Entrada principal Catedral San Jose

The facade of the Catedral de San José remains anchored by thick, dual-bell towers that appear braced against the earth. Following the devastating Santa Marta earthquakes of seventeen seventy-three, the city abandoned its grand nave, leaving behind walls twelve feet deep. Pedro de Alvarado, the conquistador who founded the city, lies buried somewhere beneath these ruins. His wife, Doña Beatriz de la Cueva, famously signed her name as the Unfortunate One after his death, just days before she perished in a catastrophic mudslide.