President Alfonso Lopéz Michelsen had lived in Mexico before assuming the highest office in the land. During his years there as an Ambassador, he developed an appreciation for heritage sites and gathered extensive knowledge on what to do in the event that someone in Colombia should make a landmark discovery.
In 1976, Alvaro Soto walked into the Presidential Palace with a series of photographs and handed them over to the President. Bemused by “some stones covered by the jungle,” as Soto recalls, the president remarked: “Is that a city?” “I am sure,” responded the archeologist.
The fate of ‘Ciudad Perdida’ was sealed. It was either the moment to save the site or see it disappear forever. After several phone calls to the then head of the National Planning office, Miguel Urrutia, President Lopéz raised U.S. $2 million to excavate, restore and preserve ‘Ciudad Perdida.’ According to Soto, the “total rescue was very cheap.”
Alvaro Soto’s important discovery helped change the way Colombia viewed its considerable archaeological patrimony.
For the archaeologist it was essential that the funds needed for the expedition and recovery came from home. As a symbol of immense national identity, Colombia had to show the world that it could undertake a large restoration project of Ciudad Perdida without “begging” for international funds.
Soto was also sensitive to the environmental issues of the Sierra and, with 100 workers at his command, needed to have a direct channel of communication with the president. “Once you open a path, everyone follows,” claims the archeologist. To avoid contaminating the rainforest and opening tracks through the Sierra, Soto used helicopters to transport workers and materials needed at the dig.
The archeologist soon found himself immersed in sea of green and red tape. Just running the logistics of the operation was as time consuming as removing layer upon layer of jungle growth. “Anthropologists need courses in business administration,” laughs Soto, as he cinematically recounts the early days of Ciudad Perdida.
With protection for staff and workers from the Córdoba Corps of the Colombian Army, the dawning of the immensity of the discovery came one night, when Soto wandered off in the moonlight to look at a segment of the stone terrace. Eager to show his soldier-guide the magnificence of the looming monument, young ‘Tascón’ seemed hardly impressed.
“Doctor, this is nothing to write home about,” said the army recruit. Caught off guard by the remark, Tascón continued. “When I was stationed in the South Bolívar hills, I wandered off one night while on duty to take a leak. There, in the heart of the jungle, I saw terraces much higher than these.” The innocence of the startling comments by the soldier confirmed another of Soto’s theories: that Ciudad Perdida was one of many “lost” cities scattered across Colombia.
In 1976, Ciudad Perdida was officially “discovered” with a clear mandate by Soto-Holguín and President Lopéz that it would not become a tourist attraction. “I didn’t want to create a Disneyland with terraces,” remarks Soto.
The first stage of the Ciudad Perdida recovery lasted three years. From 1976 to 1979, walls were put back in place, roads unearthed and forest areas where other archeological sites existed protected. The second stage saw the creation of the Tayrona Culture Foundation, a private nonprofit entity working with the University Los Andes, as well as the environmental agency Inderena, the Institute of Culture (Colcultura) and persons dedicated to the cause of the Sierra. Up until 1980, important areas of the Lost City were recovered and a detailed map emerged of Tayrona culture.
After six years and the dedication of dozens of workers, students and scientists, Colombians elected a new government and priorities shifted from preserving the Sierra Nevada to fighting marijuana production in the Tayrona foothills.
