Captivating Cartagena
Jewel of the Old New World
Images by David A. Land. Originally published in AphroChic magazine Issue 6, Spring 2021.
Once the most important seat of Spanish power in the Americas, Cartagena, known then as Cartagena de Indias or Cartagena de Poniente (“of the West”), is one of Colombia’s most populous and visited cities. A stunning mix of natural wonder, intriguing antique architecture, and contemporary flavor, it’s a place where the cannons of centuries-old fortresses still overlook the water, and symbols of imperial power line streets walked by the descendants of conquistadors, slaves, and indigenous people alike.
Before becoming a Spanish colony, the area had been home to civilizations since around 4000 BC. Cartagena was founded in 1533 by Pedro de Heredia, a hot-tempered Spanish noble who fled Spain for the New World after killing three of six men responsible for disfiguring his face. According to legend, the city received its name because many of Heredia’s men hailed from Cartagena in Spain, and the similar bay of the new colony reminded them of home.
Prior to Heredia, earlier Spanish attempts to occupy the area had failed. In 1510, Juan de la Cosa, who captained the Santa Maria under Columbus, died fighting for the land alongside famed conquistadors Alonso de Ojeda and Francisco Pizarro. Ojeda and Pizarro survived but failed to establish a lasting colony. Afterward, Spanish interest in the area faded in favor of already-established territories.
Once founded, Cartagena quickly gained importance. Yet its poor defenses early on made it an inviting target. Among the many who attacked the port town was Sir Francis Drake, who in 1586 sacked Cartagena with 23 ships and 3,000 men, occupying the city and de- stroying nearly a quarter before it was ransomed back to Spain.
As a strategically located port, Cartagena was a hub for Spain’s export of gold and silver and its import of enslaved Africans. Through the 16th and 17th centuries, slavery became Cartagena’s chief industry. Yet many of the enslaved escaped, forming walled communities in nearby areas as staging grounds for raids on the city to rescue newly arriving slaves. In 1691, the Spanish crown granted official freedom to the first and most successful of these settlements, San Basilio de Palenque, making it the first Black community in the Americas to be so recognized.
Today, the culture of Cartagena holds all of the depth and beauty of its long and storied history — mixing reverence for its colonial past with strong influences from the Indigenous and African communities that shaped it. La Ciudad Amurallada, The Walled City, holds much of Cartagena’s past, including the Puerta del Reloj (Clock Portal), the Palace of the Inquisition, and The Church of Saint Peter Claver, the Jesuit priest who dedicated his life to the care of Cartagena’s large enslaved population, becoming one of the patron saints of Colombia. Statues of colonial figures dot the landscape, paying homage to figures such as Heredia himself and India Catalina, an indigenous woman kidnapped as a child and raised by the Spanish who aided in Heredia’s domination of the indigenous communities.
Now as then, Cartagena is a place that captivates all who arrive on its shores. From the ancient grandeur of the Walled City to the ultramodern skyline of Bocagrande, from its more than 20 beaches to its extensive culinary scene which, like the city’s inhabitants, is a complex blend of Indigenous, African, and European flavors. It is a place where every sight, every sound, and every step holds a memory.
