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Traditionally, the year 1690 has been designated as the date of the founding of Marinilla, which was granted the title of Villa on November 21, 1787 by Royal Decree of King Carlos III, an honorary title and a sign of prosperity and development.

The most convincing documents, which come from the Spanish chronicles of the Conquest years, suggest that around 1540 Marshal Jorge Robledo, at that time exploring the Aburrá Valley, sent a soldiery commission to explore the lands of what today constitutes Marinilla. . This commission soon returned to Mariscal Robledo to inform him that on the sides of what is now Marinilla they had found "nothing of substance."

Years later, other Spanish adventurers, including Captain Francisco Núñez Pedroso, founder of Mariquita, and Francisco Martínez Ospina, who is credited with the founding of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, reached the eastern mountains of Antioquia, passing through where Today is Marinilla.

Many decades passed until in 1709 a small hamlet, dependent on the surrounding town of Remedios, began to form in the location of the current population. Shortly after this new village, which initially received the name of San José de Marinilla, was converted by government regulations into a vice parish belonging to the Rionegro parish.

So, according to the available data, the founders of Marinilla were Don Juan Duque de Estrada, from Mariquita, and Don Francisco Manzueto Giraldo, from Santiago de Arma.

On January 31, 1752, the vice parish of Marinilla was raised to the category of Parish, by authorization of the Bishop of Popayán and by decree of the Viceroy José Alfonso Pizarro.

Isolated as Marinilla was in the middle of the jungle, just like most of the cities of Antioquia at this time, the life of the population passed without major historical events during the colonial days.

Only when the desire to divest themselves of the dominion of Spain reached these lands, they returned to express themselves in their best condition such as that of contributing their own children to fight the crusade of Independence. Marinilla was then one of the first cities to offer their children for the emancipatory crusade, where they distinguished themselves in memorable events.

But from the history of this city it is striking that its citizens did not want to accompany General José María Córdoba in his insurrection against Simón Bolívar, despite having accompanied him in other decisive liberation campaigns. In this regard, the speech of the then priest of Marinilla tells that the marinillos were very brave in this period of Independence.

When General José María Córdoba arrived in Marinilla for the first time, he found a vigorous battalion already formed, which immediately marched with him to battle. Speaking of the children of this noble city, the Antioquia military genius José María Córdoba exclaimed: ´´Marinilla is the town that has rendered the best services to the Republic. At his side I will die rather than surrender to the cowardly Spanish´´. When the Cordoba rebellion in 1829, the marinillos refused to support him. It was on this occasion that the illustrious priest Jorge Ramón Posada, priest of Marinilla, addressed the Marshal of Ayacucho the following words:

´´General Córdoba: this people admires and idolizes you since you met him in 1820. For the fight against the Spanish crown, he gave you everything he had: food, horses, money and hundreds of his children who knew how to cover themselves with glory alongside yours from Chorros Blancos and Cartagena, to Pichincha and Ayacucho. But today, with the pain of our souls, we cannot follow him in the rebellion against the Father of the Nation. We do not like the dictatorship either, but we believe that other means must be used to combat it. We do not consider it prudent or patriotic for Antioquia to be the first to launch this noble country into the horrors of civil and fratricidal war ”.

Marinilla is a cultural center of Eastern Antioquia, possessing a very high historical value. Despite the fact that originally the area where it is located today was a mining area where black slaves were introduced and that it had been inhabited by indigenous people, Marinilla is a town where there was not as much miscegenation as in other municipalities of Antioquia, so that people usually be more zarca, and even many people with white skin, blond hair and light eyes are seen.

Marinilla is also a highly religious and conservative town in its traditions, where the different arts and crafts are maintained for generations. Of course then, in Marinilla it is not uncommon to find someone who still cooks what the muleteers ate, or someone who tells stories of ancestors or builds guitars as they did in the town for many years.

Marinilla has participated in a notorious way in the organization and administration of the Colombian State, since a large number of his children have held the highest seats in Colombia as Senators, Representatives to the House and other high positions of state officials.





Marinilla is a municipality of Colombia, located in the Oriente subregion of the department of Antioquia. It limits to the north with the municipalities of San Vicente and El Peñol, to the east with the municipalities of El Peñol and El Santuario, to the south with the municipalities of El Santuario and El Carmen de Viboral, and to the west with the municipalities of El Carmen de Viboral and Rionegro. Its municipal seat is 47 kilometers from Medellín.

Appellations: The Colombian Sparta, Land of the arepa and Land of humorists and laughs

Marinilla is located in the Central Cordillera of the Andes.

Its head has 31 neighborhoods and the central area has the same number of sidewalks, among which we can mention La Peña, Belén, Chocho Mayo, San José, Yarumo, La Milagrosa and Montañitas.

The origin of the name "Marinilla" is not known with precision. However, according to the late Antioquia governor, historian Jaime Sierra García, in Spain, "Marinilla" is a familiar name of a person. It is said by the Iberian lands of Spain: 'Children of Marinilla never leave Sabanilla; the children of Marinilla, originally baptized as “San José de la Marinilla”.

Economy

It is based on trade, tourism and agriculture: cabuya, corn, vegetables, beans, tomato dressing and blackberry.

Poultry Industries.

The town traditionally makes guitars.





Gastronomy

Specialty: Arepas of cheese and chócolo, in addition to a rich variety of sancochos and trays.

Also traditional Paisa cuisine.

Places of interest

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Roman style; It was redesigned by Carlos Carre, the same one who designed the Cathedral of Medellín.

Chapel of Jesus Nazareno. It was built between 1752 and 1760 approximately. It is a National monument.

Church of Mary Help of Christians

Chapel of the Holy Family.

Museo del Cristo, with a collection of 2,700 crucifixes donated by the master Roberto Hoyos Castaño.

Historical and Archaeological Museum.

José Duque Gómez House of Culture

Cascajo Bridge on the Marinilla - Rionegro road.

Colegio Corazonista Seminar.

Several string instrument factories.

Monument to Simón Bolívar.

Ecological destinations

Los Cedros blade, from where you can see a good part of the near east of Antioquia.

Quebrada Marinilla Linear Park.

Walks along the path of Rionegro.

El Chagualo Experimental Farm, clean production crops, ornamental plants and ecological cuisine.

Parties and fairs

Marinilla Agro-ecological Fair is a show of productivity in eastern Antioquia.

Religious Music Festival at Easter, with no fixed date in March or April.

Colombian Andean Music Festival in November.

Theater Week.

Children's Theater Festival.

Encounters of Martial and Musical Bands.

Popular Festivities or also called ´´Fiestas de la vaca en la torre´´, which are held during the first days of January each year.

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