Pacific Region (Colombia)
The Pacific region is one of the six natural regions of Colombia. It covers almost the entire department of Chocó, and the coastal areas of the departments of Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño.
It is located on the western fringe of the country, bordered to the north by Panama, to the northeast by the Caribbean region, to the east by the Western Cordillera that separates it from the Andean region, to the south by Ecuador, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean, from where it takes its name. It is part of the biogeographic Chocó and is divided into two large areas marked by Cape Corrientes. The main cities are Buenaventura, Tumaco, Quibdó, Istmina, Barbacoas and Nuquí. The Tumaco-La Tolita culture developed in it.
It is a region with an immense ecological, hydrographic, mining and forestry wealth in which there are natural national parks. It is also considered one of the regions with the greatest biodiversity and rainfall on the planet with rainfall of the order of 4,000 mm/year according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia. It is also the main land of the Afro-Colombian culture and numerous Indo-American tribes which were called "chocoes" by the Spanish at the time of the Conquest, although the term includes linguistic families of different origin. The coast puts Colombia in front of the largest Ocean in the world and with it a vital international meeting ground for its development.
Departments
The following are the departments that have territory in the Pacific Region:
- Chocó: the only department whose territory is 90% within the Region. To the north it has a part in the Gulf of Urabá that puts it in the Caribbean Region (the only Colombian department with coasts in the two oceans) and to the east touches the foothills of the Western Cordillera.
- Valle del Cauca: Special District of Buenaventura
- Cauca: Guapi, López de Micay and Timbiquí.
- Nariño. Subregions of the South Pacific, Sanquianga and Telembí.
Natural subregions
The following are the subregions into which the Pacific Region of Colombia is divided:
- Serrania del Baudó.
- Serrania del Darién.
- Astra River Valley.
- San Juan River Valley.
- Pacific coastline.
Relief
To the north, the territory is dominated by medium-altitude mountains, such as the Baudó mountain range, the Darién mountain range, and the foothills of the Western mountain range.
Hydrography
The region is crossed by mighty and deep rivers such as the Atrato, the San Juan, the Baudó, the Mira and the Patía. Some of them constitute the only means of communication in a mostly jungle region. In this area it is very important to note that the majority form of progress and survival is based on rivers. It is a region with immense ecological, hydrographic, mining and forestry wealth in which there are natural national parks.
Climate
Throughout the region, the humid tropical climate of the jungle prevails, with temperatures above 24 degrees all year round. The rains occur throughout the year, without a dry season. Lloró (Chocó department), one of the rainiest areas in the world.
Population
The inhabitants of the Colombian Pacific are approximately 1 million inhabitants. Currently, it is the only region in Colombia with an absolute majority of Afro-descendant communities, approximately 90%.[citation required]
The region is quite uninhabited, due to its climatic and health conditions. Its population density does not exceed 5 inhabitants per km².[citation required] The main cities are in their order: Buenaventura, one of the main maritime ports of Colombia and the first of the country on the Pacific Ocean, Quibdó, departmental capital of Chocó, Tumaco and Guapí. It is populated mainly by black and mulatto people with minorities of whites, mestizos and indigenous people such as the Emberá and the Waunana.
The first Africans to arrive in the Pacific were brought as slaves during the Spanish colonization; It is estimated that 15% of the slaves that landed in Cartagena de Indias went to Popayán and from there they were sold to Buenaventura, Timbiquí, Chocó and other regions of the area. After the abolition of slavery in 1851, as the African population did not come from a particular ethnic group, a new cultural identity naturally developed,[citation needed].
For economic reasons (and given the geographical proximity), the inhabitants of the Colombian Pacific have traditionally emigrated to the cities and towns located in the geographic valley of Cauca, especially to the city of Cali, which has become the first city of the country in terms of the number of Afro-descendants; Buenaventura ranks third after Cartagena de Indias.
History
The region did not go unnoticed by the Spanish conquistadores, who would soon discover the mineral riches of those dense humid tropical forests. The indigenous gold and silver found by archaeologists shows that the mineral was always abundant and used by the Indo-American peoples of the territory. According to Ingeominas, mining exploitation goes back a long way. In this way, the region became one of the main producers of gold during the Spanish Colony and in such, researchers say that "during the viceroyalty more than half of the gold that left these colonies to the metropolis" He was from this region. This also explains the reason why Colombians who inhabit it today preferably belong to the black race and paradoxically it is one of the least developed regions of the country.
On the origin of the indigenous groups of the Pacific Region, ethnologists continue the discussion, since the Conquest generalized all the communities with the name of "chocoes", which today is accepted as a term that he did not distinguish the different linguistic families that existed at the arrival of the Spanish. In the work of the ethnologist Mauricio Pardo, it is mentioned that the descriptive sources of the conquerors refer to generic demonyms, for example, "Emberá" translates "the local people". But according to Pardo's research, the main linguistic families in the region when the Spanish arrived were (and are) the Kuna and Uaunana settled in Bajo Atrato and the Emberá in Alto San Juan. In any case, for the Spanish from the 16th century Emberá and Uaunana were called the same way, although both peoples lived in conflict over territorial control, but in any case both have cultural similarities that surely turned out to be the main reason for their generalization to the conquerors, although the two languages keep a difference.
In 1501 Rodrigo de Bastidas explored the territory and in 1510 Martín Fernández de Enciso made the first foundation of a European city on the American continent: Santa María la Antigua del Darién, abandoned in 1517 later due to the same disputes between the conquerors. On September 25, 1513, Europeans discovered the Pacific Ocean and called it the South Sea.
The Spaniards started one of the darkest trades in history in America: the slavery of the African people, but the love for freedom made Barule, a slave, lead the biggest insurrection in Chocó together with the brothers Antonio and Mateo Mina.
They found Palenque Tadó where he is proclaimed king. It is made up of 120 maroons. On February 18, 1728, the battle between the royalist army and the maroons took place and when the latter were defeated, Barule and the Mina brothers were shot by Lieutenant Tres Palacios Mier. In 1795 Agustina, a slave abused by the slave owner Miguel Gómez who wanted to make her abort, denounced it before Judge Álvarez Pino who ruled against her.
In response, she burns several haciendas in what is now the municipality of Tadó. The cry for independence in Chocó would be given on February 2, 1813.
The republican history would sink the region into oblivion and a certain marginalization of the country's development. This has not prevented figures of national importance from standing out, such as the poet, educator and Chocoano leader Manuel Saturnino Valencia (1867 - 1907), who died sentenced to death for "attacking the interests of whites" in the region (he was the last Colombian to receive a legal capital sentence). Another figure of importance for the country is the lawyer Diego Luis Córdoba (1907 - 1964), who worked for the defense of human rights and especially of the black, indigenous and peasant communities. Likewise, Amir Smith Córdoba (1947 - 2003), founder of the Research Center for the ''Development of Black Culture in Colombia''.
In 1990, some organizations for the protection of the environment and human rights protested against state plans for large infrastructure works such as the construction of an interoceanic canal or a railway line that linked the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific, two seaports on the Gulf of Urabá and Cupica Bay, the connection to the Pan-American Highway and other works. Between March 20-29, 2004, for the first time in history, 1,200 indigenous people from the Playita, Egoróquera and Unión Baquiaza reservations, from the Opogodó river and other sectors, were forced to flee their own land due to bloody confrontations between the terrorist groups FARC and the AUC. The fact is just a sample of the difficult public order situation in the Department, with displacements of peasants, massacres and executions by violent groups. Although the AUC has demobilized and the FARC is in the middle of a peace process that has reduced its actions in this region, the war actions continue as a result of the presence of the ELN and criminal gangs such as Los Rastrojos, which seek control of illegal activities in this region such as drug trafficking, extortion, illegal mining, among others.
Culture
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The Pacific Region of Colombia is part of the biogeographic Chocó, where the Tumaco-La Tolita culture developed. It is located to the west of said country and is divided into two large areas marked by Cape Corrientes. It limits to the north with Panama, to the south with Ecuador, to the east by the Western Cordillera of the Colombian Andes and to the west by the Pacific Ocean from which it derives its name. The main cities are Tumaco, Buenaventura and Quibdó.
Music
Folkloric studies carried out on the Pacific Coast allow us to appreciate the survival of Afro-Americans, Spanish and indigenous peoples, in dances and songs
- Currulao
- Tamborito.
- Abozao.
- I ducked.
- The bereju.
- Play.
- Water down.
- Fuck her.
- Bunde.
Other popular rhythms and songs are: aguacorta, andarele, caderona, polka, mazurka, chocoano calypso, chigualo, caracumbé, agualarga, aguamaleña, andarete, salve, romance, carol, proclamation, tiguaranda, pangota, pilero, castruera, dove, daisy, jagua, caramba, gallinazo, guapi, guabaleña and the Chocoana contradanza.
Myths and legends
Among the most outstanding legends are La Tunda, described as a female monster with similarities to a vampire who lures people into the woods and holds them captive there, La Patasola, who is presented as an extremely beautiful and seductive woman who often goes in search of a partner, El Riviel, La Sirena De La Frontera, among others.
Crafts
The Marimba de Chonta stands out in the region, which is the most recognized instrument in the region and the most famous instrument, palm hats and objects made with the coconut palm tree.
Celebrations
Among the most important popular celebrations are:
- The San Pacho Festivals in the Chocó, from September 12th.
- The Currulao Festival in Tumaco.
- The Carnival of Fire in Tumaco.
- The procession of the Virgin of Atocha in Barbaccoas.
- The Folk Festival of the Pacific Litoral in Buenaventura.
- The Pure Festivals in Guapi.
Gastronomy
The traditional dishes of the Pacific region are dry-smooth fish cod, bocachico with scales, stuffed avocados, shrimp or prawn ceviche, fish empanadas, seafood casserole, fish with chocoano lulo, pickled fish, Fried snapper in mustard sauce, fish aborrajados, squid, shrimp or prawn salad, crab or shrimp empanadas, cream of prawn heads, lentil soup with smoked fish, catfish, snapper or sea bass pusandao (soup), rice with squid in its ink, stuffed squid, chaupiza (very small fish), tapajeño beans, peeping eggs, baby rabbit broth, quebrao (salted mountain meat stew in cured meat), clam soup, crab soup, rice with crab or with clams, turtle in shell (in crab), plumuda with banana, patacones and the traditional fish tapao, the flagship dish of the Pacific region.
Dialects and languages
There is only one dialect in the region, which is part of Pacific Spanish. The distinctive features of the Spanish spoken in the region are:
- The final /s of syllable is aspirated or elide but the middle class tends to avoid it in the pre-vocálic context.
- As in the Caribbean the variant of /x/ ("j") is [h].
- The word /n/ end is to watch, sometimes bilabialy.
- Among the lower classes there is confusion of liquids /l/ and /r/, their elision is rare.
- In the Chocó area the /d/ intervocálica is made as /r/. In this same region the /s/ aspirated and /k/ may result in global occlusion.
In addition to the use of Voseo, to denote the second person
National Natural Parks
- Ensenada National Park of Utría
- Natural National Park Gorgona
- Tatama National Natural Park
- National Natural Park Sanquianga
- Natural National Park of Los Katíos
- National Natural Park Uramba Bay Malaga
The Colombian Pacific is also home to the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary and the La Manigua Botanical Garden.
Economy
The economy of the Pacific region is based on industrial deep-sea fishing, mariculture (cultivation of marine organisms for food products), logging for national and international markets, industrial gold and platinum mining, cattle ranching and agriculture (mainly the industrialization of African palm, banana and plantain crops).
External links and relevant bibliography
- First Colombian Pacific newspaper
- Escobar, Arturo, "Cultural Policy and Biodiversity: State, Capital and Social Movements in the Colombian Pacific". In María V. Uribe and Eduardo Restrepo, (eds.): Anthropology in Modernity, Bogotá, ICAN. Pp. 173-206.
- Escobar, Arturo, "El Proceso Organtivo de Comunidades Negras en el Pacífico Sur Colombiano". Political Ecology 14: 47-64. http://ecologiapolitica.info/ep/anteriores.htm (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last).
- Escobar, Arturo, Territories of Difference: Place, Movements, Life, Redes by Arturo Escobar. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008
- Oslender, Ulrich, Black Communities and Space in the Colombian Pacific, Bogotá: ICAN, 2008
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