Wender·Vista
Cúcuta
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileColombia
on the Venezuelan border, in northeastern Colombia

Cúcuta

— — the city where a country was written.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Cúcuta sits in a hot valley against the Venezuelan border, the kind of city where the afternoon air slows everything down. The streets are laid out on a low grid, the trees are old, and the bridge across the Táchira River carries an endless slow line of foot traffic. In 1821, in a small church up the road at Villa del Rosario, the Congress that wrote the Constitution of Gran Colombia met under a tamarind tree that is still standing.

from the studio
Cúcuta
— bring it home

Cúcuta, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Cúcuta

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Cúcuta is the capital of the Norte de Santander department in northeastern Colombia, set at about 320 metres above sea level in a hot valley pressed against the Venezuelan frontier. The municipality has a population near 800,000, making it the country's sixth-largest city and by far the largest on the border. It was founded in 1733 by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar and was almost entirely rebuilt after the magnitude 6.8 earthquake of 18 May 1875 levelled the colonial centre. The Simón Bolívar International Bridge crosses the Táchira River into the Venezuelan state of Táchira.

— informed by Wikipedia — Cúcuta
— the year

The Congress of Cúcuta met from 6 May to 14 October 1821 in the small Templo de Santo Domingo at Villa del Rosario, about ten kilometres south of the current city centre. The Congress drafted the Constitution of Cúcuta, the founding charter of Gran Colombia, which united present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama under one government. Simón Bolívar was elected President and Francisco de Paula Santander Vice-President. The site is now the Parque de la Gran Colombia, where the ruined church wall, the Casa Natal de Santander, and the historic Tamarind of Gran Colombia tree are preserved.

— the visit

Cúcuta is served by Camilo Daza International Airport, with regular flights from Bogotá and Medellín. The Parque de la Gran Colombia at Villa del Rosario is reached by a short taxi or city bus from the centre and entry to the grounds is free. The Simón Bolívar Bridge is the main pedestrian and vehicle crossing to San Antonio del Táchira in Venezuela, with crossing conditions varying with bilateral relations. The climate is tropical and warm year round, with daytime highs around 32 degrees Celsius and a drier window between December and March.

— where
Colombia · Cúcuta, Norte de Santander
— elevation
320 m
— position
7.8900° N · 72.5000° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
10 km S
Villa del Rosario
historic site
12 km SE
Simón Bolívar Bridge
border crossing
at the lake
Catedral de San José
cathedral
75 km SW
Pamplona
colonial town
N
Cúcuta
Villa del Rosario
Simón Bolívar Bridge
Catedral de San José
Pamplona
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cúcuta — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Cúcuta is the capital of Norte de Santander department in northeastern Colombia, on the Venezuelan border at about 320 metres elevation. It is the country's largest border city, roughly 555 kilometres northeast of Bogotá.

The Congress of Cúcuta met at Villa del Rosario from May to October 1821 and drafted the Constitution of Gran Colombia, founding the union of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama under Simón Bolívar.

Cúcuta was founded on 17 June 1733 by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar. The colonial centre was destroyed by the magnitude 6.8 Cúcuta earthquake on 18 May 1875 and rebuilt on a low grid plan in the years that followed.

It is a tamarind tree on the grounds of the Parque de la Gran Colombia at Villa del Rosario, traditionally identified as the tree under which Simón Bolívar rested during the Congress of Cúcuta in 1821.

Cúcuta has a hot tropical climate with daytime highs around 32 degrees Celsius year round and warm nights. The driest months run from December through March; rains peak in April–May and again in September–October.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Cúcuta carries strong meaning for families on both sides of the Táchira River. The piece has been a thoughtful gift for the diaspora. A Medium or Large holds the city without overstating it.

Yes. The Congress of Cúcuta is a founding moment of Gran Colombia and a Bolivarian touchstone. The piece sits well in a study or library belonging to a historian, a teacher, or a Bolivarian-history reader.

The warm valley palette and red-tile colour family work in Spanish-Colonial interiors, in Latin-Modern rooms with terracotta and dark wood, and in Library-Traditional studies with leather and brass.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads cleanly. For a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural opens the valley horizon. A 9-tile Mural anchors a feature wall and lets the city breathe at scale.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any installation that sees steam or splashes. Both are scratch-resistant and hold up to daily cleaning without losing the depth of colour.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia or bleach cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface itself and will not fade with normal handling or daily light.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in-house under Reid Wender's eye, in a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We don't license artwork in or out.

— if this one stayed with you

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