San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia
Overview
** SAN BASILIO DE PALENQUE, COLOMBIA **
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San Basilio de Palenque an Afro-Colombian Community full of diversity , culture and history was the highlight of my trip to Cartagena with my family but Palenque meaning “walled city” was founded by Benkos Bioho in 1603 a former African king who was sold into slavery and escaped the slave port of Cartagena in 1599. Palenque locals still maintain their African Dialects and musical traditions till this day including Spanish-Bantu which they called Palenquero. Also their traditional African influences funerals traditions known as lumbalu. I recommend everyone to visit Cartagena but do not leave until you visit San Basilio de Palenque the history and knowledge they still preserved made me proud to be a Black African Man.
Benko Bioho, an African King sold into slaver, escaped captivity in Cartagena and later founded Palenque, a safe-haven where former slaves in Colombia lived in secret.
Over the years, he and other escaped slaves successfully liberated many people from captivity in Cartagena. One tactic used was braiding the route to Palenque in woman’s hair.
after unsuccessful attempts to recapture the Palenqueros, the Spanish formed a treaty with them. Unfortunately , the treaty was broken when Benkos was captured and later executed for being too powerful of a symbol for the slaves.
In 1691, decades after the execution, the Spanish declared the people of Palenque as free people, making it the first free tow of the Americas
Palenque’s other accolades include: it’s the home of Cumbia, a popular dance and musical genre in Colombia, it is the only creole/spanish language in the world, and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Things to do:
On any given day of the week, Palenque is a sleepy town, or there’s not much to do. For that reason, I would recommend going with a tour http://experiencerealcartagena.com/ is the tour company I went with the first time. It was a thorough tour that explained the history and took the group to the different pro-black murals around the town. They picked me up from my hotel, took me around Palenque, provided lunch, and then dropped me off. It was a good day trip.
The second time I went was for the Festival de Tambores, an annual festival thrown by the Ministry of Education. Palenque comes alive during this time. When I went, it was a completely different vibe than the first time. There is a main stage where black artists and dancers showcase their talents and celebrate the influence Palenque has had on the country. There are many people dancing in the streets, and it’s basically like a huge block party. This lasts until the sun goes up, and then it continues onto the next day and night.
During the day time is where you can get all things culture. There is a program passed out with all of the speakers and classes you can take for free. The house of culture is where you can get a rundown of the history of the town. Also, that is where you can get in on the classes they offer like: language lessons, African dance lessons, turban tying lessons. There is a main room where forums and speakers talk as well.
Places to stay:
I would only recommend people to stay in Palenque if they have an open mind. I stayed in a homestay and essentially it was basically me meeting someone during the festival and them taking me to their family house. People doubled up that night so I could stay in a room. There’s no running water, so I took bucket showers, but the family was amazing and the breakfast was good. There is a nice hotel not to far away from Palenque, but I don’t know much about it. Making it a day trip from Cartagena might be better.
How to get there:
First time I went with a tour guide, so transportation was easy. The second time I took a bus down to the bus terminal of Cartagena, which is about 45 minutes away from the city center, and hopped on a chicken bus that said “Mahates”. It costs about 6-10,000 pesos( i think I paid more than I should have), and it drops you at the road towards Palenque. From there I took a 3,000 peso moto. There are buses that go directly into Palenque, but those run less frequently.