Teresa Román Vélez

Biography

Teresita Román began working at the Colombian Red Cross in the Department of Bolivar in the mid 1960s. She founded the association "Damas Grises" and was its regional president from 1992 to 2000. After that she was named Honorary National President. Throughout her life she has been awarded numerous prizes, both for her enormous contribution to Colombian culture and its preservation, as well as for her active public life which has been dedicated to those who need it the most and for the preservation of Colombia's most valuable treasure: the city of Cartagena. In 2006 she was named Honorary Mayor of the City of Cartagena de Indias.

Publications

In 1963, she published the first edition of Cartagena de Indias en la Olla, her very first cookbook which has since been published in 45 editions, both in Spanish and English. Cartagena de Indias en la Olla has been recognized with numerous awards all over Colombia and in the United States. In 1998 she published Mis Postres, a small cookbook entirely dedicated to desserts, almost entirely to chocolate. In 2004, she received a distinction from the Popayan Cooking Festival for her work to preserve the native cuisine of Cartagena. Teresita Román de Zurek also belongs to the internationally renowned Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.

Casa Museo Rafael Núñez

The Fundación Casa Museo del Cabrero, is the organization that works for the preservation of the legacy of Colombian President Rafael Nuñez. It was founded by the late historian Eduardo Lemaitre and after his death succeeded by Teresita Román de Zurek. The historic Rafael Nuñez House, a museum, is located in the Cabrero neighborhood in Cartagena.