De la Espriella Will Turn Colombia’s Presidential Palace Into a Full-Time Museum
The Casa de Nariño, the place where the Presidency of the Republic has operated in recent years, that is, the seat of power in Colombia, continues to move away from that role. Four years ago, when he took office, outgoing President Gustavo Petro looked at it with disdain and said he did not like staying there. Now, the country’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced that he will turn it into a museum.
The name of the emblematic building comes from the fact that on April 9, 1765, it was the birthplace of the man who would become known as the Hero of Independence, Antonio Narino, translator of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from French into Spanish, one of the sparks that ignited the country’s emancipation from Spanish rule. The historical significance and symbolism of the building are so profound that the idea of turning it into a museum is consistent with its very essence.
Last week, the presidential palace witnessed the departure of officials from the outgoing administration who had worked there, as they began removing items from their offices. All of this took place amid an incomplete transition process with the incoming De la Espriella administration.
The uninterrupted seat of power in Colombia since 1979
On Sunday night, during his latest address through social media, the president-elect informed the country that the seat of the Presidency of the Republic in Bogota will be the San Carlos Palace, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently operates, and gave instructions regarding the future use of the Casa de Nariño.
“I will not govern from the Casa de Narino, but I will go to Bogota,” the president-elect said. “I have instructed the Minister of Culture [designate], Paola Holguin, to turn the Casa de Narino into a museum open to the public.” He made this announcement days after stating that Barranquilla will be a permanent seat of his presidency and that he will conduct government business from the Paraiso Battalion and the Customs Palace.
The Casa de Narino, located on the western side of the equally emblematic Carrera Septima between Eighth and Ninth Streets, in the heart of the historic center of the Colombian capital, is already open to citizens who wish to visit it through guided tours by prior appointment. What now remains is for the Ministry of Culture to issue the regulations needed to officially convert it into a museum.
Beginning in 1908, the building served as the seat of the Colombian government until 1954, when General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla ordered the Presidency to return to the San Carlos Palace. After renovations that began in 1972, the Casa de Narino once again became the president’s residence in 1979.
That same year, in tribute to the building, the Bank of the Republic issued the first series of 1,000-peso banknotes, featuring an image of the Casa de Narino on the reverse side. And on December 11 of that same year, Colombia’s first color television broadcast aired, beginning with an address by President Julio Cesar Turbay followed by images of the newly restored Presidential Palace.
Power gives way to historical memory
Now power, with all its intensity, is once again leaving the Casa de Narino to make way for the always peaceful presence of historical memory. From now on, and for an unknown period of time, the country’s intense political life will take place at the San Carlos Palace during the De la Espriella administration.
The move is not far. The San Carlos Palace is located at 10th Street and 5th Avenue, just a few steps from the Casa de Narino, also in the traditional La Candelaria neighborhood, in the heart of Bogota. It also has a rich history dating back to the late 16th century, when Francisco Porras Mejia, Archdeacon of the Cathedral of Santafe, ordered its construction.
Since then, the building has served many purposes: residence for elite colonial families, headquarters of the San Bartolome Seminary College, home to the first printing press and the Public Library of Santafe, as well as barracks for the Presidential Guard Battalion, responsible for the president’s security.
In November 1827, an earthquake destroyed the former Presidential Palace, prompting Simon Bolivar, then president, to authorize the purchase of the San Carlos Palace, which became the seat of government of Gran Colombia. The building was the setting for historic events such as the September Conspiracy of 1828, when a group attempted to assassinate Bolivar.
For most of the 19th century and until 1908, the San Carlos Palace served as both the official residence and headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic. Beginning that year, under the administration of Rafael Reyes, the presidential seat was moved to the Casa de Narino.
The fact is that the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia has alternated its principal seat between these two emblematic buildings. Perhaps that is of lesser importance: what matters to the Colombian people is that the decisions made there are the wisest, most democratic, and most beneficial for the nation’s citizens.