Plaza de los Fundadores

The Plaza de los Fundadores is the central square of Valledupar, fronted by the cathedral and surrounded by the older buildings of the city. In the evenings — especially on weekends — it fills with people, and vallenato drifts out from the surrounding bars. It is the kind of plaza that works best at night, when the heat lifts a little and the music starts.

The square hosts open-air concerts during the festival season and on public holidays. The surrounding streets have the best concentration of restaurants and bars in the city.

things to do sight
A story
The statue of Francisco el Hombre (Francisco the Man) in the plaza celebrates a legendary vallenato accordionist who is said to have defeated the devil in a musical duel at the edge of a river one night. The devil challenged him to a mano a mano on the accordion; Francisco played the Creed backwards to confound him and won. The legend became the title of a Gabriel García Márquez story, and the statue has stood here since the 1980s.