Ever since my first visit in 2014, I knew I had to return to Mompox, the island that time forgot. Mompox lies in the Magdalena River, Colombia’s most important river, whose swamps are so wide, they’ve isolated islands like Mompox from the mainland.
Founded in 1540, Santa Cruz de Mompox is one of the hottest, most humid places in Colombia. It played a significant role in the country’s Independence from Spain in 1810, but after sedimentation in the river rerouted ships away from the town, it was nearly abandoned, its past glory visible only in the façades of the enormous colonial houses that were once the homes of royalty and the Catholic clergy who arrived during the Spanish Inquisition.
SANTA CRUZ DE MOMPOX • MAGDALENA RIVER • PORTRAITS
Santa Cruz de Mompox
Magdalena River
Portraits from Mompox
Laura Restrepo Ortega 