Santa Marta

Santa Marta is a port city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the capital of Magdalena Department. Founded on July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas, it is one of the first Spanish settlements in Colombia, its oldest surviving city, and the second oldest in South America; independence leader Simon Bolivar died there in 1830. The 2018 census recorded about 566,150 residents in the city and district, making it the fourth largest urban center on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and it is nicknamed La Perla de America, the Pearl of America, for its role as a major Caribbean tourist destination.