The town of Palenque de San Basilio, with a population of about 3,500 inhabitants, is located on the buttresses of the Montes de María, southeast of the regional capital Cartagena. Palenque de San Basilio was one of those fortified communities called "palenques", which were founded by runaway slaves as a refuge in the seventeenth century. Of the many palenques that existed in earlier times, only that of San Basilio has survived until today, becoming a unique cultural space. Its cultural space encompasses social, medical and religious practices, as well as musical and oral traditions, many of which have African roots. The social organisation of the community is based on family networks and age groups called ma-kuagro. The membership of the kuagro implies a whole system of rights and duties towards the other members of the group, but also a strong internal solidarity. All members of the kuagro undertake daily work and jointly organise particular events. The complex funeral rituals and medical practices are testimonies of the different spiritual and cultural systems that frame life and death in the community of Palenque. Musical expressions such as the “sitting Bullernege”, the “Son palenquero” or the “Son de negro” accompany collective celebrations such as baptisms, weddings and religious parties, as well as leisure activities. An essential element is the Palenquera language, the only Creole language in the Americas that combines a Spanish lexical base with the grammatical characteristics of Bantu languages. This language constitutes a primary factor that reinforces social cohesion among community members.