Cartagena, Colombia

This former Spanish colonial entrepôt has something for everyone!

The city rose to prominence in the 16th century as the main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire. And the years since have been good to it: the present-day city maintains a prestigious position, championing an energy—fueled by the beat of its vallenato rhythms—found few other places in the Caribbean.

Enjoy learning about Cartagena courtesy of Approach Guides as you read, watch and listen below. 

To Read...

​The flowers of Cartagena

ou expect certain things when entering the walls of UNESCO World Heritage Cartagena de Indias for the first time: cobbled alleys, massive fortifications, Spanish colonial architecture and Caribbean flavors. And it certainly has all that … and then some. But what struck us more than anything was its striking array of vine-based flowers climbing seemingly over every wall, tree and stately facade.
Here are three ubiquitous flower varieties to be on the lookout for.

​Bougainvillea
The small flowers of this see-it-everywhere climbing plant are generally white, each cluster of three surrounded by three or six bright, paper-thin petals in a range of colors: magenta, purple, red, orange, white and yellow.

Morning GloryTrue beauties, Morning Glories have funnel- or cone-shaped blossoms in white, red, blue, purple and yellow. Each leaf — having a similar paper-thin consistency as Bougainvillea — has a heart-shaped profile.

Hibiscus
Hibicus flowers stand out for their large size. They are large and trumpet shaped with five or more petals. Colors come in a range of hues: white, pink, purple, red, orange, peach and yellow.

Have you tried this neon-colored Colombian soda?

Why Cartagena goes crazy for Kola Román. By Allie Wist.

In Cartagena's Old City, heat presses into alleyways and sunlight streams over cobblestones. People move languidly and salty ocean breezes slip past handsome colonial buildings. Ducking the high-noon humidity, city dwellers seek respite in cool bakeries. There is a saying here that goes something like this: "All a man needs are pan y Kola Román."

Bread and Cartagena's beloved, omnipresent soda. Despite its frivolous appearance—tapered glass, flashy logo, crayon-pink hue—Kola Román is deeply embedded in the rituals and identity of Colombia's Caribbean coast.

“It's become knitted into our society,” says Sergio A. Londoño Zurek, a descendant of the Kola Román founder and the keeper of his family's archives. “This is an important part of our culture, and an important part of Cartagena.”
​
In 1834, while on his way to Peru, Manuel Román was shipwrecked off the coast of Colombia. Saved by local fishermen, he made his way to Cartagena, where he fell in love and decided to stay. In the colonial city center, Román opened Laboratorio Román, a pharmacy that introduced Colombians to the European fad of flavored carbonated waters around the turn of the 20th century. At the time, soda was considered a remedy meant to heal everything from fatigue to indigestion. The pharmacy sold Dry Kola, ginger ale, and a “champagne” soda called Kola Román, which was originally sourced from the United States. But in 1934, Henrique Román, Manuel's grandson, redeveloped the recipe into the vanilla-flavored soda that today can be found everywhere from beachside stands to high-end restaurants in the Old City.

Here, along the coast, Colombians drink Kola Román straight or mix it with beer in a cocktail called refajo. Some even cook with it in dishes like platanos ententación: plantains simmered in soda with clove and sometimes whole vanilla beans. At Casa Román, the family's lush, Moorish-style mansion, Sergio's mother, Teresa Margarita Zurek Román (Manuel's great-great-granddaughter), cooks a platter of radiant platanos—sticky, salty-sweet tropical comfort food brightened with the vanilla-scented fuchsia fizz. "For me," says Sergio, "this flavor tastes like home."​

To Watch...

​Cartagena de Indias

​Immerse yourself in the rhythms and sights of Cartagena. Runtime: 1 min.

Meet a Local in Cartagena

Colonial Cartagena de Indias

​In this episode of DW Travel, join bookseller Martin Murillo Gomez on a stroll through the colorful streets of his Colombian city. Runtime: 3 min.

​With its cobblestone streets and ornamented buildings, Cartagena has what is arguably the best-preserved colonial center in the Western Hemisphere. In this short film from Jungles in Paris, locals give their perspective on Colombia's most beautiful city. Runtime: 2 min.

To Listen...

​Vallenato, a wildly popular genre of music in Colombia's north, is a mix of Spanish and West African rhythms with expressive lyrics—and it's on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Learn more in this Historias del Corazón de Colombia podcast.

Stories from the Heart of Colombia | Cesar

In this episode, visit the spiritual home of Colombia’s vallenato music, Valledupar, in the northern department of Cesar. This genre is found throughout the north Colombian coast and countryside and features a trio of musicians lead by an accordion player. Runtime: 14 min.