The colorful ladies of the village of San Basilio de Palenque

 

Vibrant women from San Basilio de Palenque sell fruit to tourists. Photo credit: Kimkim.com

The first free African village in the Americas is San Basilio de Palenque, which is situated southeast of Cartagena, Colombia, in the foothills of the Montes de María. Benkos Biohó, an African prince from the Bijagó Islands, currently Guinea-Bissau, who was taken prisoner and sold into slavery in 1596 before fleeing Cartagena in 1599, established the colony in the early 17th century.

 

Growing through resistance and strategic planning, this community became a haven for runaway slaves. It was renowned for its military might and intelligence network, which enabled more escapes. Despite multiple Spanish military expeditions and attempts to subdue the community, the Palenqueros successfully resisted colonial forces for decades.

 

The settlement is now a small town. Palenque, which means "walled city," and the town is home to about 4,000 inhabitants. The new language of the Palenqueros was created by combining Spanish and the native Indian language with the Bantu language of Africa. However, the descendants of Benkos Biohó are proud of their native tongue.

 

The colorful ladies of San Basilio de Palenque, known as palenqueras, are Afro-Colombian women renowned for their vibrant traditional attire and role as vendors in Cartagena and other nearby cities. The origins of these colorful women may be traced back to the village of Palenque, where they wait for tourists to walk by while wearing bright red, yellow, blue, and green costumes embellished with fruit baskets.

 

Their presence in Cartagena dates back centuries, when they began traveling from their village to sell fruits and vegetables in the city’s markets, forming a vital economic link between the rural community and the urban center. Today, while many no longer focus solely on selling fruit, they continue to earn income by posing for tourists and photographers.

 

Their clothing, rich in African ancestry and representing tenacity, is a living homage to their ancestors' struggle for freedom, as well as a cultural statement. The Palenqueras are living representations of Afro-Colombian heritage, cultural pride, and unwavering resilience, not just tourist destinations and surviving descendants of enslaved people.

 

Palenque is the birthplace of Colombia's best boxers, musicians, and actresses. Antonio Cervantes, a two-time world middleweight boxing champion, and actor Evaristo Marquez, who co-starred with Marlon Brando in the film Burn, were born there. It also gave rise to the champeta musical style, which is popular in Colombia and throughout Latin America.

 

Today, San Basilio de Palenque remains the only surviving palenque in Colombia, preserving its unique cultural heritage, including the Palenquero language, a Spanish-based creole influenced by Kikongo and Portuguese, which fewer than half of the 3,500 residents still speak.

 

Additionally, the community upholds African-inspired customs like champeta music, drumming, and the lumbalú death rite. The settlement was named a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.

 

Residents cast ballots in a referendum on November 30, 2025, to decide whether to become an independent municipality. This decision indicates continuous attempts to assert cultural identity and sovereignty.