Aguachica (), is a small city and municipality in the southern region of the

Cesar Department Caesar Department ( es, Departamento del Cesar, links=no) or simply Caesar () is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with th ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. There is no historical support on the date of its foundation; however, August 16, 1748 has been chosen by the community.

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

(San Roque, in Spanish) is the patron saint of the municipality and August 16 is the date on which the Catholic Church celebrates its festival.

Geography

The municipality is located south of the

, between the Cordillera Oriental

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

mountains and the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

. The municipality of Aguachica borders to the north with the municipality of La Gloria and the

Department of North Santander North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. North Santander is bordered by Vene ...

(municipality of El Carmen); to the east with the municipality of

Rio de Oro Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

; to the south with Rio de Oro once again, with the municipality of

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

and the Department of Santander (municipality of

Puerto Wilches Puerto Wilches is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. References Municipalities of Santander Department {{Santander-geo-stub ...

) and to the west with the municipality of Gamarra and the

Department of Bolívar Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

(municipality of

Morales Morales is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfredo Morales (born 1990), American footballer * Alvaro Morales (disambiguation), several people * Amado Morales (born 1947), Puerto Rican javelin thrower * Bartolomé Mo ...

) covering a total area of 876 km², 3.8% of the total area of the Department of Cesar.Townhall of Aguachica: Generalities: Geography
The northern area of the municipality is mountainous part of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range with altitude varying between the 200 m and 2,150 m over sea level. The southern area of the municipality of Aguachica is predominantly flat with two major rivers flowing through the region; the

and the

Lebrija River Lebrija River is a river of northern Colombia. It originates in the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes in Piedecuesta and flows through the northern part of the department of Santander Department, Santander into ...

History

Pre-Columbian

The territory of present-day Aguachica was inhabited by

amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

Chimila tribes, before the Spanish conquerors arrived. This tribe was later brutally decimated by the Spanish.

Spanish conquest and colonization

During the first decades of the 17th century, the area was established as the

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

de San Roque by the Spanish and was owned by Don Antonio Garia de Bonilla, but due to pests and illnesses the settlement was moved a few hundred meters to the south. By 1722 the settlement had grown in the middle of an hacienda predominantly owned by Don Casimiro Ramos de Barahona (also spelled Barahoja). The settlement was serving now as a rest area for merchants traveling to and from the nearby fluvial port town of Gamarra and Ocaña (present-day

).Townhall of Aguachica: Generalities: History
On 1748, the settlement received the royal grant in favor of Jose Lazaro de Rivera and established as a Roman Catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. By this time the Spanish conqueror

Jose Fernando de Mier y Guerra Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

was ordered to "pacify" the Chimila indigenous groups and to reorganize some villages in the basin of the Magdalena river. These foundations and re-foundations were approved back then by

José Alfonso Pizarro José Alfonso Pizarro, Marquis del Villar (sometimes given as José Alonso Pizarro) (1689 in Murcia – 1762 in Madrid) was a Spanish naval officer and colonial administrator. From November 6, 1749 to November 24, 1753 he was viceroy of the Spanis ...

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

of the

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of New Granada ( es, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, links=no ) also called Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé was the name given on 27 May 1717, to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in norther ...

between 1749 and 1753. In 1753 the Spanish ordered the construction of houses in Aguachica and was made part of the Government of Santa Marta. Between 1798 and 1804 a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

swept most of the population causing the village to move to its present location. In 1914 became a municipality.

The Republic

By 1850 the first migrants arrived to Aguachica largely attracted by the plantations of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

in neighboring Ocaña,

Sovereign State of Santander Santander State was one of the states of Colombia. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern-day areas of the Santander Department and Norte de Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. Limits In 1863 it bordered: * ...

and also introduced agricultural and farming practices for commerce in the region. During the 1920s,

Petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

deposits were found in the area triggering another wave of migrants mostly from the neighboring departments of Colombia; Antioquia, Caldas,

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

North Santander North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a departments of Colombia, department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. North Santan ...

and Boyaca. During the 1950s the construction of the highway and the Magdalena railroad turned Aguachica into a strategic area between the Andean region and

Caribbean region The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of Colombia and is mainly composed of 8 departments located contiguous to the Caribbean. The 1960s were marked by the migration of people from the Department of Tolima mostly farmers interested in exploiting the land, developing large plantations of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, among other products. The economy grew, developing an economy based on agricultural products, commerce and services.

Colombian armed conflict

During the 1980s and early 1990s the region was influenced by the

Colombian armed conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left guerril ...

producing the displacement of people from the countryside and from neighboring regions of the southern

and the Department of Cesar into the municipality seat.

Politics

Administrative divisions

The municipality of Aguachica is subdivided into

Barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

s, Corregimientos (9) and Veredas (64).

Corregimiento ''Corregimiento'' (; ca, Corregiment, ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a '' corr ...
s

Barranca de Lebrija, Buturama, Campo Amalia, El Juncal, Loma de Corredor, Norean, Puerto Patiño, Santa Lucía, Villa de San Andrés (El Totumal).

Vereda Vereda () is a subdivisional administrative part of a municipality in Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast ...
s

Barcelona, Bombiadero, Cañada Ospina, Caracol, Costa Rica, El Corral, El Tope, Esmeralda Alta, Honduras, Cascabela, La Pajuila, La Ye, Las Bateas, Las Margaritas, Los Caliches, Los Llanos, Marinilla, Palmira, Peralonso, Soledad, Quebrada Seca, San Benito, San José, San Pablo, Santa Inés, Bella Vista, Campoalegre, Caño Caracolí, Cerro de los Bustos, El Carbón, El Faro, Esmeralda, Guaduas, La Bocatoma, Santo Domingo, La Unión, La Yegüerita, Las Latas, Las Piñas, Los Columpios, Maligüal, Palenquillo, Peñoncito, Planadas – Limoncito, Sabana de Caballeros, Puros Altos, San Francisco, San Lorenzo, San Pedro, La Ceiba, Cerro Bravo, La Morena, Las Adjuntas, Lucaicál, San Miguel, Santa Lucia, Villa Nueva, Boquerón, Cerro Redondo, La Campana, La Yegüera, Mucuras, Santa Bárbara, Santa Rosa.

Heritage Sites

Aguachica has religious sites such as Cerro de la Cruz () in which religious traditions are practiced and where the pilgrimage of parishioners from the municipality begins, in addition to the San Roque Parish, this building, built in the hacienda of the same name, is considered the starting point of the establishment of the church and history of Aguachica. In the book "Floresta de la Santa Iglesia Catedral de la Ciudad y Provincia de Santa Marta" by José Nicolás de la Rosa, which was written between 1736 and 1738, is one of the first records documenting the existence of the San Roque Parish. By 1748, Aguachica was officially assigned as a parish. Another religious temple in Aguachica is the Church of Maria Auxiliadora established by the

Comboni Missionaries The term ''Comboni Missionaries'' can refer to either of two religious orders founded by Saint Daniele Comboni: * Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus * Comboni Missionary Sisters The Comboni Missionary Sisters (S.M.C.; it, Suore Missionarie ...

, who in 1992, entered Aguachica to accompany the population, in 2006, the structure of the church was completed and was handed over to the Diocese of Ocaña. Another heritage site is the Eladio Vargas Cultural Center, which is in charge of documenting and preserving the history, traditions, culture and folkloric aspects of Aguachica, which has been in existence for more than 18 years.

Nature Reserves

Aguachica has a natural reserve of the Agüil Forest, which has 40 different species of butterflies and 88 types of birds. Currently the forest has 8 hectares in which there are 200 different species of plants. One of the main types of flowers found in the forest are

Acalypha ''Acalypha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole genus of the subtribe Acalyphinae. It is one of the largest euphorb genera, with approximately 450 to 462 species. The genus name ''Acalypha'' is from th ...

, Machaerium and

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae ...

Demographics

In the 2005 Census by the

DANE Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

the municipality of Aguachica had a total population of 80,789.DANE 2005 Census: Aguachica
The majority of the population 51% is female while 49% are male. Of these 0.1% considered itself of indigenous ancestry and 3.7% of

Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians or African-Colombians ( es, afrocolombianos, links=no) are Colombians of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent (Blacks, Mulattoes, Pardos, and Zambos). History Africans were enslaved in the early 16th Century in Colombi ...

ancestry.2005 DANE Census: Demographic statistics Municipality of Aguachica
87% of these 80,789 people living in houses, while 2.1% lived in apartment buildings and 10% in rented rooms. 4.8% of these homes were also used for home businesses. 90% of the municipality of Aguachica had electricity, 73% with sewage service, 87% had aqueduct services, 50% had natural gas services installed at home while 30% percent had a telephone line.

References

External links

Aguachica official website

2005 Census: Aguachica

{{Authority control Municipalities of Cesar Department Populated places established in 1748