Taganga is a traditional fishing village and corregimiento of Santa Marta, located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia at about 10 minutes or 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Santa Marta. Both Santa Marta and Taganga were founded by Rodrigo de Bastidas on July 29, 1525, making them two of the oldest remaining colonial settlements in present-day Colombia.
The touristic town and backpacker hub is famous for its sunsets, diving and access to the Tayrona National Natural Park. Bohemian and richly decorated Taganga is full of hostels and forms part of the South American Gringo Trail. In the months of July and August the village is visited by many Israelis who finished their military draft period.
Etymology
The source of the name Taganga is uncertain; it is either derived from the Taganga people inhabiting the area before the Spanish conquest, from the words ta and gunmy; "Snake mountain range" or from the Tairona words ta and ganga; "Entrance of the sea".[5]
Geography and geology
Taganga
Position of Taganga with respect to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Taganga Fault forms the northern boundary of the village bordering the triangular shaped alluvial fans coming off the mountains in the background of the village
Taganga is located on the northern coast of Colombia, at the northwestern flank of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the triangular mountain range in northern Colombia hosting the double peak Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar, the highest mountain(s) (5,700 metres (18,700 ft)) closest to the sea (42 kilometres (26 mi)) in the world.
The village of approximately 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) is situated south of the Tayrona National Park. It is home to the Tairona people and to a rich biodiversity. The mountain range is thought to have formed from to the easternward movement of the Caribbean Plate, along the Oca Fault, which forms the boundary with the South American Plate.
The urban center of Taganga is situated on alluvial fan deposits fed by the hinterland of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.[11]
Analysis of actinolite minerals in the phyllites of Taganga produced Lower and Mid-Cretaceous ages, which is much older than the Rodadero Formationoutcropping south of Santa Marta.[12] The metamorphic rocks were formed under pressures of 3–9.5 kbar and temperatures between 300 °C (572 °F) and 650 °C (1,202 °F).[13]
The Taganga Fault is the tectonic lineament separating the village of Taganga from the Tayrona Park in the north.[14] The activity of the NE-trending fault has produced carbonitization of the phyllites.[15] The fault is a reverse fault that is characterized by serpentinites, the presence of epidote and the formation of talc minerals.[16]
Climate
Drought in Taganga in May 2016; 1 day of rain since November 2015
The climate of Taganga is BSh (Köppen classification), with hot days and warm nights with average daily temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F) and night average of 24 °C (75 °F). Rainfall is scattered throughout the year with a total of 661 millimetres (26.0 in), but many dry periods cause water shortages in the village.[5] From November 2015 to May 2016 a strong drought was present in Taganga; it only rained for one day in this period (299 millimetres (11.8 in)).[17][18]
Rodrigo de Bastidas, founder of Santa Marta and Taganga
In the time before the arrival of the Spanish, Santa Marta was populated by the Gairaindigenous people. Taganga was inhabited by the Taganga, under the leadership of a cacique. In those ages the population of Taganga was substantial.[19][20]
In the 17th century, at the time of the encomiendas, the area from Santa Marta to Riohacha was ruled by governor Diego Fernández de Argote y Córdoba. The church of Taganga was built after the hermitage made of clay was destroyed in the earthquake of May 22, 1834. The earthquake was the result of tectonic movements of the Oca Fault.[23]
Modern history
Taganga is north of Santa Marta and has grown in recent years
Until the 1950s, Taganga was an isolated fishing village due to the lack of road access from Santa Marta.[3] In 1988 there was only one hotel in Taganga.
Since August 1998 Taganga is a separate corregimiento again and on December 12, 2014, Taganga was incorporated into a locality for improvement of the local conditions.[24][25]
Pollution of the sea and projects for water treatment have gotten the attention of the authorities in the 21st century.[26]
Taganga, located on the southern edge of the Tayrona National Park, suffers from illegal construction in the park area, designated protected land.[27]
The village has a cultural center organizing festivities for the local residents. The center was established in 2004.[28]
West of the football pitch of Taganga, since 2015 a park is under construction.[5]
Sex and drug tourism
In 2015, an Israeli ex-soldier constructed a large hotel complex, including bars, swimming pool and tennis court, to accommodate Israeli travelers, notably ex-soldiers who ended their military service.[29] In 2017, the hotel became increasingly known for providing drugs and prostitutes to its customers, as well as organizing orgy-like parties. Some of the prostitutes were minors.[30]
At the end of 2017, the owner was summoned to a migration office in Santa Marta, arrested and deported after presenting a risk to ″public safety and social tranquillity″.[31][32]
Following the arrest, locals found that the security has improved.[33]
Economy
Boats in Taganga harbour in the morning
Main economical activity of the traditional village is fishing. The majority of the local population is active in the fishing industry with fishermen leaving the harbour early in the morning. The fishing boats are small wooden kayaks where three people row and one has a dragging net of 90 metres (300 ft) wide and 7 metres (23 ft) to 12 metres (39 ft) deep.[34]
Commercial fishing
These and other fish species are caught around Taganga:[35]
Since the construction of the road to Santa Marta in 1953, Taganga has been growing to become an important touristic village with numerous hotels, hostels and restaurant arising in the late 20th and early 21st century.[3] The character of the backpacker hotspot is bohemian with various murals decorating the village. Most of the streets are unpaved.
Especially famous for Taganga are its sunsets; people come from Santa Marta to watch them on the beach. The colours can vary from orange to pink, depending on the atmospheric conditions.
Friction between the traditional local population of the village and the growing hostel industry mostly by foreign investments has been present in the 20th and 21st century.[36]
Dive sites in Tayrona National Park Isla Aguja is highlightedView of Isla AgujaSea slug around Isla AgujaCoral and fish around Isla AgujaHoneycomb cowfish, sea slug and sponge around Isla AgujaSpotted moray in the waters of Tayrona Park
Various types of corals, sponges, sea turtles, molluscs, crustaceans and over 129 species of fish have been identified in the waters around Taganga and Tayrona Park. Most of the diving is concentrated around Isla Aguja ("Needle Island").
Underwater fauna that can be encountered in the vicinity of Taganga are among others:
Caicedo Caballero, Karoll Lizbeth; Guarín Reyes, Erika Andrea (2011), Geología y petrología de las rocas metamórficas del sector comprendido entre las Bahías de Gaira y Taganga, Provincia tectónica de Santa Marta, Colombia - Geology and petrology of the metamorphic rocks of the sector between the Bays of Gaira and Taganga, tectonic province of Santa Marta, Colombia (in Spanish), Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, pp. 1–131
Sáenz Reyes, Julie Andrea (2011), Itinerario geológico de la franja costera entre el Aeropuerto Internacional Simón Bolívar y la Bahía de Taganga, Provincia geotectónica de Santa Marta - Geological itinerary of the coastal strip between the international airport Simón Bolívar and Taganga Bay, geotectonic province of Santa Marta (in Spanish), Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, pp. 1–282
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