Page 12 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - May '21

Page 12, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Cartagena ‘The Heroic City’

By Don Kiselewski, MCC, Don Pedro de Heredia founded
D.S., Palm Beach Gardens Cartagena in 1533. Soon after the
Travel Leaders interior of Columbia was explored by
Have you ever realized the conquistadors, who discovered that it
just how much your views of was rich in gold and emeralds. Cartagena
the world are influenced by de Indias, as it was called, gained fame
the movies? If you had never by the mid-16th century when great
been there, and I asked you fleets stopped to take on gold and other
to describe Fargo, Tuscany or resources of northern South America
Cartagena, you’d most likely for convoy to Spain. This also boosted
draw visions from famous the economy of Cartagena, with goods
flicks depicting these places. returned from Spain. As a result, the city
Many will remember North Dakota’s snowy, desolate became a major trade and slave port and
landscapes from the Coen brothers’ film Fargo, or the distinctive the center for the Inquisition. During this
architecture and colorful countryside in Under the Tuscan Sun. growth period, the city was governed
And few can forget the early scenes in Romancing the Stone, through a system of viceroys under strict
when the heroine arrives in Cartagena, Colombia, to find a filthy, Spanish rule. The Clock Tower Gate in Cartagena’s old city
poorly maintained city, coming apart at the seams, with poor The wealth flowing through Cartagena’s
transportation and unsavory individuals lurking everywhere. port attracted notice, and consequently
Well folks, I’m here to say it just isn’t so – at least with respect invited pirate attacks. Adequate defenses
to Cartagena. Hopefully, that which follows will give you a and fortifications were immediately
more accurate picture of Cartagena and the way it really is. required and the Spanish Crown ordered an
Cartagena is located on the northwestern coast of Columbia, enormous wall and series of fortresses to
on the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea) side of the country. This be built around the city. The 11-kilometer
part of Colombia was originally inhabited by the Chibcha (chib- wall was completed in 1686 at a cost of
chuh) Indians. They lived in the mountains that border the sea, some 59 million ounces of gold. It turned
long before Columbus discovered America. Their civilization out to be money well spent.
was extremely advanced, with their works looked on as being Other precautions were also
some of the best from the pre-Columbian era. The Chibcha were implemented to reinforce the city. The
true craftsmen when it came to pottery and weaving, however streets of the city were intentionally made
it was their excellent goldsmithing skills and native emeralds narrow and crooked to slow the advance
that brought them attention. Attention, unfortunately, that they of the enemy during battle.
didn’t need, since it drew the early explorers who plundered the The two forts that guarded the bay were
Chibcha’s riches. San José and San Fernando. At one time,
a massive chain was draped from one fort Tourists and local residents watch the sun set over the Caribbean Sea from
to the other to prevent ships from sailing the old city wall surrounding Cartagena.
in or out of the harbor. Towering above
all of the other forts, 135 feet above sea
level, was Castillo San Felipe de Barajas.
It was built in a strategic location on the
Hill of San Lázaro, protecting the isthmus
of Cabrero, and even today it remains the
most overpowering element of the city as
well as its focal point.
Originally known as the Castillo de
San Lázaro, the fortress was expanded and
renamed in 1657. It was then captured and
destroyed by the French in 1697. Between
1762 and 1769 it was rebuilt to its current
state. It is now the site of modern “sound
and light” spectaculars, staged with the
fort as a background. These performances
depict the bloody history of Cartagena.
Cartagena’s people were victim to five Locals gather in the late afternoon in the colorful streets of Cartagena’s
sieges during the 16th century, the most Getsemani neighborhood.
famous led by Sir Francis Drake in 1586.
Drake made it into Cartagena’s harbor and accepted a 10 refer to it as “La Heroica.” It wasn’t until 1819 when
million peso ransom for not burning the city. Just after the liberator of South America, Simón Bolívar, led the
the wall around the city was completed, England attacked attack that liberated Cartagena, and Colombia, once and
again … what timing. The British threw 24,000 men and for all. The liberation from Spain is the city’s principal
186 ships against the city, to no avail, and were turned celebration, and is celebrated on Nov. 11.
back … Cartagena had successfully defended itself. The most famous religious celebration in Cartagena
In 1811, Cartagena tried unsuccessfully to declare is the Feast of Our Lady of La Candelaria. Each year on
independence from Spain. Its independence was thwarted, Feb. 2, pilgrims walk up the 500-foot hill in a candlelit
after a long siege in 1815, by Spanish loyalist troops under procession to the parish of Pie de Popa.
The vibrant (and narrow) streets of Cartagena draw tourists the command of Pablo Morillo. This encounter earned
far and wide. Cartagena the title of “The Heroic City” – the Colombians Cartagena ‘The Heroic City’ on page 13
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