In front of you is Cartagena's most famous entrance. Locals call it the Boca del Puente, the «mouth of the bridge», because a drawbridge once ran from here over the San Anastasio channel, linking the city to the outer district of Getsemaní.

1The gate and the tower

The original gate dates from 1631. In the early 18th century the engineer Juan de Herrera y Sotomayor rebuilt it with its central arch and Tuscan columns. The clock tower above is much more recent: it went up in 1888 in republican style, which is why it looks as if it belongs to another age. The side arches were opened later for traffic.

2The founder and the market

In the middle of the square, the statue of Pedro de Heredia commemorates the Madrid-born conquistador who founded the city in 1533. He arrived with the help of an Indigenous interpreter, India Catalina, and his conquest was violent towards the peoples of the area.

In colonial times this same square was one of the places where enslaved people were bought and sold. Its present name came much later, in the late 19th century, when horse-drawn carriages were parked here.

Where coconut sweets are sold today, human beings were sold three centuries ago.

Many enslaved people escaped into the hills and founded palenques, free settlements. The most famous, San Basilio de Palenque, still keeps its own language.

3What to look for

  • The central stone arch, flanked by columns.
  • The statue of Heredia, in armour and with his sword.
  • The arcades of the Portal de los Dulces, along one side of the square.
Bronze statue of Pedro de Heredia on a stone pedestal
Pedro de Heredia, who founded the city in 1533.
Old photograph of the Clock Tower Gate with passers-by and balconied buildings
The Boca del Puente in the early 20th century.

Documented

The gate dates from 1631 and was rebuilt in the early 18th century; the clock tower dates from 1888. The square was used as a slave market in colonial times.

Sources and credits

Juan Manuel Zapatero, «Historia de las fortificaciones de Cartagena de Indias» (1979); Academia de la Historia de Cartagena de Indias; Colombian Ministry of Culture, San Basilio de Palenque.

Photos:

  • Cartagena's yellow and white Clock Tower with its four-faced clock and spire: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Bronze statue of Pedro de Heredia on a stone pedestal: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Old photograph of the Clock Tower Gate with passers-by and balconied buildings: Autor desconocido, Dominio público.

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