La Jagua del Pilar (), literally "The Jagua of the

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

", is a town and municipality in 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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

. The municipality has a total area of 187 km² and located some 450 meters over sea level and with an average temperature of 27 °C. La Jagua del Pilar became a municipality of La Guajira in 1998. Government of La Guajira: La Jagua del Pilar

Geography

The municipality of La Jagua del Pilar is located in the southern area of 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 ...

limiting to the north with the municipality of

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; 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 to the south and west with the

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

covering a total area of 152 km². The area of the municipality is mostly flat with some mountains near 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 ...

mountain range and crossed by the Perija and Marquezote rivers and the

Los Martires stream LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

, among others. The municipality seat is located some 450 m above sea level.

Climate

The average temperature in the municipality is 28 °C throughout the year, presenting two rainy season and two dry seasons. Climate also varies depending on mountain altitude.

History

The area of the present-day municipality of La Jagua del Pilar was populated by indigenous peoples pertaining to the

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 ...

and Wiwas ethnic groups. During the period of Independence from Spain the area was a farm owned by María de la Concepción Loperena Ustariz, from

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Caesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. ...

, one of the few women who supported the independence movement of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

. Loperena donated more than a hundred horses to the Patriot army. She also donated her state to build a new settlement which was named "''La Jagua del Pedregal''". The new settlement was established by Don Manuel José Fernández de Castro and Don Bartolo Ustariz on October 12, 1795. The name was later changed to La jagua del Pilar to honor Virgin Mary,

Our Lady of the Pillar Our Lady of the Pillar ( es, Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 4 ...

. La Jagua del Pilar: History
On May 6, 1998, the corregimiento of La Jagua del Pilar became a municipality, segregating from the municipality of

Urumita ) , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = Flag of Urumita (La Guajira).svg , image_seal = Escudo de Urumita.svg , image_map = C ...

by ordinance 018 of the same year declared 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, ...

and is covered also by Law 14 of 1969 also known as the "Frontiers Law" for having boundaries with

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 ...

Economy

The economy is based primarily on agriculture.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

ranching is practiced mostly extensively and in

latifundio A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious" and ''fundus'', "farm, estate") is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, o ...

s. The main agricultural products are

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 ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

and

yuca ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

Culture

La Jagua del Pilar venerates the "''Virgen del Carmen''" (Virgin of Carmen) a local Roman Catholic tradition on July 16 of each year. Every October 12 of each year the municipality also celebrates the

along the Vela del Marquezote festival. La Jagua del Pilar: Culture

References

External links

La Jagua del Pilar official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Jagua Del Pilar Municipalities of La Guajira Department