Santa Cruz de Mompox

Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department, which has preserved its colonial character. Mompox depends upon tourism, fishing, and some commerce generated by the local cattle raising. It has about 30,000 inhabitants, and is adjacent to the municipalities of Pinillos and San Fernando. The historic center of Mompox was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, owing to its preserved colonial architecture and mixture of architectural styles.
Simón Bolívar, liberator of much of Spanish South America, said: "If to Caracas I owe my life, then to Mompox I owe my glory." Simón Bolívar arrived in Mompox in 1812 and recruited nearly all of the able-bodied men, some four hundred, who formed the basis of the army for his victory in Caracas.
History.
Mampo (or Mompoj) was the local indigenous chieftain of the Malibu culture, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, and Mompox means "land of the ruler Mampo". The city was founded on May 3, 1537, by Alonso de Heredia, brother of Pedro de Heredia, as a safe port on the Magdalena. Santa Cruz de Mompox became quite prosperous as a port for the transportation of goods upriver into the interior. A royal mint was established here and the town was known for its goldsmiths. This prosperity had begun to wane in the nineteenth century, but continued until early in the twentieth century when the river shifted and sediment accumulated on this arm of the river, at which point Magangué became the favored port.
How to reach Mompox.
Across the Reconciliación bridge, a mega-structure that extends for about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) over the Magdalena river inaugurated on 30 March 2020. The Yati-Bodega segment connects the western and Magdalena Medio highways, both of which are part of the This segment reduces travel time between the inner country and the Colombian Caribbean coast by approximately 3 hours, and touches the economy of both Mompox and La Mojana.
The structure comprises the Santa Lucia and Roncador bridges, the Isla Grande highway, a road to connect the Roncador and Bodega bridges, and maintenance between the Yatí pathway and Santa Fe.
Buildings and architecture.
Santa Cruz de Mompox is known for the preservation of its colonial architectural features, as expressed by the mixture of its Spanish and Indian styles. UNESCO named the historic center of Mompox as a World Heritage Site in 1995. Today, most of the colonial buildings are still used for their original purposes, which provides an excellent example of a Spanish colonial city. Of particular note is the wrought ironwork decorating doors, railings, and window grills along the streets, notably on Calle de la Albarrada, Calle Real del Medio, and Calle de Atrás. Notable churches include Santa Bárbara (built 1613), San Agustín (built 1606), San Juan de Dios, and Immaculate Conception. There is also a museum of colonial art that houses religious gold colonial masterpieces.
The building visually disrupts the landscape between the Church of the Immaculate Conception and the Magdalena river. Thus, the building represents a modification of the original design of the town square.
Tourism.
From the moment it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mompox has been attractive for tourists due to its colonial architecture. This has made it the stage for important independent cinema festivals and the Jazz Festival. 
Another reason why Mompox is popular among visitors is the Holy Week celebrations starting on Palm Sunday with a flower and candles parade to honor the dead followed by various other ceremonies associated with diverse religious events.
All this, as well as its complex of ecclesiastical locales make Mompox a prime destination for religious tourism in Colombia.
There is a close relationship between Mompox and the Magdalena river which defined its origin, its flourishing, and its early eclipse.
 Another reason to visit Mompox is its gastronomy, featuring myriad dishes based on cassava, corn, fish, achiote, and chili pepper.
One of the biggest crowd-pleasers is the "casabito", an ubiquitous street dish consisting of an omelet prepared with raw cassava, cheese, ground coconut, sugar, and, in some cases, anise.
Another renowned delicacy is the queso de capa: a type of cheese with over 100 years of artisanal production and tradition, it features an elastic texture and is served in layers 
The Colombian government named Mompox a "Pueblo Patrimonio" (heritage town) in 2010. It was among only 11 municipalities nationwide that were selected to be part of the "Red Turística de Pueblos Patrimonio" original cohort.
Music.
Mompox is the home of the musician/singer Totó la Momposina and her band. Their music is a fusion of African and Spanish influences as well as the harmonies of the natives of the region and is associated with cumbia music.
Mompox Filigree.
A few artisan guilds took hold in Mompox during the 16th century, including clay workers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, and silversmiths. At the same time, the port was an important trade center for gold extracted in Antioquia, which left behind numerous pieces of the precious metal for local commercialization.
These two factors converged on the dissemination of the filigree craft.
The indigenous casting technique, which is at the heart of the craft of the local goldsmiths, was combined with the ancestral techniques brought by African slaves, thus giving birth to Mompox filigree. This form of art is defined by the union of different thin threads of metal which are then intertwined to create different kinds of ornaments with spirals as the most predominant shapes.
Due to current elevated gold prices in both local and international markets, artisans have developed techniques to replace gold with silver.