Santa Cruz de Mompox: Difference between revisions

For Mompox, the Paraguayan peasant leader, see Revolt of the Comuneros (Paraguay).

Santa Cruz de Mompox
Municipality
Colonial houses in Mompox
Flag Seal
Municipality and town of Mompox in the Bolivar Department.
Country	Colombia
Region	Caribbean Region
Department	Bolivar Department
Foundation	3 May 1537
Founded by	Alonso de Heredia
Government
• Mayor	Nubia Isabel Quevedo Ángel (2016-2019)
Area
• Municipality	645.37 km2 (249.18 sq mi)
Elevation	33 m (108 ft)
Population  (2015)
• Municipality	44,124
• Density	68/km2 (180/sq mi)
• Urban	25,785
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)
Website	Official website

Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department, which has preserved its colonial character. 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 and San Fernando. The city is served by San Bernardo Airport.

Simón Bolívar, 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.

History

The Villa de Santa Cruz de Mompox was founded by Don Juan Quintero de Heredia, Adelantado of the Gobernation of Cartagena and brother of the founder of that city, Pedro de Heredia, on May 3, 1537, after fighting battles against the Kimbay tribe and defeating the Chieftain Mompoj.

In the independence period, "Santa Cruz de" practically disappears and enters to denominate "Mompox" in the documents of the President Governor of the State of Cartagena de Indias dated November 3 of 1812. Since then, it has been called "Mompox" or "Mompos" in all official and notarial acts, both meanings being valid given the language evolution.

The name of Mompox comes from the great Cacique "Mompoj" (identification in Malibu language), whose tribe inhabited the area where today the city exists and came from the Malibu Indians civilization. By the time of the conquest, the Cacique already ruled about fifty small tribes, among them the Güitacas, Chilloas, Chimíes, Chicaguas, Jaguas, Malibues, Kates, Kimbayes, Menchiquejos, and Talahiguas. The tribes were formed by means of alliances, confederations subject to certain pacts, if not like vassals like allies and relatives who actaban the authority of the Cacique Mompoj.

Cacique Mompoj had as lieutenants the chiefs Zuzua and Mahamon who were the most important, although there were others such as Zimití, Zambe, Chilloa, and Omigale among others.

The Colony

Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: iv, v
Reference	742
Inscription	1995 (19th Session)

The foundation of the Convent of the Hermit Calced Fathers of St. Augustine in the 17th century means a new era of progress for this town, but also the arrival of the Inquisition. Mompóx is known as an inquisitorial center which issues condemnations for chiromancy, heresy, blasphemy, among others. The Jesuits founded the school of San Carlos, where young mompoxinos could study Latin grammar, philosophy and theology.

From very early in Colombian history, Mompóx stood out as a goldsmith's port. The workshops where gold is molded from nearby towns such as Loba and Guamocó are described by authors like Aníbal Noguera. The quality of its jewelry make of Mompóx a town with great influx of visitors throughout its history.

The commercial activity during the colony was active also thanks to the production of clay artifacts for domestic use (such as tinajones, moyos, pots, bottles, plates, etc.) and glazed earthenware ornaments (columns, herons, palm trees, toys, etc.). Likewise, it is a city that is soon known for the quality of its preserved sweets, jellies and fruits.

With its six churches (one of them adorned by a spectacular Baroque campanile donated by Don Martin de Setuain), its constant commercial activity and its privileged position on the map, Mompóx is one of the most flourishing cities of the New Kingdom of Granada. At its gates come people belonging to the creole nobility and illustrious personages of the world history of the time. Mompox was the target of pirates throughout the history of the Colony. Say that John Hawkins came to its port attracted by the reputation of port of riches and delights.

The Count of Santa Cruz de la Torre went up to Mompóx after being attacked by pirates in Rioacha and not having felt at home in Santa Marta or Cartagena de Indias. From there he manages his haciendas of Santa Cruz de Paparen in the savannas of Santo Toribío. Andrés de Madarriaga, a hero of the Cartagena resistance against the siege of Vernon and in defense of the river during that battle, chooses Mompox as an address after it acquires Pestagua County. Juan Bautista de Mier y de la Torre, the first Marquis of Santa coa, develops his fortune and has his base in Mompox, living in the house built by his father-in-law, Captain Pedro Gutiérrez, in what is known as the Portales de la Marquesa.

José Fernando de Mier y Guerra, married to his cousin sister and one of the two daughters of his uncle Juan Bautista de Mier y de la Torre (Juana Bartola), lives in Mompox, from where he launches his pacification campaign of the indigenous Chimilas tribes They inhabited what is today the department of Magdalena. He found more than twenty towns, such as El Banco, San Sebastián de Buenavista, Pijino, Cerro de San Antonio, Pedraza, Plato, Chimichagua, Chiriguana, etc. And from Mompox controls the properties of Calenturas (today La Loma de Calenturas is in the middle of the hacienda, as well as La Jagua de Ibirico), the lands of Loba that acquires by purchase in a public auction after having belonged by inheritance to Maria Nieto (of the mounts of Maria) and several haciendas and gold mines.

Julián de Trespalacios y Mier, second Marquess of Santa Coa, married with his cousin sister and one of the two daughters of his uncle Juan Bautista de Mier y de la Torre (Ignacia Andrea), lives in Mompox, from where he controlled the haciendas of Santa Bárbara de las Cabezas (today in Cesar), Cispataca (San Benito de Abad) as the gold mines of Cáceres and others.

Gonzalo José de Hoyos y Mier, the first Marquis de Torre Hoyos, married to a great-granddaughter of Juan Bautista de Mier y de la Torre, lives in the mansion of the Portales of the Marquess, a title inherited by his daughter María Josefa Isabel de Hoyos y Hoyos, who will face the war of independence, settling in Jamaica for more than ten years before returning and find his haciendas completely desolate.

In his passage through the city, Alexander von Humboldt is housed in a house on the Portales of the Marquise in La Albarrada, on the banks of the Magdalena River.

First Independence

The province of Mompox caused it to be the first town of the [Kingdom of New Granada]] that proclaimed absolute independence of Spain on August 6 of 1810. It is said that it was carried out under the motto "to be free or to die".

At that time, the royal authority was represented by the Commander in Arms, Vicente Talledo. The mayor was Don Pantaleón Germán de Ribón and the Sheriff Major Dr. Vicente Celedonio Guitérrez de Piñeres, both fervent conspirators of the independentist cause.

Between the royal authority and the Creoles they begin to record friction to the point that Talledo intercepts a communiqué of encouraging the rebellion between the Piñeres from Mompóx and those of Piñeres from Cartagena. The matter, said to have the rebels killed in the king's name, has no greater consequence for the rebels, as vicar Juan Fernandez de Sotomayor burns the evidence in the convent of San Agustín.

In those days the rumors of a general rebellion kept tense the relations between the royaL power and the sons of the colonies. On April 24, 1810 Don Pataleón Germán del Ribón and Ramón del Corral, father of the first`s wife, assemble about 25 militiamen. These parade as guards of the traditional procession of Holy Week. The official troops, smaller in number, retreat to avoid confrontation.

The substitution of forces has more than a symbolic importance. It is the trigger of a series of facts that lead to Mompóx to be a vital enclave of the Gran Colombian independence. Commander Talledo begins to seek desperate ways to return to power. Commits authoritarian acts and without justifiable reason. He accuses of espionage in favor of Napoléon Bonaparte to one of the richest and dearest merchants of the town.

Talledo's abuse of power comes as far as Santa Fe. The capital and Cartagena claim, but the Viceroy gives Talledo his full support. The chapter of Cartagena commissioned Don Antonio de Narváez and Don Antonio de Villavicencio to settle the problem by apoliinting Talledo and bringing him to trial, capital of the jurisdiction.

Of course, the episode is not easily resolved. The slaves of the merchant's family accused of espionage besiege the Commander's house on Calle de la Sierpe street. The inhabitants of the towns of Zuzua and Mamón are added to the revolt against the Spanish power. Before surrendering, Talledo decided to flee to Santa Fe on July 2. It is, in fact, the first Newgranadine town to ignore (to the point of expelling it) the representative of the power of the Spanish Crown.

Eighteen days later, the Official Cry of Outbreak would explode in Cartagena de Indias. The celebration of this event in Mompox is narrated in the following way by Dr. José María Salazar, eyewitness of the fiesta:

"Some of them jumped, some shouted, and all looked anxiously among the crowd, to their tenderest friends, to salute them with the ardor of liberty. The noise of the bells, the gunpowder, the music, and a thousand cheers and enthusiastic cheers raised the spirit and caused a kind of singular alienation "(Noguera, 528).

On August 6 of that same year, the first open town hall of the city was convened. The Capitulants José María Gutiérrez and José María Salazar are dressed in gala dresses and wear a ribbon: God and Independence. They will proclaim the Absolute Independence of Spain. A copy of the Minutes will be sent to the Governing Board of Cartagena. Soon the order will be imposed to give freedom to the slaves, to promote the destruction of the elements of torture of the Inquisition.

The Act never goes up to the Governing Board. Cartagena fears the failure of the independence revolution and declares war on Mompox. The first civil strife. With this confusion culminates the first episode of the Momposina Independence.

Church of Santa Bárbara in 1845, Watercolor by Edward Walhouse Mark.

Buildings and architecture

Iglesia de la Concepción Church

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. UNESCO named the historic center of Mompox as a World Heritage Site 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. There is also a museum of colonial art which houses 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 on the donations of the powerful families in the region and the royal tax charged on shipping along the Magdalena River for its maintenance and operation. San Juan de Dios is considered to be the 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.
• The 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, with the last restoration completed 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.
• The Santo Domingo Church was built by the Dominican friars, but had to be rebuilt in 1856, after an almost total collapse. It is very close to the Cemetery. It takes special relavance in the processions of Holy Week, is where the procession of the Desprendimiento ends, already well into the dawn of Holy Saturday.
• The Church of San Agustín keeps the Holy Sepulcher, the most important step that processes during the famous Holy Week of Mompox. It also has a colonial altar in polychrome wood and a very beautiful coffered ceiling. Located on the main street of Mompox, the church - like the rest of the temples of the city - is only open during the hours of worship.

Music

Mompox is famous in Colombia as the home of the musician/singer Totó la Momposina 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 music.

External links

• Template:Es Official website of Santa Cruz de Mompox
• Information about Santa Cruz de Mompox
• Template:Es Mompox architecture
• World heritage list nomination
• La Casa Amarilla