Santa Marta Cultural Center

The Banco de la República Cultural Center in Santa Marta, located in the historical center of the city, carries out activities in two buildings: the Banco de la República building and the Casa de la Aduana, the old customs house. In addition to providing access to the entire catalogue of Banco de la República’s Library Network, these facilities host the collection as well as the activities and services of the Tairona Gold Museum, the library's bibliographic collection, and a large room dedicated to children. Several exhibitions of anthropological and art pieces are offered as well. The auditorium offers a continuous program of concerts, workshops, and conferences.

Its cultural program is organized around three areas: libraries, the Gold Museum, and art and music. These are complemented by conferences, seminars, exhibitions, and concerts that generate added cultural value for the community. In this manner, the Cultural Center seeks to contribute to the wellbeing of the people of Santa Marta and Magdalena, providing them with meeting spaces and offering activities that allow them to reflect on the history, cultural heritage, and art that exists in the region and in the country.

History

In May 1925, the Banco de la República agency opened its doors in Santa Marta, in premises shared with Banco Agrícola. Its first director was Dr. José Ramón Lanao Tovar, who resigned in January 1929 and was replaced by Manuel A. Valencia. In the first half of 1932, the Banco de la República building was inaugurated. Built by the Barranquilla firm Cornelissen & Salzedo, it was located on the corner of Calle 14 and Carrera 3, next to the building that currently operates as the town hall. Two decades later, the Secretary General of the Board of Directors reported the need to build a new building or expand the existing one. Nevertheless, the bank's offices in Santa Marta continued to occupy the same building for more than three decades.

In 1948, Mr. Hernando Dávila Barreneche was appointed as the director, and in February 1951, the Santa Marta agency was made a branch. Mr. Dávila Barreneche was the manager of the Santa Marta office until 1968. The first Board of Directors of the Santa Marta branch included Mr. Dávila Barreneche as branch manager and Néstor Brugés Daza, Francisco Covilla Robles, and Simón Solano G., as well as deputy director Alonso González Rubio, "the dean of the bankers," representing local banks. Pedro A. Sánchez P. acted as secretary. In the following months, José María Riveira Daza joined the Board of Directors, replacing Néstor Brugés Daza.

In December 1967, Banco de la República bought the Banco Bananero del Magdalena building from the Banking Superintendency, located on the corner of Carrera 5 and Calle 17. The central bank's offices remained there for two decades until June 1987, when it moved to a new building facing the Santa Marta bay, to one side of Bolívar Park, between Calles 14 and 13 (Calle de la cárcel and Calle San Francisco) and between Carrera 1 and Carrera 2 (Avenida del Fundador and Calle del Río). It is a post-modern building designed by the architect Hernán Vieco.

In 1979, Dr. Carlos Caballero Elías took over the management, only to be later appointed to the Banco de la República branch in Barranquilla. In November 1980, Dr. Orlando Zabaraín Riascos was appointed branch manager in Santa Marta, and he held this position until 2005. His replacement was Mr. Pedro Ovalle Neira, who directed the branch until July 2010. The current manager of the Santa Marta Cultural Agency is Mr. Joaquín Viloria De la Hoz.

Banco de la República’s cultural activity in Santa Marta began in 1980, with the inauguration of the Tairona Gold Museum on December 17, the day of the 150^th anniversary of Liberator Simón Bolívar’s death. This would be the first Banco de la República regional museum in the country. With its inauguration in 2014, the Gold Museum began operating at the Casa de la Aduana, where Bolivar was housed and mourned in a funereal chamber after his death. Casa de la Aduana, declared a national monument in 1970, underwent complete restoration in order to house the new Tairona Gold Museum. This new space opened to the public in October 2014. 

The library was inaugurated on October 17, 2001, with a bibliographic collection of over 11,000 volumes which, by 2013, had ascended 30,000. The Banco de la República in Santa Marta has led cultural activities in the city consistently for more than three decades.