The Macondo Route: Exploring the Life and Work of Nobel Prize Gabriel “Gabo” García Márquez
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From: Netflix |
In this context, our colleague Evelyn had the chance to interview María del Pilar Rodríguez Saumet, an expert on the Macondo Route.
The Colombian-Spanish curator, journalist, and writer has been dedicated to
researching the life and work of Gabriel García Márquez for nearly 20 years.
She also helped create the Macondo tourist route in Colombia and, since 2022,
has worked on the same theme in Mexico City and Panama.
Why a Macondo Route about Gabriel García Márquez, his life, and his work?
The Macondo Route project is a cultural itinerary and
tourist route inspired by García Márquez’s life and work. It aims to create
opportunities for economic growth and social ownership of the literary heritage
represented by García Márquez across various regions.
The project began in 2009, when the governor’s office of the
Magdalena Department in Colombia contacted Jaime García Márquez, then vice
president of the Gabo Foundation, to initiate research and develop a tourism
script about the Nobel laureate’s life in the region. With Gabriel’s
permission, the script was personally handed to him on December 15, 2009, with
his signature marking its approval.
The route was further expanded to include Bogotá,
Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Zipaquirá in 2014.
What was Gabriel García Márquez’s intention in creating this route?
Gabo embraced the idea as a way to ensure that his work
could support the livelihoods of local people, similar to the economic benefits
generated by the Cervantes Route in Spain. The project continues with the
support of his sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, and is now expanding across Latin
America and beyond with the help of the Gabo Foundation and other
organizations.
Which locations are the most iconic along the route?
Although the route includes over 200 points in Colombia and
hundreds more from Mexico City to Panama, some highlights include:
- Cartagena:
The Clock Gate, mentioned in “Living to Tell the Tale,” where García
Márquez first experienced the city he loved deeply.
- Barranquilla:
El Prado Hotel, the setting of his first formal dance with Doña Mercedes,
and the Socorro Church where they were married.
- Aracataca:
The July 20th promenade where he walked with his grandfather, the colonel,
and the Montessori School where he learned his first letters.
- Bogotá:
San Francisco Church, where Gabo accidentally met his uncle, Colonel
Valdiblánquez, at the atrium.
- Zipaquirá:
The house of Fernanda del Carpio, now the Zipaquirá Museum, which features
an inventory of items mentioned in One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Starting in 2025, Kiubo Colombia Travel will offer a 10-day
Macondo Route tour, beginning in Bogotá and passing through Zipaquirá,
Aracataca, Mompox, Barranquilla, and Cartagena. A second, shorter route will
start in Santa Marta, pass through Aracataca and Mompox, and end in Cartagena.
If you’re interested in these new tours, feel free to contact us.
