The new Banco de la República Cultural Center in Buenaventura is a place for research and exploration of the sounds and forms of knowledge of the Colombian Pacific region. It has a general library where users can consult materials from the central bank's Library Network throughout the country and a good collection of magazines and newspapers. It also has a children's room where families can enjoy the collection of children's books and special activities programmed to serve the community.
The Buenaventura Cultural Center's collection on cultural practices of the Pacific region is noteworthy, with a wide range of sound content recording the cultural heritage of the Colombian Pacific. It also houses the music practice room, a space where the community can produce acoustic works. The collection also includes spaces for ancestral knowledge including gastronomy, traditional dances, traditional music, oral narration (decimas and coplas), native instruments, traditional medicine (ombligadas and midwives), vernacular housing, festivals, festivities, and community beliefs.
History
Since March 7, 2002, Banco de la República’s Library and Cultural Center have provided the public in Buenaventura with the services of the Library Network and held various cultural activities, thus contributing to the preservation, distribution, and strengthening of the cultural heritage of Buenaventura and the Colombian Pacific.
In 2013, work began on the design of a new Cultural Center for Buenaventura. To develop a sense of place, focus groups of artists, teachers, students, cultural promoters, port authorities, community leaders, business people, and journalists participated in surveys and outreach exercises that helped to define the service offer, the composition of the collections, and the design of the spaces in the new cultural center. The project included the conservation and restoration of the façade which has represented the bank's image in Buenaventura, and the construction of a new set of buildings with contemporary architecture and infrastructure to ensure its versatility and sustainability. The new Cultural Center comprises nearly 2,800 m2 distributed in two blocks, which include spaces and services to promote reading, music, arts, and research in the region. In addition, a laboratory for collective creation and management is planned.
The new building was proposed as a space that fulfills technical criteria for sustainability as well as spatial and technological versatility, all designed to integrate properly with the region. It also offers inclusive solutions to facilitate access to people with disabilities. Its five floors provide the following services: on the first level, informal reading areas, an inner courtyard, and service areas; on the second level, a multiplex auditorium; on the third level, an exhibition room, a music practice room, and two recording booths; on the fourth and fifth levels, general reading rooms, with spaces for individual and group consultation and a collection specialized in Colombian Pacific topics, in addition to the administrative offices.
