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The Cultural Center (Casa de la Cultura) in Mompox is a good place to visit to learn more about the town’s vibrant history. Mompox is a Colombian Heritage Town (Pueblo Patrimonio) as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Admission
We visited the Cultural Center and spent about a half hour there. Admission is COP$3,000 per person (as of January 2024). It’s located across the street from the Church of San Agustín in the historic town center.
The Building
The building was the birthplace of Juan del Corral (1778-1814), a governor of Antioquia. He proposed the freedom of child slaves, which was enacted a few weeks before his death. It now holds a small museum about the town’s history, and classrooms for art and music. A beautiful courtyard sits in the center.
When we entered, the first thing we noticed was antique furniture. There was also a fresco that had been whitewashed, and the paint was peeled back in a few spots to reveal how the building might have looked in the past.
Museum
We started our visit to the museum portion of the building in what seemed to be a meeting room. Outside on the courtyard we admired a huge clay jug. These jugs carried wine and oil from Spain by ship during colonial times.
Next, we saw an exhibit displaying artifacts found in archaeological digs in town. The artifacts included pottery shards and bones. Several bodies were exhumed in the town plazas during renovations because churches, cloisters, and plazas were used for burials before the cemetery was built.
From there, we visited a room with personal articles and portraits of important residents of Mompox and the region. Another room was set aside to honor Candelario Obeso, a famous Colombian poet from Mompox.
Historic Building Features
Our tour continued with a quick peek into the rear courtyard, where there’s a garden and former stables. Back through the building, we saw an original tin ceiling, which reminded me of something out of the Wild West.
We also saw the building’s antique bathroom. The tub was made of marble while the toilet was made of porcelain.
