SUCRE
Inhabitant: Sucreño
Sucre is a place where Mother Nature has furnished everything. The department is known for its extensive mangrove swamps, coralliferous islands and coconut palms.
This immense valley, with a surface of 10,917 square kilometres and an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, is bordered by the departments of Bolívar and Cordoba and by the Caribbean Sea.
The territory was part of Bolívar until 1966, when Sucre's territory separated from its neighbouring department and became a department in its own right. The region was inhabited by the native Finizenú, Zenufana and Panzenú of the Caribbean linguistic family. At present, there are about 900,000 people in Sucre. The Sucreños, who are festive and vigorous people, are called “coastal
Sabaneros”.
Livestock breeding is Sucre's most economic activity and poultry farming has seen a boom in recent years. Yucca, rice, sesame and yam are the main agricultural crops in Sucre, which is Colombia's biggest yam producer.
Miles and miles of beautiful beaches in the Gulf of Morrosquillo, like those of Tolú and Coveñas, bring many tourists to this department. Most visitors also come to enjoy the Orchestra Festival, the Sabanero Accordion Festival, the traditional
corralejas and the livestock fair.
Capital: Sincelejo
Also known as the “pearl of the savannah” and “the
cebuista capital of Colombia” (from the
cebú cattle raisers),
Sincelejo is a modern city with about 290,000 people. It is believed that its founder was Francisco Sincelejo so bears his name. Others believe the name has a native origin. When it was founded in 1535, it received the name of
Francisco de Asís Sincelejo.
Agriculture turned this prosperous city into one of the most dynamic and quickly developing zones in the region.
Every year, the Sincelejo inhabitants celebrate their traditional
corralejas on January 20. The
corralejas were cancelled in 1980 becacuse of a terrible tragedy. They resumed in 1999 under the supervision of local authorities.
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