Aracataca

Infobox City
official_name = Aracataca
nickname = Cataca
motto =


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of the town and municipality of Aracataca in the Department of Magdalena.
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_type2 = Department
subdivision_name = Colombia
subdivision_name1 = Caribbean
subdivision_name2 = Magdalena
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name =
established_title = Foundation
established_date = 1885
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area_total_km2 = 1755
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population_as_of = 2005
population_note = [ [http://www.dane.gov.co/files/censo2005/regiones/magdalena/aracataca.pdf es icon DANE 2005 Census: Aracataca] ]
population_total = 34929
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utc_offset = -5
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website =
[http://aracataca-magdalena.gov.co www.aracataca-magdalena.gov.co]
footnotes = ^*

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.

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. [ [http://www.emol.com//noticias/internacional/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=223189 Macondo seguirá siendo un pueblo imaginario] — Spanish language news article.] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5116004.stm Marquez town rebuffs Macondo name] — BBC News article, 26 June 2006.]

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

External links

* [http://www.aracataca-magdalena.gov.co/sitio.shtml Alcaldia de Aracataca]