Champán on the Magdalena RiverDe la Rue & Torres Méndez

This 1878 lithograph depicts a champán , a flat-bottomed river raft common on the Magdalena River, propelled by Afro-Colombian workers using long poles. Wealthy passengers rest under a thatched shelter, highlighting the stark racial and class divisions of the era. The image captures both Colombia’s natural landscape and its colonial labor hierarchies in transition.