Buenaventura, Colombia
Encyclopedia
Buenaventura is a port city and municipality located in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia
(South America
). Buenaventura (Spanish for "good fortune") is the main port of Colombia
in the Pacific Ocean
.
Buenaventura is a city with a population of 324,207 2005 census (most of city development lies on Cascajal Island) and it is the size of Los Angeles
' metropolitan area; most of the city's land is rural with scattered small villages throughout. It is served by the Gerardo Tobar López Airport
.
mountain range and the major city of Cali
, the department's capital. Buenaventura is one of the rainiest cities in the world with 6000-7000 mm precipitation annually.
Buenaventura's population is mostly of African descent (85%) with 10% mixed European/Native Indian and 5% Spanish.
in 1914. Today, the city is crucial for sending raw materials to nearby areas; this has brought prosperity and allowed recent new development to occur.
, drug trafficking, violence, and the presence of guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Due to the violence of Buenaventura The New York Times
wrote an article with the title being "Cocaine Wars Make Port Colombia’s Deadliest City".
Colombian authorities have seized almost US$ 28 million in cash from drug kingpins. The money found was in several shipping containers sent from Manzanillo, Colima
(Mexico
) and Houston (USA), that belonged to brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, also known as the ‘Combas’.
In the last two years, the amount of reported homicides has doubled. The murder rate that is 24 times that of New York City, making it a crime rate of 175.2. To counter the violence, the Colombian government has set up a marine special forces unit in the worst area of the city.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
(South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
). Buenaventura (Spanish for "good fortune") is the main port of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Buenaventura is a city with a population of 324,207 2005 census (most of city development lies on Cascajal Island) and it is the size of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' metropolitan area; most of the city's land is rural with scattered small villages throughout. It is served by the Gerardo Tobar López Airport
Gerardo Tobar López Airport
Gerardo Tobar López Airport is an airport in Buenaventura, Colombia....
.
Geography
It is located a few miles from the western cordillera of the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
mountain range and the major city of Cali
Calì
Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
, the department's capital. Buenaventura is one of the rainiest cities in the world with 6000-7000 mm precipitation annually.
Demographics
The city is as of 2011 affected by very high levels of poverty and violence, and is considered a center for the cocaine trade in Colombia.Buenaventura's population is mostly of African descent (85%) with 10% mixed European/Native Indian and 5% Spanish.
History
Founded about 1545, the city was destroyed by Native Americans before 1600. Later rebuilt, Buenaventura thrived after the opening of the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
in 1914. Today, the city is crucial for sending raw materials to nearby areas; this has brought prosperity and allowed recent new development to occur.
Crime
Buenaventura has had a notorious history plagued by the Colombian armed conflictColombian Armed Conflict
The Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
, drug trafficking, violence, and the presence of guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Due to the violence of Buenaventura The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote an article with the title being "Cocaine Wars Make Port Colombia’s Deadliest City".
Colombian authorities have seized almost US$ 28 million in cash from drug kingpins. The money found was in several shipping containers sent from Manzanillo, Colima
Manzanillo, Colima
The name Manzanillo refers to the city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port. Manzanillo was the third port created by the Spanish in the Pacific during the New Spain period...
(Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) and Houston (USA), that belonged to brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, also known as the ‘Combas’.
In the last two years, the amount of reported homicides has doubled. The murder rate that is 24 times that of New York City, making it a crime rate of 175.2. To counter the violence, the Colombian government has set up a marine special forces unit in the worst area of the city.
Notable Residents
- Edison Miranda, A 2000 Colombia OlympianColombia at the 2000 Summer OlympicsColombia competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Colombia won its first ever gold medal at these Olympic Games.- Gold:*María Isabel Urrutia — Weightlifting, Women's 75 kg-Men's Competition:Men's 200m* Jimmy Pino...
, former WBO LatinoWorld Boxing OrganizationThe World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
, NABA, and IBF LatinoInternational Boxing FederationThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion. - Juan Carlos CandeloJuan Carlos CandeloJuan Carlos García is a Colombian boxer in the Light Middleweight division and a Former NABF Light Middleweight champion.-External links:...
, A Former NABFNorth American Boxing FederationThe North American Boxing Federation is a not-for-profit regional sanctioning body that awards regional boxing titles. It is a boxing federation within the World Boxing Council .-History:...
Light MiddleweightLight middleweightLight Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....
champion.