Albania (previously known as Calabacito from the Spanish meaning
Small Calabash tree) is a town and municipality of the
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 ...
n
Department
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, ...
of
La Guajira
La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...
. Is the youngest municipality of this Department along with the town of
Uribia
Uribia is town and municipality of the La Guajira department of Colombia. It is the youngest municipality of this Department since the year 2000. Northern Zone of the Cerrejón coal mines are located in this municipality. The municipality also con ...
and others, created on March 19, 2000. Albania neighbours and exclusive enclosed camp site for the
Cerrejón
Cerrejón is a large open-pit coal mine in Northern Colombia owned by Glencore. At Cerrejón, low-ash, low-sulphur bituminous coal from the Cerrejón Formation is excavated. At over the mine is one of the largest of its type, the largest in Lati ...
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
mine workers and their families, named Mushaisa.
Geography
The municipality of Albania is located in the
Guajira Peninsula
The Guajira Peninsula ( es, Península de La Guajira, links=no, also spelled ''Goajira'', mainly in colonial period texts, guc, Hikükariby) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean. It is the northernm ...
, northern Colombia presenting a predominantly flat and arid terrain by the steps of the
Serranía del Perijá
The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern Andean branch ( Cordillera Oriental), in northern South America, between Colombia and Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), offici ...
to the east and the
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...
to the west, within the basin of the
Ranchería River
The Ranchería River ( es, Río Ranchería) is a river located in northern La Guajira Department, Colombia. Born in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta southern steps flows south, abruptly turns northeast and then north where it finally flows into th ...
. The municipality of Albania limits to the north with the municipality of
Maicao
Maicao (Wayuu: ) is a city and municipality in the Department of La Guajira, northern Republic of Colombia. It is located 76 km from Riohacha, the capital of the department and is the second largest urban center near the border with Venezuela ...
; to the east with the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and Maicao; to the south with the municipalities of
Hatonuevo, to the west with the municipalities of Hatonuevo and
Riohacha
Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach waterf ...
.
The municipal seat is located at 72° 56’ east y 98° 08’ north. The municipality has a total area of 425 km². Since May, 2001 the Colombian government authorized an urban corridor between Albania and the locality of
Cuestecitas of approximately 95 km² pertaining to the mining zone. The municipality has one of the largest deposits of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
in Colombia.
History
The village of Calabacito was founded in the early 19th century and was first inhabited by indigenous groups pertaining to the
Cocinas,
Cariachiles and
Wayuu
The Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) are an Amerindian ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northernmost part of Colombia and northwest Venezuela. The Wayuu language is part of the Maipuran (Arawak) language family.
Geography
...
who, due to their
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
traditions abandoned the area. It was repopulated later by former African slaves or their descendants probably escaping from the settlements of Moreno, Tabaco or
Barrancas.
These first inhabitants were blacks or
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
s and probably came also from a settlement known as "''Soldado''" in the early 20th century by 1903 escaping from political persecution or the civil war itself in which Colombia was engulfed between 1899 and 1902 known as the "
Thousand Days' War
The Thousand Days' War ( es, Guerra de los Mil Días) was a civil war fought in Colombia from 17 October 1899 to 21 November 1902, at first between the Colombian Liberal Party, Liberal Party and the government led by the National Party (Colomb ...
".
The first settlers apparently were seeking to establish agricultural production. The area was largely populated by ''
Crescentia cujete
''Crescentia cujete'', commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant native to the Americas, that is grown in Africa, Central America, South America, the West Indies and extreme southern Florida. It is the national tree ...
'' (Calabash trees) colloquially known as ''Calabazos'' or ''Totumos''.
Politically and administratively, Albania was along the settlements of Manantial, Cuestecitas and Los Remedios under the mandate of the
Province of Santa Marta
Santa Marta Province was a province of New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia.
* New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717
*Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, ...
(
Sovereign State of Magdalena
The Magdalena State ( es, Estado del Magdalena) was one of the states of Colombia. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern-day areas of the departments of Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira, northern Colombia.
Provinces
* E ...
) until the year 1911 when it became part of the Special Commissary of La Guajira.
The name of Calabacito was changed in 1937 by a commissar of La Guajira named Eduardo Londoño Villegas, who named it after his wife Alba or as other version suggests, after the country in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
During the military dictatorship of Gen.
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian Army of Colombia, Army general, civil engineer and dictator who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia as from June 1953 to May 1957.
Rojas ...
, Albania was annexed officially by Decree 1824 of 1954 to the Special Commissary of La Guajira; integrated by
Uribia
Uribia is town and municipality of the La Guajira department of Colombia. It is the youngest municipality of this Department since the year 2000. Northern Zone of the Cerrejón coal mines are located in this municipality. The municipality also con ...
(then capital) and the village of
Maicao
Maicao (Wayuu: ) is a city and municipality in the Department of La Guajira, northern Republic of Colombia. It is located 76 km from Riohacha, the capital of the department and is the second largest urban center near the border with Venezuela ...
. Along Albania the villages of Cuestecitas and Manantial were also included through Executive Decree 807.
By Law 105 of December 12, 1960, the government of Colombia created the National Intendency of La Guajira, legalized by Decree 1824 by legislative act 1 of December 28 of the same year making La Guajira a department. The legislative act was officially enforced on July 1, 1965.
Albania became a municipality on March 27, 2000, by Ordinance 001 passed by the
Department Assembly of La Guajira
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, ...
, presented by then deputy
Alvaro Gustavo Rosado. The first Mayor of Albania was
Adel Enrique Pinto, designated by Decrere 080 of March 29, 2000.
Politics
Administrative divisions
Corregimientos
*Cuestecitas
*Los Remedios
*Porciosa
*Wareware
Veredas
*Urapa
*Paradero
*Santa Fé
*Amarre
*Campo Herrera
*Piedra Amarilla
Indigenous reserves
*Resguardo Indígena Wayúu de la Alta y Media Guajira
*Resguardo Indígena Wayúu Cuatro de Noviembre
Demographics
In 2001 the population of Albania was of approximately 8,637 inhabitants with 3,535 of these living in the seat of the municipality. There were 707 homes and some 807 families.
The area is a traditional territory of
Wayuu
The Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) are an Amerindian ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northernmost part of Colombia and northwest Venezuela. The Wayuu language is part of the Maipuran (Arawak) language family.
Geography
...
indigenous tribe influence.
In the 2005 census, 67% of people in the municipality of Albania lived in houses, 19% in apartments and 13% in a studio or rented room. 6.1% of these had a home based economy. 72% of the population had electricity service, 43% had sewer services, 66% had aqueduct service, 27% had natural gas service and 24% had a home telephone.
the population of Albania in terms of gender is made up by 51% of males and 49% of females, presenting a relatively young population. 29% of these considered itself indigenous while a 10%
mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
,
raizal
The Raizal are an Afro-Caribbean ethnic group from the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, off of Colombia's Caribbean coast. They are recognized by the Colombian authorities as one of the Afro-Colombian ethnic groups und ...
or
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 ...
.
Education
Colegio Albania, an American international school, is in Albania, within the Mushaisa residential complex.
References
External links
albania-laguajira.gov.co/ Albania official websiteAlbania: Generalities expanded
{{coord, 11.1597, N, 72.5856, W, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title
Municipalities of La Guajira Department
Populated places established in 1801