Palenqueras: what the heirs of African tradition represent in Colombia

Palenqueras, staple figures of Cartagena

Cartagena is famed for having some of the best beaches in Colombia, as well as a vibrant nightlife. Furthermore, the Walled City of Cartagena is a top destination for travelers.

The wall was built during colonial times to protect the Spanish kingdom’s greatest port in the Americas from pirates. Many buildings from such times, as well as roads and other fixtures, still lie inside. When exploring this site, you will come across many friendly African Colombian women wearing colorful blouses, skirts, and turbans. They are the palenqueras, who seem to defy gravity by walking around balancing big bowls full of fresh fruit and traditional sweets on their heads.

If you run into palenqueras, you will be able to try tropical fruits such as watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, tangerine, and mango. On top of those, you will also find unique local fruits, like caimito, medlar, mamey, and carambola.

You can also indulge your sweet tooth with their wares: the palenqueras usually sell homemade candy. Do not miss the millet and cane sugar alegrías, tamarind or peanut balls, or papaya and cinnamon caballitos. Also, you cannot leave Cartagena without tasting the ever-so-popular cocadas, or coconut sugary cakes.

You can find the palenqueras most frequently at San Felipe Castle, the Watch Tower, and the Plaza de Bolívar and Plaza San Pedro Claver squares.

Where do palenqueras come from?

Even though you can find them in Cartagena, they come from a small village two hours away. But this is not just any village. San Basilio de Palenque is the first free town of the Americas. It is also the hometown of boxing world champion Antonio Cervantes, better known as Kid Pambelé.

Back in the early 17^th century, an African man named Domingo Benkos Biohó managed to escape from a slave ship that capsized in the waters of the Magdalena River. Along with some of his peers, he founded San Basilio. This was a community for fugitive slaves in a remote location, away from their former masters. They fortified the place by surrounding it with wooden fences, or palenques, from which the palenqueras take their name.

San Basilio is the only Colombian palenque town remaining. To this day, its people maintain their traditions and culture. That is why the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have classified San Basilio as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

What the culture of the palenqueras represents

San Basilio is home to traditional African social, medical, and religious practices. That is why it is known as Africa’s corner in Colombia. The society is organized into family networks and age groups called ma-kuagro. All members live in a system of rights, duty and solidarity to each other.

Moreover, locals keep alive the traditional language, music and storytelling of their ancestors. While the palenqueras you meet in Cartagena speak Spanish, they also speak a unique dialect combining Spanish with Bantu African language. It exists only in Colombia.