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| Aracataca | |||
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| Nickname: Cataca | |||
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| Country | Colombia | ||
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| Region | Caribbean | ||
| Department | Magdalena | ||
| Foundation | 1885 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | [[]] | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 1,755 km² (677.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - Total | 34,929 | ||
| [1] | |||
| * | |||
| Website: www.aracataca-magdalena.gov.co |
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Aracataca (colloquially sometimes referred to as "Cataca") is a municipality located in the Department of Magdalena, Colombia's Caribbean Region. Aracata is a river town founded in 1885. The town stands beside the river of the same name, the Aracataca River that flows from the near by Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range into the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. Aracataca is located some 80 km south of the Department capital Santa Marta.
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Geography and climate
The municipality borders to the north with the municipalities of Zona Bananera, Santa Marta and Cienaga, to the east with the Cesar Department, to the south wi the municipality of Fundación, and to the west with the municipalities of El Retén and Pueblo Viejo.
Aracataca's climate is tropical: warm and humid year-round.
History
Aracata was founded in 1885. It achieved the status of municipality in 1912 , separated from the municipality of Pueblo Viejo.
On June 25, 2006, a referendum to rename the town "Aracataca-Macondo" failed due to a low turnout. [2][3]
Politics
Administrative divisions
Rural
Corregimientos
- Buenos Aires
- Cauca
- Sampues
- La Fuente.
Veredas
Aracataca contains 13 veredas:
- Tehobromina
- El Torito
- Macaraquilla
- La escondida
- Bocatoma
- La Ribiera
- La Fuente
- Cerro Azul
- El Volante
- El porvenir
- Marimonda
Caserios
Aracataca has 3 caseríos:
- Serankua
- Yechikin
- Dwanawimaku
Urban
Neighborhoods
The town of Aracataca has 33 Barrios: La Esperanza, La esmeralda, Zacapita, 2 de febrero, 20 de Julio, Ayacucho, Nariño, Loma Fresca, 7 de Agosto, El Carmen, Cataquita, Macondo, El Suiche, El Pradito, 11 de Noviembre, 7 de Abril, Ciudadela macondo, San José, Base, Marujita, Las delicias, Centro, Boston, El Porvenir, 1 de Mayo, Galán, San Martín, Bello Horizonte, Raíces, Macondo, Villa del Río I y II.
Economy
Aracataca relies heavily on agriculture mainly producing Oil palm, rice, cotton, sugar cane, common bean, plantain, bananas, yuca, tomato and on livestock raising like cattle, equines, mules, donkeys, domesticated birds, goats and porks. Commerce represents another form of income and is mostly done informally, especially by the main highway to Santa Marta where large lines of stands selling beach towels are placed.
Transportation
Transportation in and around Aracataca is mainly done over land since the rivers are not navigatable and there are a few small rudimentary airfields used by small aircraft for agricultural fummigations. The municipality and town are crossed by the Highway 45 that extends from Santa Marta, crosses Aracataca, Fundación, El Copey, Bosconia, Curumani into the Cesar Department and turns south towards the Colombian Andean Region. The railway no longer works for public transportation, it is used almost exclusively to transport Coal from the region of La Loma in Central Cesar Department to the Port of Santa Marta. There are several small companies that offer inter-municipal and inter-departamental transportation on medium-size buses, minivans and taxi cabs.
Culture
Festivities
Aracatacans celebrate the Roman Catholic tradition of Three Kings on January 6 of every year, Carnivals and the holy week between February and March, a cultural week, The Festival of the Unedited Song (Festival de la Canción Inédita), The municipality's anniversary in April and the River Festival (Festival del Río).
In popular culture
- The town is the birthplace of Nobel Prize Winning author Gabriel García Márquez and is widely recognized as the model for the mythical "Macondo", the central village in García Márquez's masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
References
- ^ (Spanish) DANE 2005 Census: Aracataca
- ^ Macondo seguirá siendo un pueblo imaginario — Spanish language news article.
- ^ Marquez town rebuffs Macondo name — BBC News article, 26 June 2006.
External links
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