Are you one of those who likes to travel the world and learn historical, cultural and interesting things? So, Colombia It is an option for you because it is a magical country, with an exceptional historical, natural and cultural wealth, full of interesting things that attract the attention of many. Colombia has had many struggles and victories. It is a country that today highlights its natural, multicultural and multiracial diversity, and is always ready for you to enjoy the best it has to offer.

Today I want you to know something interesting about our country and it is the history of a palenque, but what is this? Palenque It is called a barrier or fence that is used to delimit a surface in order to defend itself and demarcate a territory. Of these there were many in the colonial times Well, it was a time full of slavery, then some slaves of the time escaped from their masters and took refuge in the palenques. One still exists today: it was founded in the XNUMXth century by a group of maroons commanded by Benkos Biohó, who fled to regain their freedom. It was the first town in America to be free, it's called Saint Basil of Palenque.

San Basilio de Palenque is a village in the municipality of Mahates, about 50 kilometers from Cartagena de Indias, in the department of Bolívar. San Basilio is listed as Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, a unique place full of the beauty of its people, culture, gastronomy, language and history.

This town has preserved its traditions and we can see it in funeral complexes such as the "lumbalú", where the community is summoned through drums and a nine-day ritual commemorating the deceased begins.

They have also preserved religious, medical and social practices, in addition to oral and musical traditions such as the "Son de Negro", the "Son palenquero" or the "Seated Bullarengue", which accompany collective celebrations such as weddings, baptisms and religious festivals, as well as other types of activities.

The social organization of the community is based on family networks and age groups called ma-kuagro. They have a system of rights and duties: all members are aware of what others need and they always work and organize particular events for the benefit of all.

But the world heard about San Basilio de Palenque when on October 28, 1972, a man named Antonio Cervantes, better known in the boxing world as "Kit Pambelé", a native of this town, gave an accurate uppercut in the first minute of the tenth assault that crowned him as the world boxing champion, in the junior welterweight category, World Boxing Association (WBA) version against Panamanian Alfonso "Peppermint" Frazer, a title that fills many Colombians with pride.

San Basilio de Palenque is an attraction for everyone, you can visit it and learn even more about its history and you will be able to listen and appreciate its language created by different captive tribes from different regions of Africa. They put together some Spanish, Portuguese, English, French and the Bantu and Pingui African languages ​​to create their Palenquera language, it is the only one in the Americas that combines a Spanish lexical base with the grammatical characteristics of Bantu languages.

All this history of Saint Basil was very interesting for our dear student Adir Staat from Brazil, who came to Colombia because he wanted to learn Spanish and also know the culture, traditions and history. He is aware of the language-culture relationship, and this was his main reason for studying in Colombia, a place where he could have an approach to both realities.

During his adventure in our country, he was able to visit San Basilio de Palenque and he states that “it was a very interesting place, since he always wanted to know how was the process of independence and liberation of the slaves in Cartagena and the role that this had place in the history of our city ”.

Adir He fell in love with the history of Palenque and its traditions, but not only Palenque, but also Cartagena, since he was able to do what he wanted: learn spanish and learn about the culture.

Today he is considered one more Cartagena. So much so that in their clothing and gestures they are similar to those of the coast, they always try to imitate the ways of expressing themselves in the city. He expressed his appreciation for everything he learned in school Nueva Lengua for having visited San Basilio and for having lived the culture. He hopes to return another time, and hopes to do so in the company of his wife and daughters.

Alicia Velásquez - Spanish Teacher