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Montería has been the capital of the department of Córdoba since 1952, when it was territorially separated from the department of Bolívar. The first attempts at its foundation date from 1759 on the banks of the Sinú River, but its official foundation did not occur until 1777. The original town was baptized by its founder, Don Antonio de la Torre y Miranda, with the name of ´´ San Jerónimo de Buenavista´´.

According to the Monterrey writer and historian Jaime Castro Núñez (Historia Extensa de Montería, 2003), the history of the city can be periodized as follows:

1. Background. It covers all the events prior to 1777 that facilitated its foundation.

2. Foundation and Lethargy. From 1777 to the beginning of the 20th century.

3. The Times of the Wick and the Lighter (TPM). Early 20th century until 1952.

4. First Boom. From 1952 to 1994.

5. Second Boom. From 1994 to the present.

Background to the founding of Montería

Castro Núñez argues in his book that during pre-Columbian times the territory currently occupied by Montería belonged to the Finzenú chiefdom. However, the first news of an urban settlement only reached the middle of the 18th century. Three factors were decisive in the organization of the first social conglomerate. These were:

1. Abundance of food.

2. Migrations.

3. The steps taken by a group of indigenous people in the Barro Colorado site, in the jurisdiction of what is now the municipality of Valencia. These efforts occurred in two stages: 1759 and 1772.

The Barro Colorado site

Ventura Molleda, chief of the Tunucuna of the Beturichí and Jaraguay sites, in the mainland mountains of the Sinú River, sent a document in 1759 that was presented to the Governor of Cartagena de Indias, Don Diego Tabares. On January 24, 1759, five indigenous people left for Cartagena, staying two years in that city, causing inconvenience to the authorities. After three years of waiting, the authorities did not authorize the founding of the town. Ten years later, the same group of indigenous people proposed to organize another town to be located in ´´the monterias they call Buenavista´´. The Indians, now led by Sebastián Alequenete, sent the governor of Cartagena a letter in which he offered to found a town with other Indians on September 4, 1772. The letter was delivered by two post Indians, the main one was Francisco Manuel de Molleda. Five years later, Don Juan de Torrezár Díaz Pimienta, governor of Cartagena de Indias, commissioned Antonio de la Torre y Miranda to move to the Buenavista monterias. De la Torre y Miranda arrived in Montería at the end of April 1777 and on May 1, 1777, he officially founded Montería, giving it the name of San Jerónimo de Buenavista.

Foundation and lethargy

Antonio de la Torre y Miranda arrived at the site where the Buenavista monterias ranch was located at the end of April 1777. He realized that the houses were built on mounds of earth that jutted out of a flooded terrain. Worried about this situation, he moved the chapel of the hunting, the valuables and its inhabitants to a dry place. The city built it on the left bank of the Sinú River, on the site where many years later the pasture of Las Lomas, owned by Don Ramón Berrocal, was established.

The founding act says:

“About a day and a half upriver, and in the most advanced of that jurisdiction on the left bank, I founded the site of San Jerónimo de Buenavista transferring to it the images, bells, and jewels of the church of the montería that was founded in Flooded terrain, and two leagues away, I delineated it in the swamps on May 1, 77 ”.

When Antonio de la Torre y Miranda arrived at the town of Montería, it was located on the right bank of the Sinú River and he reorganized it on the left bank (in the place where the Las Lomas paddock, owned by Luis Berrocal, was), a ´ ´day and a half upriver´´. The town remained in that place for six years, since in 1783 it was attacked and set on fire by a group of indigenous people led by the zambo Manuel. After that incident, its inhabitants decided to return to the original place, on the right side, where it is currently located.

After the founding and reorganization of the city, its inhabitants and administrators were dragged into a lethargy that stalled the city. Hence, Montería was not important in the economic, political, academic and intellectual life of the country.

The times of the wick and the lighter

This name is used to describe a period beginning in the late 19th century and extending into the early 1950s.

In effect, since the end of the 19th century, Montería had been undergoing slow and almost imperceptible transformations, but with the entry of the new century, an artistic and intellectual awakening began in Montería that was reflected in the construction, the flourishing of culture, the arts, the sport and the press. At the political-administrative level, it should be noted that in 1923, by ordinance of the Bolívar Assembly, Montería was elevated to the category of municipality. One of the bloodiest episodes in the history of the city occurred during the TPM, on Sunday, February 1, 1931, when it was set on fire by the conservatives in the elections for collegiate bodies that year.

The most outstanding events of that historical milestone were:

• In 1907 Luis Lacharme and Lorenzo Gómez founded the first telephone company.

• In 1910 the poet Rafael Grandet Valverde and Don Lorenzo Gómez brought the second printing press, where the newspaper Fiat Lux was printed.

• In the first decade of the 20th century, the mythical fandango dancer María Barilla appeared in Montería and in the Sinú region, an idol and symbol of the characteristic joy of the Sinuan, Sanjorjan and Sabanero peoples.

• In 1911 the electric power service was inaugurated.

• In 1918 the Italian leader Vicente Ádamo organized the Society of Workers and Craftsmen.

• In 1919 Juana Julia Guzmán, a pioneer of the feminist movement in Colombia and Latin America, organized the Society of Workers Redemption of Women.

• The Colón neighborhood is established, the third that the city had, after La Ceiba and Chuchurubí.

• In 1922 the German pilot Von Cron landed in the Sinú.

• On February 1, 1931 the city is burned by the conservatives.

• On July 20, 1935, General Jorge Ramírez Arjona inaugurated the Monument to the Colombian Flag.

• On July 20, 1938, the Docking Port was inaugurated, built on the right bank of the Sinú River at 34 and 35 streets. It was built by the Monterrey engineer Víctor Tribiño Herazo.

First boom

With the organization of the department of Córdoba in 1952, there was an economic, cultural and social explosion in Montería.



Montería is the capital of the department of Córdoba, Colombia. It is located in the northwest of the country, on the banks of the Sinú River, which is why it is known as the ´´Perla del Sinú´´. With a population of 381,525 inhabitants (according to the 2005 census), it is one of the most important livestock, agro-industrial and cultural centers of the Colombian Caribbean Coast. It is considered the cattle capital of Colombia, annually celebrates the Livestock Fair in the month of June. It is also an important commercial and university center.

Montería's topography is basically flat, with some minor elevations. The western part of the city is crossed by the Las Palomas mountain range. To the north the garzones. To the north it limits with the municipality of Cereté, Puerto Escondido and San Pelayo; to the east with San Carlos and Planeta Rica; to the south with Tierralta and Valencia; to the west with the department of Antioquia and the municipalities of Canalete and San Carlos.

The city is crossed by numerous streams and streams, the main source of water in Montería is the Sinú River.

The climate of the city of Montería is warm tropical with a dry season and a rainy season throughout the year. The annual average temperature of the city is 28 ° C with peaks of up to 45 ° C in hot weather. On September 21, 2009 at 11:00 am HLC, the city's meteorological station recorded a temperature of 33.1 ° C and a dew point of 29.6 ° C, which produced a thermal sensation of approximately 50 ° C.



The main activities of the city are cattle ranching and agribusiness, encouraged by the fertility of its lands since the Sinú Valley is one of the most fertile valleys in the world. The main breeds of cattle raised in the Sinú Valley are the Zebu, Pardo Suizo, Holstein and Romosinuano. In addition, dual-purpose cattle (Meat and milk) have now been developed through genetic management and crossing of the Holstein, Brown Swiss, Gyr dairy and Simmental breeds. The latter can cost up to 800 million pesos and are auctioned in the city of Medellín (Antioquia) in the national livestock contest. Montería is recognized as the national capital of cattle raising, always bringing the first places in the worldwide cattle competitions. On the other hand, fishing is done in an artisanal way and by a small group of family fishermen on the banks of the Sinú River.

In a special way, the industrial and commercial production of rice, corn, cotton, cassava and zorgo stands out. The soils of the entire Sinú are classified as the third most fertile in the world, but they are mainly occupied by livestock, which is the traditional activity of the region.





The main tourist attraction in Montería is Avenida Primera or Veinte de Julio, parallel to the Sinú River, where the largest linear park in America is located La Ronda Del Sinú, from which you can see the Sinú River that has inspired poets, painters and artists of the region. Full of lights, colors and various buildings, First Avenue offers a space for culture and fun. From there, it is possible to appreciate the wild animals that surround the park.

On the outskirts of the city is the Los Caimanes Zoocriadero, a theme park focused on ecotourism. The Zoocriadero has a hotel and restaurant. The visitor can appreciate the way in which alligators and other reptiles are raised in the Sinú.

Although there is no beach in the city of Montería, the nearest beach can be reached in an hour by road.

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