Barranquilla is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean coast region;as of 2018,it had a population of 1,206,319 making it Colombia's fourth-most populous city after Bogotá,Medellín,and Cali.
The Barranquilla Carnival is one of Colombia's most important folkloric celebrations,and one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century. Four days before Lent,Barranquilla decks itself out to receive national and foreign tourists to join together with the city's inhabitants to enjoy four days of intense festivities. During the carnival,Barranquilla's normal activities are put aside as the city gets busy with street dances,musical and masquerade parades. The Carnival Of Barranquilla includes dances such as the Spanish paleo,African Congo,and indigenous mice y mica's. Many styles of Colombian music are also performed,most prominently cumbia,and instruments include drums and wind ensembles. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed a Cultural Masterpiece of the Nation by Colombia's National Congress in 2002. Also the UNESCO,in Paris on November 7,2003,declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity,and it was during Olga Lucia Rodriguez Carnival Queen year.
Gustavo Adolfo Bell Lemus is a Colombian politician,lawyer,economist and diplomat who served as vice president of Colombia from 1998 to 2002 under the administration of Andrés Pastrana Arango,during which time he also served concurrently as High Commissioner for Human Rights of Colombia and as Minister of National Defence between 2001 and 2002. He also served as the Colombian ambassador to Cuba from 2011 to 2017. In 1992,as the 53rd Governor of Atlántico,he became the first popularly elected Governor of the Department following the enactment of the 1991 Colombian Constitution.
Silvestre Francisco Dangond Corrales is a Colombian singer. He attributes his talents to his father,the singer William José"El Palomo" Dangond Baquero,who during the mid-1970s recorded 10 singles with Andrés "El Turco" Gil;and his mother,who comes from a musical family and passed down her charismatic nature to him,while also playing a major role in his formal and personal education.
Juan Mario De la Espriella better known as Juancho De la Espriella is a Colombian musician interpreter of vallenato in accordion. De la Espriella is the current accordionist of Colombian vallenato singer Martin Elias Diaz.
Soledad is a municipality in the Colombian department of Atlántico,part of the Metropolitan area of Barranquilla. It is 6th in population in Colombia and 3rd in the Caribbean region,after Barranquilla and Cartagena. It is also the city with the highest population growth in Colombia and in 2005 was 455,734 and 2019 683,486. On October 29,2023,Alcira Sandoval Ibañez was elected by popular vote as the new mayor of Soledad.
The governor of the Department of Atlantico heads the executive branch of the government of the Colombian Department of Atlántico. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the department and is elected by popular vote. The current governor is Elsa Noguera De la Espriella.
Eduardo Ignacio Verano de la Rosa is a Colombian politician,businessman,and active member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He served as Governor of Atlántico Department from 2008 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2019,and as Colombian Minister of Environment from 1997 to 1998.
The University of Atlántico,also called Uniatlántico,is a public,departmental,coeducational,research university based in the city of Barranquilla,Atlántico,Colombia. It is the largest higher education institution by student population in the Colombian Caribbean region with 24,113 students,and a faculty of 656 full-time equivalent professors. The university was established by the ordinance No. 24 of 1941 as the Institute of Technology of Atlántico,under the tutelage of philosopher Julio Enrique Blanco. Then,it changed its name to the present by Ordinance No. 42 of June 15,1946.
Alejandro Char Chaljub,commonly known as Alex Char,is a Colombian politician. He is Mayor of Barranquilla for the third time,having previously served two terms from 2008 to 2011 and 2016 to 2019. A civil engineer and member of the Radical Change Party,he was councilor for the Liberal Party in 1997 and in 2000 ran for the Governorship of the Department of Atlántico. Initial ballot results gave victory to his contender Ventura Díaz Mejía,but after a lengthy and often criticized process,the Administrative Supreme Court of Colombia reviewed the election results and found Char to be rightful winner of the race and allowed him to serve the remaining period of his term in 2003.
Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala is a businessman and retired politician. He is the founder of Grupo Empresarial Olímpica. He served in different terms as a senator,governor of Atlántico,and minister of Economic Development
Silvia Tcherassi is a Miami-based,fashion designer,born in Barranquilla,Atlantico,Colombia.
Alberto Assa was an Ottoman-born Colombian educator,translator and humanist of Sephardi descent.
Natalia Abello Vives is a Colombian lawyer and politician currently serving as the 13th Minister of Transport of Colombia in the Administration of President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón.
The Coast University,also called Unicosta,is a private university based in the city of Barranquilla,Atlántico,Colombia. It was founded in 1970 by a business group led by Rodrigo Niebles De La Cruz,Eduardo Crissien Samper,Ramiro Moreno Noriega,Miguel Antequera Stand,Rubén Maury Pertuz,Nulvia Borrero and María Ardila de Maury.
Míriam Nogueras Camero is a Spanish businesswoman and politician from Catalonia who serves as Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.
Rosa Navarro Barandica,is a Colombian photographer and mixed-media artist.
Xiomara Acevedo is a Colombian climate change activist. As founder and CEO of the NGO Barranquilla +20,she has argued for the inclusion of women and young people's voices in climate justice.
Jaime Alberto Pumarejo Heins is a Colombian information systems administrator and politician. From 2020 until 2023 he was the mayor of Barranquilla,the main economic center of the Caribbean region of Colombia and the fourth most populous city in the country.
Mauricio Gómez Amín is a Colombian lawyer,politician and a member of the Liberal Party.
