As an important source of inspiration for the Colombian Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the city of Cartagena is adding another element to its touristic offerings by organizing a literary-based walking tour of the Ciudad Amurallada or Walled City.
The idea of a tour that takes in places of importance for the life and times of Garcia Marquez as well as elements that shine through in his works of literature such as Love in the Time of the Cholera is not a new one, but one that has taken a couple of years to set up and put it into motion. It was launched in January of 2011 during the Hay Festival Cartagena placing Cartagena in worthy company of other literary cities such as London, New Orleans and Paris which all have similar walking tours.
The Ruta Garcia-Marquena
The “Ruta García-Marqueana”, conceived, organized and finally executed by the Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, the Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano and Tierra Magna is a walking tour upon which tourists and visitors need not a guide, just the audio set and a map. Consisting of 35 stops that are dotted around the Old City of Cartagena, this is a complete tour and a must do activity for any enthusiast of Magic Realism and the journalism of the Colombian maestro.
And, given the popularity and world-wide renown of Gabo – as Garcia Marquez is affectionately called here – the audio system has been created so that visitors can listen and follow the tour in English, French, Italian and German in addition to Spanish.
So now, rather than wandering vaguely through Cartagena simply soaking up the atmosphere of Garcia Marquez’ works and wondering where certain locations may be, tourists can feel as if this Nobel prize-winning author is actually ushering them through his chosen spots such as where the letter writers would have been, now the Portal de los Dulces.
The Garcia Marquez Route of the Colombian Caribbean
While this tour goes some way to placating the appetites of some Garcia Marquez aficionados, others will only want more. The small travel outfitter Aji Colombia has for a couple years been running a Garcia Marquez route of the Colombian Caribbean coast that explores the author’s life and times more deeply including not only Cartagena but Barranquilla, Santa Marta, Aracataca and options to colonial Mompos.
Fulfilling its promise as a world class tourist destination, the city of Cartagena is rightly diversifying its product so that it appeals to various segments of society. The Ruta García-Marqueana is set to be a resounding success.
Richard McColl - I am a freelance writer from deepest darkest London but for the past 10 years or so I have been maintaining my extended "writing break" in ...
