The Momposino Depression:
Hybrid Amphibious Cultures

Traveling North on the Magadalena River, we come to the Momposino Depression in the Caribbean region, located at the mouths of the Cauca, San Jorge, Cesar, and lower Magdalena rivers. This below sea-level floodplain of beaches, islets, and higher lands is periodically bathed by the rising waters of streams and marshes. The rich rainforest teems with a diversity of birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles, such as alligators, all of whom also populate the legends, myths, and carnival dances of the region.

In this vast land, the culture of indigenous groups and enslaved Africans coexisted with the predominantly Catholic traditions of Spanish and creole settlers. Cultural expressions formed in this crucible continue today in singing and drumming traditions for feasts and celebrations, in the varied foodways and manual occupations, and in the Caribbean and Spanish architecture that dots the banks of the Magdalena River.

PARTICIPANTS

Juan José Florez Rodríguez, canoe maker, wood carver, San Sebastián
Juan José Florez began working with wood at an early age by making toys for himself and his friends. Now he is a full-time carpenter making furniture and canoes. During the winter when production is at its highest, he works at a rate of one or two canoes per day.  

Mery Margoth Gándara de Barrera, cook, Mompox
Doña Mery is a culinary expert. She owns the restaurant El Comedor Costeño on the banks of the Magdalena River in Mompox. She offers a variety of dishes, such as mote de queso (a cheese and vegetable soup) and la viuda de pescado (a river fish), accompanied by arroz con coco (coconut rice), which are all traditional to the Momposino Depression and to the Caribbean coast in general.

Tobías “Totón” Herrera Turizo, religious art sculptor, Mompox
Tobías Herrera has followed in the footsteps of his father, a skilled sculptor and carver. Tobías began creating sculptures from clay and plaster. He carved his first wooden sculptures when he was a young man. He is now renowned for his religious polychrome statutes, which form part of the stations of the cross scenes carried in the Mompox Holy Week processions.

Anilis María Meza Tous, hammock maker and textile weaver, Mompox
Anilis María Meza is a hammock weaver from Morroa, a town famous for its colorful, wide, cotton hammocks woven on a vertical loom. Weaving is a trade primarily practiced by women, and Anilis learned it from her mother. Now her work contributes to the household income.

Óscar Pupo, cheese maker, Mompox
Óscar Pupo is a traditional queso de capa cheesemaker. Brought to the Mompox region by Italians, queso de capa closely resembles a soft mozzarella cheese. Óscar learned his trade in the family. Today he produces at least a hundred cheeses that he distributes throughout the city.

Luis Enrique Ramírez Orozco, filigree jewelry gold and silversmith Mompox
Luis Enrique Ramírez is a silver and goldsmith, whose workshop is attached to his home. Using filigree techniques that go back 150 years, he draws long fine strands of gold or silver and then twists and forges the metal for assembly to form the final filigree piece. Originally, filigree jewelry was made only with gold, but due to the rising cost of gold, today jewelers in Mompox work primarily with silver.

Don Abundio y sus Traviesos, music and dance group, Mompox

• Samuel Mármol Villa, director, singer, dancer, instrument maker
• Gustavo Cantillo Ávilles, dancer
• Dania Felizzola Morales, musician (gaita macho, guache), dancer
• Jaison Mármol Ruidiaz, musician (tambor alegre)
• Samuel Mármol Ruidiaz, musician (cane flute, guache, tambor alegre), dancer
• Yaniz Mármol Ruidiaz, llamador, musician (guache), dancer
• Jorge Enrique Montes Villa, musician (tambora), dancer
• Julio César Ortíz Madrid, dancer
• Neil Palomino Trespalacios, dancer
• Pedro Germán Rodríguez Arrieta, dancer
• Damaris Sayas Gómez, singer
• Gustavo del Cristo Vergara Alvarado, musician (tambora)

Don Abundio y sus Traviesos is an ensemble that plays tambora guacherna, chandé, and  berroche  rhythms. The musicians play tamboras, flauta de millo (cane flute), and guache (a rasp-like percussion instrument), and they are accompanied by a vocalist and dancers. Their repertoire includes aires and traditional Carnival dances. Don Abundio learned to perform the carnivalesque enactments of farotas, pilanderas, and rezanderas (represented as the Dance of the Bulls, Alligators, and the Caimán Man), which reflect the natural habitat. He and his group perform at local events and participate in the Carnival de Barranquilla every year.