When the afternoon falls in Cartagena de Indias, the wall that has protected the city for centuries is taken … not by the dreaded enemies ever, but by the dozens of people who are placed along the centennial stone line for Al Astro Rey hide in the Caribbean Sea.
I observe the backward show. The silhouettes move on the wall, delineated by the orange light of the sunset. A legion of cell phones in hand, ready to record the moment when the sun disappears; love couples; Groups of friends or some lonely stationed in the stone openings where, centuries ago, the cannons were placed.
At the end of the 16th century, the port of Cartagena had become one of the most important in America. Its strategic and economic value for the Spanish crown was made by a constant objective of pirates and privateers. The most famous of these was Sir Francis Drake, the English privateer who in 1586 attacked the city and left it devastated. That assault left a deep mark on Cartagena and was the main reason why it was decided to build the wall.
In 1614, under the orders of King Felipe III of Spain, the works began to lift a wall that would surround the city, with the intention of protecting it from the sea and from terrestrial attacks. The work took decades. The Italian architect Carlos de Roda Antonelli directed the first stage of construction, raising 15 bastions and reinforcing the most vulnerable points. The influence of Italian military design at the time, was reflected in the defensive structure.
Over time, the wall reached 11 kilometers of extension and perfected with military innovations, such as “walled windows”, which not only allowed the entry of air and light, but also served as strategic points for the cannons that defended the city.
Beyond its war function, the wall was a symbol of Spanish colonial power. His presence reaffirmed the importance of Cartagena on the map of America, while creating a physical and cultural barrier between the city and the outside world. With the sea always to the horizon, the wall represented for centuries the limits of the Cartagena Universe.
Today he witnesses a story that transcends it. If once was an engineering work for defense, now it seems the great lunetary of an open -air amphitheater where one of the most sublime shows of nature is contemplated. When the sun sinks in the waters of the Caribbean, there are no cannon shooting or invasion alerts; Only a collective sigh, the sound of the waves and the warm breeze that, like a whisper, seems to tell the history of the city.
