The idea for this book was born after participation in the course on preservation of monuments in the Caribbean area PIC I, held between June - August 1986 in Gainesville-Florida, United States, in which we were left with the concern of collecting somehow related to the general problems that contribute to the deterioration of our colonial buildings in Cartagena. Then arose the need to consider and question the knowledge of what is ours, of the construction problems and their possible solutions, which due to our negligence, has made us appear defenseless before the action of time, the agents that affect the construction process. deterioration of our historical heritage.This need for recognition has been previously reaffirmed by the Puebla Declaration, the Mexican Committee for Monuments and Sites, the University of Puebla, as well as the ICOMOS Committees in Latin America since 1978.