Palenqueras: the most photographed street vendors in the Caribbean

Joy to you! Cocadaaas! they proclaim while holding in their heads the punch-aluminum container with which they offer homemade sweets typical of the region: one based on striped coconut, mille and anise, and the other made with guava, sesame and milk. To make a living, these women are engaged in street vending. They can often be seen as they wander the streets of Cartagena de Indias, moving their hips with their long flowered skirts or the color of their flag: yellow, blue and red and their hair wrapped in a handkerchief.

They are heirs of a long history carried out by the black maroons that arrived to Colombia during the Spanish conquest in ships full of slaves coming from Africa. A short time later, during the Colony, the palenques began to appear in the high mountains: small conglomerates where the negroes met when they escaped from the whites and made a corral of "sticks" to protect themselves from the external threats. Hence the name of "palenqueras".

Photo: Fundación Paz por Colombia directed by Eugenio Lora.

The most known for its magnitude is that of San Basilio, "the corner of Africa in Colombia", considered as the first slave-free town in Latin America, located 3 hours from Cartagena de Indias, on the shores of the Caribbean Sea.

San Basilio de Palenque with proud residents. Photo: Noe Tobalo

One of the favorite places for travelers visiting Cartagena is the Historic Center or Walled City, where they take the opportunity to take a picture with these street vendors who have already become an icon of the Colombian Caribbean. In exchange for a collaboration at will, they smile ready for the photo.

With an average annual temperature of 28 degrees, they tend to protect themselves from the rays of the sun, under large umbrellas that act as shelter and in turn serve the function of protecting their merchandise, as some of the fruits they also usually sell: banana, mango and papaya.

Plaza de Santo Domingo in Cartagena. Photo: Cynthia De Simone

In addition to being located in other strategic places of the historical center, such as the corner of La Catedral and the Church of San Pedro de Claver (seducing with its colonial style and large domes), some of them prefer to work on the busy beaches of Bocagrande or even in Playa Blanca. From early they are seen walking on the sand in search of customers, but they no longer do it dressed in their traditional clothes, but with more sportive and casual clothes.

A palenquera working in Playa Blanca Photo: Cynthia De Simone

While the tourists sunbathe on their blankets or chairs, they come to offer them a massage session or a hairstyle of African braids adorned with colored balls. Bocagrande also attracts numerous travelers. You should not miss visiting San Martin Avenue, with its important shopping centers, hotel chains and gastronomic offer, as well as its proximity to the sea.

African roots seller in the area of Boca Grande. Photo: Cynthia De Simone

"Massages, my friend? the palenqueras repeat incessantly until well into the evening, when a great orange sun is reflected in the warm waters of the marine coast, where the landscape enriched by small blue-eyed crabs and a long row of palm trees, contrasts with the modern buildings of the coastal avenue. Some gift shops make tribute of these particular and colorful women. Definitely palenqueras are the mark of a rich colonial and multiethnic past .

Souvenirs gifts with the image of them. Photo: Cynthia De Simone

Have you been there? What do you know about this iconic women?