Barrancabermeja

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Barrancabermeja
Official flag of Barrancabermeja
Flag
Official seal of Barrancabermeja
Seal
Nickname: "Oil Capital of Colombia"
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Mayor Edgard Cote Gravino, PDA
Area  
 - City {{{area_total}}} km²
Elevation 75 m
Population  
 - City ({{{population_as_of}}}) 208.501
 - Density 186/km²

Barrancabermeja is the second most important city in Santander, Colombia, mayor city of Mares province. It's located 110 km at the west of Bucaramanga. It was founded in 1536.

Barrancabermeja is home for the biggest petroleum refinery in Colombia, which belongs to the state company Ecopetrol. Most of the economy of the city turns around petroleum and, as a second option, appear cattle ranches.

It has seen extensive fighting between the various armed groups in Colombia's ongoing civil war. As a result, it is currently argued to be predominantly under the influence and control of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the main paramilitary group. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest guerrilla group, remains active in the surrounding countryside. Because of the oil refinery, the city is also home to various gasoline cartels. Illegal tapping of the oil pipelines and sale of stolen gasoline is a common occurrence.

The city is by the side of Magdalena River, in Middle Magdalena region.

Contents

[edit] History

Although there is evidence of a small settlement in the area dating back to the 16th century, the city wasn't incorporated until 1922, not long after the discovery of oil and the foundation of the first extraction wells by the Tropical Oil Company (aka Standard Oil Company) [1]. The name Barrancabermeja comes from the explorer Gonzalo Jiménez de Quezada who wrote that that area of the river was characterized by some "reddish ravines", "unos Barrancas Bermejas" [ibid]. The state-owned oil company Ecopetrol took over the refinery in 1961[2] and since then Barranca has grown into a city of 214,192[3] inhabitants and become a major industrial base for the country, providing most of Colombia's oil.

The city has a long history of labour activism and leftist organisations and until recently was largely under the influence and control of guerrilla insurgents. The ELN began moving into Barranca in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The FARC arrived in the early 1990s. During the time when it was a contested territory between the guerrilla groups and the Colombian military and paramilitaries, the city was thought to be essentially a warzone. The military would only cross the bridge over the railroad into the southeast area of the city in armored personnel carriers.

Then on May 16, 1998, a large group of paramilitaries swept through the city killing eleven people and kidnapping further 25 who were later killed (Amnesty International, 1999). This massacre signaled the beginning of the AUC takeover of the city which would culminate in 2001. During the final year of the invasion 539 people were killed [4] and the takeover was complete.

Since 2001, human rights organizations have documented widespread killings of activists, forced disappearance and intimidation by paramilitaries, with whom the Colombian military is known to collaborate [5]. Those human rights groups that continue to operate have done so partly with support from members of Peace Brigades International who provide international volunteers to accompany human rights workers in their work. In the rural regions surrounding the city, a number of the small fishing and farming communities along the river were displaced by the armed groups. Per request of the Colombian Mennonite Church in Bogotá, Christian Peacemaker Teams has maintained an international violence reduction team in the region. With their presence, the communities have returned home and remain there in the face of threats and assassinations of community leaders by both the paramilitaries and the FARC Guerrillas.

[edit] Geography

Barrancabermeja has boundaries at North with Puerto Wilches, at South with Puerto Parra, Simacota and San Vicente de Chucurí, at east with San Vicente de Chucurí and Girón, and at west with Magdalena River.

Barrancabermeja, Oil Capital of Colombia, is just in the heart of the country, where travelers can find the most important group of highways, the Troncal de la Paz.

[edit] Culture

Barrameja culture, from its birth as a city, has been touched by migratory movements due to oilboom.

This way, customs coming from Atlantic Coast, Antioquia, south of Bolívar and Santander, have melt in just one place to generate the Sun's Daughter identity.

Predominant music is vallenato and caribbean rhythms like salsa and merengue. Porro, fandango and puya, rhythms from Atlantic Coast,are also present in people's parties. That music is usually played by papayeras bands. Youngsters listen to rock and dance, without forgetting their roots.

Happiness and friendship between people are the main characteristics for population. It's common to find people sharing time, games and stories on the streets during resting time.

Partly due to its history as an oil boomtown, Barrancabermeja has a reputation as an open and vibrant city. However, its history of violence, proximity to ongoing clashes between paramilitaries and guerrillas, as well as an extremely high murder rate has given the city a reputation as a very hot town. Nonetheless, in defiance of the city's notoriety, night life flourishes. Salsa and merengue dance clubs abound and the port area especially is extremely loud as bars compete for patrons. The drink of choice is Aguila, a Colombian beer whose yellow logo is painted on walls and billboards throughout the town. Despite paramilitary rule, the city has several local and national political organizations including unions, women's organizations and human rights groups and marches and rallies are quite common.

The commercial area of the city is adjacent to the river ports, where motor canoes constantly arrive with fish and agricultural products from farmers along the river including maize, Cassava (or yuca in Spanish), plantain, and cacao.

Barrancabermeja from the Magdalena River
Enlarge
Barrancabermeja from the Magdalena River

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 7°04′N 73°51′W

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