Palomino, Colombia

Palomino is located in the municipality of Dibulla part of the department of Guajira and is only 2 meters above sea level. It is one of the five towns that form the municipality of Dibulla. It is located on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Colombia. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, declared as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, sits as an isolated mountain apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,775 meters above sea level just 42 kilometers from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal peak.^[3] The Sierra Nevada encompasses about 17,000 square kilometers and serves as the source of 36 rivers.^[4] Palomino is limited on the north by the Caribbean sea, south with the municipality of San Juan Del Cesar, east by the town of Mingueo and west by the department of Magdalena. Palomino is very close to the Venezuelan border. It borders both the department of Guajira and Magdalena and serves as the border for the municipality of Dibulla and La Punta de los Remedios.^[3]

Palomino has a tropical climate, variant "Am" according to the Köppen climate classification, with moderate to little rainfall from December to May and a wet season from May to November, which features slightly warmer temperatures and heavy to very heavy intermittent rainfall.^[5]

Palomino's location near the Venezuelan border contributes to commerce, movement of people and economic activity. Since gasoline in Venezuela costs nearly a tenth of what it costs in Colombia, contraband oil plays a large part in the economy of the town.^[6]

According to the Farming and Livestock Municipal Sector Plan of 1998–2000, 70 percent of the people in Palomino are small agricultural producers. They cultivate primarily plantain, yuca, ñame, corn and mango in an area of 260 hectares. They also cultivate malanga, ahuyama, orange and cacao through very small, inefficient residential vegetable gardens. Very little produce is grown for commercial sale.^[6]

Fishing is popular but not the main economic activity for the town of Palomino. According to INPA, Characterization of the Artisanal Fishing Activity in the Coastal Municipalities of the Department of Guajira in 2000, the present number of fishermen in the area is 0.4 percent of the total population, producing 99.9 tons cap/year. Local fishes are Snapper, Mero, Medregal, Mackerel, Sea Bass, and Sawfish.^[6]

In Palomino, livestock is mostly cattle raised for milk and beef. Some of the population has survived by shepherding goats. The production of grass for cattle suffers from the unpredictable Caribbean weather. The technological education and implementation is low as there is a lack of use of fertilizers (organic and chemical) and vaccinations to prevent diseases amongst cattle are nearly non-existent. This causes low production levels and thereby low income generation.^[6]

The handcrafts elaborated among the town's craftsmen are stone sculpture, archeological figurines made out of pottery, straw hats with traditional patterns, fans, baskets, animal figures made with coconut, religious relics, and labor tools made with bull horns.^[6]

Palomino's paradise attracts a low number of tourists even though the jungle landscape is exotic, there is vast biodiversity, and the beaches are white and uninhabited. Palomino is close to the entrance to Sierra Nevada National Park and close to the Resguardo Indigena, or Indian Reserve area. Especially popular is tubing down the Palomino River. Attracting backpackers traveling along Colombia's coast, there has also been a growth of restaurants, cafes, and hostels in recent years.^[7] Among the other tourist attractions are:

Palomino has approximately 3,900 people according to the data projections of INPA in December 2000. Nearly 30 percent of the population in Palomino are children between 1 and 15 years of age. The town is shared by a diverse set of ethnic and cultural groups. The majority of the population is Mestizo, followed by Afro-Colombians, Andean farmers and by traditional indigenous groups.^[4] The Kogi and Arhuaco Indians that inhabit the Sierra Nevada Mountains visit Palomino constantly to get sea snails, exchange their handmade products or to perform their native rituals on the beach. There are different places on the coast that the Indians consider sacred and where they perform rituals called the black line, in Spanish “Linea Negra, which was recently recognized by the Colombian State. The Kogi have a low demographic density with a population of 5,847 living in the department of Guajira. They are the most traditional indigenous group and are semi-nomad, constantly displacing themselves through the different areas in the valleys of the rivers Tapias, Jerez, San Miguel, Garavito, Rio Ancho, Rio Mariamina, Rio Negro, San Salvador and Palomino. Colombia is a multi-ethnic nation of Europeans, Amerindians, and Afro-descendents.^[6]

When Spaniards arrived in 1502, they did not tolerate the indigenous culture. Today in Colombia there is still racial segregation and discrimination toward Indians and Afro-Colombians. The notions of class and racism are closely intertwined and the armed conflict has torn the cultural fabric that binds this community together.^[8]

Palomino has a large variety of ethnic minorities and therefore the culture is diverse and very colorful.^[4] The mixing of ethnic traditions is reflected in Palomino's folk dance and music. They have a passion for football sometimes seen as a symbol of unity and pride. The cuisine is developed mainly from the food traditions of the Caribbean.^{[fact or opinion?]}

Palomino used to celebrate the patron's saint, San Isidro Labrodor with solemn mass, fireworks and folk dances. Today, due to the cultural syncretism, this activity has been forgotten. It is expected that community leaders should rescue these traditions and religious manifestations.^{[fact or opinion?]}

Palomino has long suffered with human rights crisis, loss of cultural identity, intolerance, racial discrimination, lack of clear environmental policies, disappearance of fauna and flora, inefficiency and corruption of the government, abandonment of the authorities and institutions, and even worse the loss of trust in the resolution of conflict and the problems that afflict the inhabitants. The combination of all of these problems coupled with the fact that poverty is highly transmitted from one generation to the next is the main obstacle to the town's sustainable rural development. Inhibiting its progress is the lack of access to social services, education, and skills training.^[10]

In the past the town has been used as a battlefield of rival drug gangs, FARC, paramilitary groups, and leftist insurgent groups. Over the last few years inspired by the government's aggressive approach to combat guerrilla warfare, the Palomino community is trying to bring peace into their town, restore tourism and improve the lifestyle of future generations.

Palomino has a linear urban layout that runs from the south, at the San Juan Del Cesar, to the north, at the Caribbean sea. The area is serviced by the highway, Troncal del Caribe, which has split the town into two. It is 300 meters from the beach and 500 meters from the Palomino River. The town square faces the sea and the culture house faces the Sierra Nevada Mountains.