and the Conqueror is a Colombian web series of historical drama created by Johny Ortiz and performed by Essined Aponte as India Catalina and Emmanuel Sparza as Pedro de Heredia.

Video games

• Uncharted 3: Drake's betrayal, chapter 2 and 3. ​

• A fictionalized version of the 1697 raid on Cartagena is chronicled in the novel Captain Blood.
• Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez's novel (1985).
• Of love and other demons, Gabriel García Márquez's novel (1994).
• Pirates, novel by Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa (1996).
• Calamarí, novel by Emilio Ruiz Barrachina (1998).
• The Angel's Command, novel by Brian Jacques (2003).
• The second story in Nam Le's award-winning book of short fiction, The Boat (2008) is called "Cartagena" and set in Colombia. Cartagena in the story is more an idea than a place.
• Cartagena, novel by Claudia Amengual (2015).

Cities that have letters of intent for twinning and twinning already specified with Cartagena. ​

• Portal: Cartagena de Indias. Content related to Cartagena de Indias.
• Portal: Colombia. Content related to Colombia.
• Caribbean Region (Colombia)
• World Heritage Sites in Colombia
• St. Catherine's Cathedral of Alexandria of Cartagena de Indias