Javier Ocampo López (born 19 June 1939) is a Colombian historian, writer,

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

and professor. He has been important in the fields of Colombian folklore and history of Latin America and Colombia, especially contributing on the department of Boyacá, the homeland of the Muisca and their

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

.Curriculum Vitae – Javier Ocampo López
– Retrieved 23 April 2016 He wrote exclusively in Spanish.List of works by Javier Ocampo López
– WorldCat – Retrieved 23 April 2016

Biography

Javier Ocampo López was born in Aguadas, a village famous for the '' pasillo'' (a Colombian type of

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

), in the department of Caldas in west-central Colombia to parents Francisco Ocampo Gutiérrez and Doña Teresa López Hurtado. He has one brother, Fabio. In 1956 he finished his secondary education as best student of his class. Ocampo has played the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

since the age of twelve and was a member of the music group of his village of birth. Ocampo began his higher studies in 1956 at the ''Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Económicas'' ("Faculty of Social and Economical Sciences") of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia. He obtained his degree in

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

. Ocampo López obtained his PhD at

El Colegio de México El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. The college was founded in 1940 by the Me ...

in 1969 with his thesis titled ''Las ideas de un día. El pueblo mexicano ante la consumación de su independencia'' ("Ideas of one day. The Mexican people before the consummation of their independence"). Over the course of 57 years, Ocampo López has been the author of 100 books, co-authored 47, and published 200 studies in specialized literature and national and international newspapers.Javier Ocampo, 'Señor historiador' con más de 100 libros de su autoría – 2013
– El Tiempo – Retrieved 23 April 2016 In 1960 he taught at the ''Colegio Nacional Académico'' in Cartago ( Valle del Cauca). From 1963 he taught at the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia in Tunja. Ocampo wrote several biographies about Colombian historical figures; presidents, generals and others; Antonio Villavicencio, Julián Trujillo Largacha, Santos Gutiérrez, María Antonia Santos Plata, Manuel Antonio Sanclemente, Eustorgio Salgar, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, Manuel Rodríguez Torices, Antonio José de Sucre, José Miguel Pey, José Manuel Marroquín, Carlos Holguín, José de Obaldía, José Eusebio Otálora. A public library in his birthplace Aguadas has been named in his honour.

Works

This list is a selection.

Books

* 2013 – ''Mitos y leyendas indígenas de Colombia'' * 2011 – ''El proceso ideológico de la independencia'' * 2007 – ''Grandes culturas indígenas de América'' * 2006 – ''El folclor y las fiestas en Colomba'' * 2006 – ''Mitos, leyendas y relatos colombianos'' * 2001 – ''Mitos y leyendas de Antioquia la Grande'' * 1996 – ''Leyendas populares colombianas'' * 1977 – ''El pueblo boyacense y su folclor''

Articles

* 1993 – ''Fiestas religiosas y romerías. El abigarrado mundo de las devociones populares en Colombia'' * 1974 – ''El proceso ideológico de la emancipación'' * 1970 – ''La artesanía popular boyacense y su importancia en la geografía turística y económica''''La artesanía popular boyacense y su importancia en la geografía turística y económica''
– Retrieved 23 April 2016

References

Notable works by Ocampo López

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocampo Lopez 1939 births 21st-century Colombian historians 20th-century Colombian historians Colombian folklorists Scholars of the Muisca civilization Living people National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia people Muisca mythology and religion