November 15, 2007

Latin America | Colombia | Cartagena

Cartagena’s Close-Up

By Nicole Cotroneo

Colombia's colonial jewel is ready to steal the show — with a little help from Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

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Move over Buenos Aires, move over Rio: it’s time for Cartagena’s coming-out party. With elegant colonial architecture, Caribbean vistas, and a clutch of new boutique hotels, Colombia’s coastal jewel has long pulled legions of loyal “sophistonauts” (think rich, globe-trotting hipsters) and salsa-loving nighthawks. But tomorrow the city’s charms make their world debut in Love in the Time of Cholera, Mike Newell’s film adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel, shot in the city and starring Javier Bardem. The cinematic epic even closes the inaugural Cancun International Film Festival this weekend at the El Dorado Royale Hotel on the Riviera Maya.

There’s no better time to hit South America’s stylish chill spot: the social scene crescendos this month as the Miss Colombian beauty pageant rolls into town with carnival-like frenzy. And then on January 24, if you’re hankering for some cultural satisfaction, you can head to the Hay Festival, the latin edition to Britain’s big annual literary event. Who knows — you might even see “Gabo” lurking about: Although the octogenarian author lives mostly in Mexico now, he still keeps a home in Cartagena.