c
COROZAL took place in 1770 because it was
³THE PEARL ON THE SAVANNA´
By Carlos Mario Castro Navarro
Corozal is the second most
  
within
populous town in the Department of
Sucre in northern Colombia, within
the Caribbean Region. Corozal is
located ten kilometers away from
Sincelejo, the main town in Sucre,
and forty kilometers away from the
Caribbean Sea.
Corozal has a total area of 203.3
square kilometers and it is placed
within the Tropical wet and dry or
savanna climate (Y ) according to
the Köppen climate classification , so
it keeps an average temperature
close to 28º Celsius.
Story
-hen the Europeans arrived to the
Americas, the territory where is
located the department of Sucre
was inhabited by several indigenous
tribes that were part of the Arawac
and Caribbean families, among
these tribes there were the D


and the 
necessary an authorization from the
governor of Cartagena. Finally on
May 26, 1770 Carlos the Third from
Spain, by Royal Decree, was
recognized as a
the Cartagena Province. The small
town started to spread because of
the expansion and development
reached by neighboring towns like
Cartagena and Mompox.
In the republican age in Colombia,
Corozal became an important trade
center in Sucre, but it was always
dimmed by the success of Sincelejo,
more when it was chosen to be the
capital of Sucre when this
department was created.
Nevertheless Corozal has a unique
identity and it keeps a rich culture
legacy, which is why some had
called it ³Cultural Town on the
Savanna´, ³City of teachers´ or ³City
of literates´.
The People from Corozal
The people from Corozal fix
perfectly within the definition of the
Caribbean Colombian people, a
 almost perfect melting pot of three
Eventually Spanish conquerors took
these lands close to 1501 in order to
get gold, pearls and other
resources. The Europeans and the
natives established a town named

     , but the priest
Juan Antonio Aballe y Rumay was
worried about the dryness of the
zone, so he convinced the
inhabitants to move to a better place
for agriculture and cattle raising,
then they bought a farm named
  , but the actual moving
c
different ethnic features: the
Caucasian, the Amerindian and the
African, the most of people in
Corozal does not recognizes
themselves as a part of any of these
ethnics but they do recognize
themselves as mestizos or mix-
raced. It is important to mention the
little but important migration of
people from Middle East, usually
called ³The Turkish´, but unlike other
Caribbean zones as Barranquilla
where this component is still alive, in
c
Corozal it has mixed with the local
component, becoming part of the
people from Corozal.
Corozal is still a small town, which is
why the 95% of the households are
houses. The electricity is available
for 95.9% of the households and it is
the most spread basic service in
Corozal, unlike the telephone
service that only reaches the 34.5%
of the households. But the cell
phones revolution made it to
Corozal, and it is estimated that
about the 85% of the adult
population in Corozal own a cell
phone.
There are more women than men in
Corozal, and a half of the adult
population is single. Corozal is
known in the department of Sucre
for having an increasing openly gay
population, which is the source of
very cruel jokes toward its
inhabitants and the local people in
other towns and municipalities.
The Carnival
Corozal is also known for its
carnival, which starts in February or
March and it lasts 4 days, this
carnival includes several parades,
free concerts and a beauty contest,
the carnival has reached great
importance and the tourism gets a
peak while the carnival takes place.
The Water
Corozal owns the most important
source of water in the north of
Sucre: the Morroa¶s Aquifer, and
because of this, there are
permanent supply of sweet water in
Corozal, unlike Sincelejo, where it is
not permanent, this had impacted in
the real state of Corozal, so a house
in Sincelejo (for renting or selling) is
cheaper than in Corozal.
Unification with Sincelejo
Corozal is the most indebted
municipality in Sucre, so it had to
accept a payment plan suggested
by the national government, if
Corozal eventually is unable to keep
this plan, its condition as
independent municipality will be
over and it is going to be annexed to
Sincelejo. If Corozal and Sincelejo
become one municipality, Sincelejo
is going to receive the rights to
explode the aquifer getting the most
important source of water in
northern Sucre.
Why to go to Corozal?
Corozal has got several pieces of
architecture within its central zone,
the people have made efforts to sow
ornamental trees and plants, so it is
possible to see flowers all along.
The carnival is an excellent time to
arrive to Corozal, but it is necessary
to reserve a room weeks before,
and having an open mind and
dressing old clothing, because get
dirty using water and natural
colorants is part of this celebration.