Is Macondo a real town in Netflix's One Hundred Years of Solitude? Explained

Eight episodes of One Hundred Years of Solitude season 1 were released on Netflix on December 11, 2024. Based on Gabriel García Márquez’s 1967 novel of the same name, the magic realist series tells the story of the Buendía family across several generations.

Thanks to the popularity of the novel, the town of Macondo has left an indelible mark on popular culture. It is in Macondo where the plot of the series unfolds, leading viewers to wonder if it is a real town after all.

Though essentially fictional in nature, Macondo is a very real town within the story and becomes almost a character in itself. Read on to learn more about the setting of the story and how it affects the plot.

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Macondo plays an important role in One Hundred Years of Solitude

The town of Macondo is inextricably intertwined with the story of the Netflix series. The narrative follows the saga of the Buendía family, and Macondo serves as their home. It is José Arcadio Buendía, the patriarch of the family, who founds the town alongside his wife and companions.

His second son, Aureliano Buendía, becomes the first person ever born in the town. It is Macondo where the personal and public drama concerning the Buendía family would unfurl across several generations.

When One Hundred Years of Solitude opens, Macondo is a small settlement with a tiny population. Gradually, it becomes a robust place thriving with people of all sorts. Eventually, a banana plantation is set up here too.

Initially an isolated place sheltering a few individuals, Macondo becomes a busy settlement, which ultimately leads to its ruin. Thus, even though the town itself is fictional, it has concrete impacts on the story within its world.

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Macondo has real-life roots

The town did not first appear in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Rather, it was first introduced in Márquez's short story "Leaf Storm." It also received mention in In Evil Hour, published one year before the author’s magnum opus.

Later, Macondo would serve as a setting in many of his stories. It is believed that Macondo is based on García Márquez's own childhood town, Aracataca, located near the north coast of Colombia, 80 km south of Santa Marta.

On June 26, 2006, the BBC reported that there was an attempt to rename Aracataca as Macondo. However, the attempt eventually failed due to low turnout.

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One Hundred Years of Solitude: Synopsis, cast, streaming options

The official synopsis of the series reads:

In the mythical town Macondo, seven generations of the Buendía family navigate love, oblivion and the inescapability of their past — and their fate.

The cast of the series includes:

• Claudio Cataño as Colonel Aureliano Buendía
• Gino Montesinos as Melchiades the Alchemist
• Ruggero Pasquarelli as Pietro Crespi
• Jackie Quinones as Úrsula Iguarín
• Moreno Borja as Melquiades
• Diego Vásquez as José Arcadio Buendía
• Marleyda Soto as Úrsula Iguarán
• Eduardo De Los Reyes as Aureliano Buendia
• Akima Maldonado as Rebeca Adulta
• Édgar Vittorino as Jose Arcadio
• Marco González as Jose Arcadio Buendía
• Jerónimo Barón as Aureliano Buendía

The episodes of the series can only be streamed on Netflix. The Netflix Standard with ads plan starts at $6.99 per month, while the Standard and Premium plans cost $15.49 and $22.99 per month, respectively.

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