A brief history about Barranquilla
Barranquilla was a key city for the Spaniards since it is located very close to the main Colombian river, Magdalena. In the nineteenth century, after independence, the city started to grow faster as the government found fishing and cattle very profitable activities, along with the river navigation operations. In the twentieth century, although Cartagena was still the main port city, Barranquilla began to grow faster as a main hub for commercial trade. A large number of immigrants coming from all over the world - with an important group originating from the Middle East - endowed Barranquilla with a multicultural vibe that is still present nowadays.