Current Time in Sincelejo, Colombia

Sincelejo is the capital of the department of Sucre on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, standing a little inland among the rolling savannas that stretch between the Montes de María hills and the sea. The town lies in a shallow basin at around two hundred metres above sea level, in a hot and often dry landscape of pasture, scattered trees and cattle ranches. The Caribbean shore, with the beaches of Tolú and Coveñas, is less than an hour away.

Around three hundred thousand people live in the city, which is the commercial and administrative heart of a largely rural department. Cattle ranching dominates the regional economy, and Sincelejo is one of the great livestock markets of northern Colombia, surrounded by processing plants, feed suppliers, veterinary services and transport businesses. Farming of maize, yam, cassava, rice, tobacco and sesame is important, along with commerce, public administration and education.

The savannas were the homeland of the Zenú people, celebrated in pre-Hispanic times for their extraordinary goldwork and for an elaborate system of canals that drained and irrigated the floodplains, one of the most impressive engineering achievements of ancient South America. Spanish settlement here dates to the seventeenth century, when the town developed around a church dedicated to Saint Francis. For most of its history it was a modest cattle town within the department of Bolívar, becoming the capital of the newly created department of Sucre in 1966, after which it grew rapidly. In recent decades it has also received many people displaced from the countryside during the years of armed conflict.

The city is best known throughout Colombia for the Fiestas del Veinte de Enero, its January festival, when temporary wooden grandstands are raised around a ring for the corralejas, a spectacle in which bulls are released into an arena crowded with amateur participants. The festival also brings parades of horsemen, brass bands, dances and street parties that fill the town for several days. At other times of year the cathedral of San Francisco de Asís, the Sabanas museum of Zenú archaeology and the busy central market give a good sense of the region.

Sabanero culture is strong here. The gaita flutes and drums inherited from indigenous and African traditions, the porro and fandango played by brass bands, and the improvised sung poetry of the savanna are all part of local identity, and craftspeople in nearby villages still weave the fine caña flecha fibre hats that have become a national symbol of Colombia. The food is generous, with sancocho, mote de queso, suero, roast meats and fried plantain.

Highways connect Sincelejo with Cartagena, Barranquilla, Montería and Medellín, an airport near Corozal serves the region, and buses and motorcycle taxis handle local travel. The University of Sucre and several private institutions bring students from across the department.

Sincelejo is important as the capital of Colombia's cattle country and as the home of one of the most famous festivals on the Caribbean coast.