Santa Cruz de Mompox
Encyclopedia
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- For Mompox, the Paraguayan peasant leader, see Revolt of the ComunerosRevolt of the Comuneros (Paraguay)The Revolt of the Comuneros is a series of uprisings by settlers in Paraguay against the Spanish authorities lasting from 1721 to 1732. Underlying causes were economic, but there were also issues of freedom and self-government...
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- For Mompox, the Paraguayan peasant leader, see Revolt of the Comuneros
Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, in the Bolívar Department
Bolívar Department
Bolívar is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending from the coast at Cartagena near the mouth of the Magdalena River, then south along the river to a border with Antioquia.Its...
, which has preserved its colonial character. Located on an island in the Magdalena River
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...
where it joins the Cauca River
Cauca River
The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...
, 249 kilometers from Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
. Mompox depends upon tourism, fishing and some commerce generated by the local cattle raising. It has about 30,000 inhabitants, and is adjacent to the municipalities of Pinillos
Pinillos
Pinillos is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia....
and San Fernando
San Fernando, Bolívar
San Fernando is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia....
.
Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
, liberator of much of Spanish South America, said "If to Caracas I owe my life, then to Mompox I owe my glory." Simón Bolívar arrived in Mompox in 1812 and recruited nearly all of the able bodied men, some four hundred, who formed the basis of the army for his victory in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
.
History
Mampo (or Mompoj) was the local indigenous chieftain of the Quimbaya civilizationQuimbaya civilization
The Quimbaya civilization is a South American civilization, noted for spectacular gold work characterized by technical accuracy and detailed designs. The majority of the gold work is made in tumbaga alloy, with 30% copper, which imparts beautiful color tonalities to the pieces...
(or Kimbaya) people when the Spanish arrived, and Mompox means "land of the ruler Mampo". The city was founded on May 3, 1537 by Don Alonso de Heredia as a safe port on the Magdalena
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...
. Santa Cruz de Mompox became quite prosperous as a port for the transportation of goods upriver into the interior. A royal mint was established here and the town was famous for its goldsmiths. This prosperity had begun to wane in the Nineteenth Century, but continued until early in the Twentieth Century when the river shifted and sediment accumulated on this arm of the river. At which point Magangué
Magangue
Magangué Magangué is a municipality in the Department of Bolivar in Colombia, located on the banks of the Magdalena River in the North Coast. It is the capital of the southern Department, and is the second most important town....
became the favored port.
Buildings and architecture
Santa Cruz de Mompox is known for the preservation of its colonial architectural features, as expressed by the mixture of its Spanish and Indian styles. UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
named the historic center of Mompox as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 1995. Today, most of the colonial buildings are still used for their original purposes, which provides an excellent example of a Spanish colonial city. Of particular note is the wrought iron work decorating doors, railings and window grills along the streets, notably on Calle de la Albarrada, Calle Real del Medio and Calle de Atrás. Notable churches include Santa Bárbara (built 1613), San Agustín (built 1606), San Juan de Dios and Immaculate Conception and there is a museum of colonial art which carries religious gold colonial masterpieces.
- The San Francisco Church was originally built in 1564 and the Convent was founded in 1580 by Fray Francisco Gonzaga. The church is known for its handsome mural which was unfortunately damaged during reconstruction work in 1996. Since then the foundations have been reinforced and restoration is, for the time being, complete.
- San Juan de Dios Hospital was founded in 1550. In 1663 La Orden de todos los Hermanos Hospitalarios (Order of the Hospital Brothers) took over its management. It depended for its maintenance and operation on the donations of the powerful families in the region and the royal tax charged on shipping along the Magdalena RiverMagdalena RiverThe Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...
. San Juan de Dios is considered to be oldest hospital in America still functioning in its original building.
- The House of the Apostles located on Calle Real del Medio was the mansion of a local shipping family, and is visited by tourists to see the handsome images of the twelve apostles and of Jesus at the Last Supper.
- City Hall contained the colonial dungeons and the mayor’s reception room. It was here that on August 6, 1810 the Act of Independence from Spain was signed, and the cry "Ser Libres o Morir" ("Freedom or Death") was first heard.
- The Municipal Palace also known as the Cloister of San Carlos was built in 1660. This cloister housed the city’s first secondary school until the Jesuits were driven out. It ceased to be a convent in 1767. Here in 1809 the Universal School of Saint Peter the Apostle was founded by Pedro Martínez de Pinillos.
- Church of the Immaculate Conception was originally built of adobe by Pedro de Heredia in 1541. Ten years later it was enlarged and masonry replaced much of the adobe, and the straw roof was replaced with tile. Because of its large size it was often regarded as the cathedral of Mompox. Over the years, the original building was restored several times, lastly in 1795. In 1839 the Governor of the Province ordered its demolition and the present church was built on the site.
- The Santa Bárbara Church is one of the best-known and most important churches in the city. Completed in 1613 the church has a beautiful baroque bell tower with a balcony. It is decorated with moldings of palm trees, flowers and lions. The tower’s dome is equally baroque, and the church’s three altars are heavily gilded.
Music
Mompox is famous in Colombia as the home of the musician/singer Totó la MomposinaTotó la Momposina
Sonia Bazanta Vides, better known as Totó la Momposina, is a Colombian singer of traditional mixed indigenous Colombian and Afro-Latin music. She was born in the northern Colombian town of Talaigua Nuevo near Mompox in the Bolívar Department...
and her band. Their music is a fusion of African and Spanish influences as well as the harmonies of the natives of the region, and is associated with Cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
music.