El Pando: The Working-Class Neighborhood That Built Modern Santa Marta and Tourists Ignore

El Pando: The Working-Class Neighborhood That Built Modern Santa Marta and Tourists Ignore

If you walk through the Centro Histórico of Santa Marta, you see colorful facades, republican balconies, and terraces with sea views. But if you stray a few blocks south, crossing Carrera 1ra, the landscape changes completely. There begins El Pando, a neighborhood that does not appear in tourist guides, that has no boutique hostels or air-conditioned restaurants. However, without El Pando, Santa Marta simply would not be the city it is today. This working-class neighborhood, built by railroad and banana zone workers, is the heart of the Samarian working class. And although tourists ignore it, its streets tell the most authentic story of the city.

Origins

To understand El Pando, you have to go back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Santa Marta was experiencing its banana boom. The United Fruit Company had arrived in the region, and the railroad became the backbone of the local economy. The railway lines connected the banana plantations to the port of Santa Marta, and the workers needed a place to live near the stations and workshops.

El Pando was born as an informal settlement on land that was originally pastures and filled-in mangroves. The first houses were built by the workers themselves with materials they found at hand: scrap wood, recycled zinc, and handmade cement blocks. There were no developers or blueprints. The neighborhood grew at the pace of the people's needs, without sewage or electricity for decades.

The name "El Pando" has several versions. The most accepted among the old-timers of the neighborhood is that it comes from a pando tree that existed on the corner of what is now Carrera 4 with Calle 15, where workers would gather to drink coffee and wait for their daily wages. Another version says that "pando" referred to a type of mud or quagmire that abounded in the area when it rained. What is certain is that the name stuck and remained.

During the first decades of the 20th century, El Pando grew in parallel with the development of the railroad. The train workshops were a few blocks away, in what is now the Avenida del Ferrocarril area. There, locomotives were repaired, rails were changed, and wagons were loaded with bananas bound for the port. The workers lived in El Pando, and their shifts began before dawn and ended when the sun set over the Sierra Nevada.

Timeline or Historical Milestones

1920-1930: The Founding Years

The neighborhood begins to take shape. Families arrive from Sincelejo, Since, and the towns of Magdalena Grande. The first wooden and zinc houses are built. There is no running water; people rely on wells and cisterns. Electricity reaches only the center of the city.

1940: The Railroad Era

The Santa Marta Railroad reaches its peak. The workshops employ hundreds of workers. El Pando consolidates as the railroad workers' neighborhood. The first shops and bars appear around the station. The corner of Carrera 3 with Calle 14 becomes the meeting point for the workers.

1960-1970: The Union Struggles

Railroad and port workers organize into unions. El Pando becomes a hotbed of activism. There are strikes, marches, and clashes with the police. Several union leaders live in the neighborhood. The church of El Pando, built in 1965, becomes a refuge for workers' meetings.

1980-1990: The Railroad Crisis and Conversion

The railroad goes into decline. Locomotives stop running and the workshops close. El Pando suffers a severe economic blow. Many families move away or emigrate to other cities. The neighborhood is stigmatized as dangerous. However, the community reorganizes around informal commerce and services.

2000-2020: Cultural Resistance

Artistic and sports collectives emerge seeking to rescue the neighborhood's memory. The first murals telling the working-class history appear. The Mayor's Office of Santa Marta begins paving streets and improving sewage. El Pando ceases to be an invisible neighborhood and begins to be recognized as a living heritage of the city.

July 2026

Today, El Pando remains a predominantly residential, working-class neighborhood. Although infrastructure has improved, it retains its popular character. Rental prices are still the lowest in Santa Marta (between $300,000 and $600,000 COP monthly for a room, reference prices from July 2026), making it a refuge for students, informal workers, and low-income families.

Key Figures or Events

Don Manuel "Mane" Arrieta

He was one of the last engineers of the Santa Marta Railroad. He lived in El Pando from 1948 until his death in 2019. His house at Carrera 4 # 14-32 was known as "the whistle house," because every time the train passed, Don Manuel would go to the door and sound his bronze whistle. Neighbors remember him as the guardian of the neighborhood's railroad memory.

The 1967 Strike

It was one of the longest and toughest in the labor movement in Santa Marta. Railroad workers demanded better wages and working conditions. The strike lasted 47 days. During that time, El Pando became a resistance camp. The women of the neighborhood organized community kitchens and sold empanadas and juices to support the families. The strike ended with a partial victory but left an indelible mark on the neighborhood's identity.

"El Loro's" Corner

At the intersection of Carrera 3 with Calle 15, Don Pedro "El Loro" Martínez's juice stand operated for 30 years. It was the meeting point for workers after their shifts. There, they discussed politics, soccer, and life. Don Pedro became famous because he repeated everything he heard, like a parrot. His stand closed in 2015, but neighbors still call that corner "El Loro's corner."

Current Status

El Pando in 2026 is a neighborhood in transformation. It remains predominantly working-class, but new actors have arrived. Young artists, university students, and some foreigners on a tight budget have started moving into the neighborhood, attracted by low rents and proximity to the center. This has created an interesting mix between the old working-class guard and a new generation seeking alternatives to mass tourism.

Infrastructure has improved notably. Almost all streets are paved, there is public lighting, and the water service is regular. However, problems persist: garbage collection is deficient in some areas, and insecurity remains a concern, although it has decreased compared to the 1990s.

Culturally, El Pando is experiencing a renaissance. Several graffiti collectives have painted murals that tell the neighborhood's history. On Carrera 4, between Calles 14 and 15, there is a 30-meter mural depicting the railroad timeline. Another mural, on the corner of Carrera 3 with Calle 14, shows the faces of union leaders from the 1960s. These murals are not just decoration: they are a form of resistance against oblivion.

The neighborhood's economy remains informal. There are mechanic workshops, carpentry shops, neighborhood bakeries, and grocery stores. On weekends, Calle 14 fills with street vendors offering used clothing, fruits, and fried foods. There are no trendy restaurants or cocktail bars. What there are are stalls selling arepas de huevo, patacones with suero, and corozo juice. Eating in El Pando costs between $5,000 and $12,000 COP per person.

For tourists who dare to leave the historic center, El Pando offers an authentic experience. There are no souvenirs or English guides. What there is are real people, streets with history, and an atmosphere that recalls the Santa Marta of before the tourist boom. The neighborhood is just a 10-minute walk from Parque de los Novios. You can get there via Carrera 3 or Avenida del Ferrocarril.

Walking Route: The Murals, the Corners, and the Characters That Tell the Unofficial History

If you want to truly get to know El Pando, forget the car and put on comfortable shoes. This walking route will take you through the neighborhood's key points in approximately two hours. You can start any Saturday at 9 in the morning, when the neighborhood is most alive and neighbors come out to do their shopping.

Starting Point: Corner of Carrera 3 with Calle 14

Right where there is now a grocery store called "La Estación," the mule-drawn tram stop that took workers to the workshops used to operate. You can still see the rails embedded in the asphalt. Ask for Doña Carmen, the store owner, who will tell you what the neighborhood was like when she arrived in 1972.

Railroad Mural (Carrera 4 between Calles 14 and 15)

This 30-meter mural was painted in 2022 by the collective "Pintando Memorias." It shows a 1920 Baldwin locomotive, workers loading bananas, and a woman holding a child. At the bottom there is a phrase: "El Pando does not give up, El Pando resists." It is the most photographed spot in the neighborhood, although almost no one outside Santa Marta knows it.

Don Manuel's House (Carrera 4 # 14-32)

Although Don Manuel passed away, his house still stands. The facade retains its original yellow color and a small sign that says "Casa del Silbato." The current tenants, a family from Sincelejo, allow visitors to enter the patio to see the old bronze whistle hanging on the wall. Ask permission respectfully, and if you are lucky, they will offer you a coffee.

"El Loro's" Corner (Carrera 3 with Calle 15)

The juice stand is no longer there, but on the corner there is a small mural with the face of a parrot and a sign that says "Here the Parrot used to hang out." Neighbors still sit on the sidewalk to chat. If you stay a while, someone will surely tell you a story about Don Pedro or the strikes of the 60s.

The Mechanic Workshops (Calle 16 between Carreras 3 and 4)

This block is full of motorcycle and car workshops. It is the economic heart of the neighborhood. The mechanics work outdoors, with vallenato music playing in the background. It is not a tourist spot, but if you are interested in popular culture, it is fascinating to see how the informal economy works. You can buy a soda at one of the stores and watch the activity.

End of the Route: The Mirador de la 17 (Carrera 4 with Calle 17)

Climbing a bit, you reach a small natural viewpoint from where you can see the entire bay of Santa Marta. There is no bench or railing, just a patch of land that the neighbors have cleared. From there, you understand why El Pando is where it is: close to the port, close to the center, but on higher ground, protected from floods. It is the best place to end the tour and reflect on everything you have seen.

After the walk, you can have lunch at the arepa stand on the corner of Carrera 3 with Calle 16. Doña Nury has been making arepas de huevo with hogao for 25 years. They cost $4,000 COP each. Order two and a corozo juice. There is no better way to end a tour of El Pando.

Walk El Pando this Saturday and discover the other Santa Marta, the one that does not appear on Instagram. The one that smells like coffee, motor grease, and fried arepas. The one that resists, the one that built the modern city. The one that tourists ignore, but that awaits you with open doors.