Quindío () is a
department of
Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
mountains. Its capital is
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. It is famous for the quality of the coffee plantations, colorful architecture, benign weather, variety of hotel accommodations and tourist landmarks. This department is located in a strategic area, in the center of the triangle formed by the three main cities of the country:
Bogotá,
Medellín and
Cali. Quindío is the second-smallest Colombian department (0.2% of the national territory) with 12 municipalities. Ethnographically and culturally, it belongs to the
Paisa region
A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia, including part of the West and Central ''cordilleras'' of the Andes in Colombia. The Paisa region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. S ...
.
History
Before the Spanish invasion the entire area was inhabited by the peoples of the
Quimbaya civilization
The Quimbaya (/kɪmbaɪa/) were a small indigenous group in present-day Colombia noted for their gold work characterized by technical accuracy and detailed designs. The majority of the gold work is made in '' tumbaga'' alloy, with 30% copper, ...
until the 10th century B.C. At the time of Spanish conquest the area was inhabited by indigenous people of
Carib descent known as the Pijao tribes. The native population was gradually reduced due to slavery, armed confrontations, and massacres during the
Rubber boom
The Amazon rubber boom ( pt, Ciclo da borracha, ; es, Fiebre del caucho, , 1879 to 1912) was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related to the extraction and comm ...
, causing the territory to remain mostly uninhabited over the following centuries. At the present time, only a small population of nearly 2000
Amerindians
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 ...
remains in an indigenous reservation near
La Tebaida.
The first settlement to be founded in the area was
Salento
Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...
in 1842. In the 19th century northern peasants from
Antioquia set out to settle in the area and their goal was to stay there permanently in a process known as Colonización antioqueña (
Antioquian Colonisation
Antioquian may refer to any of several extinct and poorly attested or unattested languages of the Santa Fe de Antioquia region of Colombia. The languages were not necessarily related to each other. Languages, dialects, and ethnic names lumped un ...
). Due to the inaccessibility of the territory and the lack of roads, trade and communications were made through
mule caravans (
arriería
An ''arriero'', muleteer, or more informally a muleskinner ( es, arriero; pt, tropeiro; ca, traginer) is a person who transports goods using pack animals, especially mules.
Distribution and function
In South America, muleskinners transport ...
) or by porters such as the
silleros.
In 1905, the old Department of Antioquia was partitioned into two, giving rise to the new
Department of Caldas
Caldas () is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It is part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 998,255, and its area is 7,291 km². Caldas is ...
, which at the time included the modern department of
Risaralda. In 1908 Quindio territory, then in jurisdiction of the
Cauca Department
Cauca Department (, es, Departamento del Cauca) is a Department of Southwestern Colombia. Located in the southwestern part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department ...
, was annexed to Caldas department.
Also, see
list of Governors of the Department of Quindío
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
.
Municipalities
In order of population:
*
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, capital city. Named after the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
republic of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
.
*
Calarcá. Named after
Cacique (Chief) Calarca of the
Pijao people
The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people from Colombia.
Ethnography
The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In pre-Columbian tim ...
.
[ :es:Cacique Calarcá]
*
La Tebaida. Named after the
Thebaid
The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan.
Pharaonic history
The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...
region of
ancient Egypt.
*
Circasia. Named after the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
region of
Circassia
Circassia (; also known as Cherkessia in some sources; ady, Адыгэ Хэку, Адыгей, lit=, translit=Adıgə Xəku, Adıgey; ; ota, چرکسستان, Çerkezistan; ) was a country and a historical region in the along the northeast ...
.
*
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
. Named after the Balkan republic of
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
.
*
Quimbaya. Named after the indigenous
Quimbaya civilization
The Quimbaya (/kɪmbaɪa/) were a small indigenous group in present-day Colombia noted for their gold work characterized by technical accuracy and detailed designs. The majority of the gold work is made in '' tumbaga'' alloy, with 30% copper, ...
.
*
Salento
Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...
. Named after the
Salento
Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...
region in Italy.
*
Córdoba. Named after the
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
n city of
Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba (; ),, Arabic: قُرطبة DIN: . or Cordova () in English, is a city in Andalusia, Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. It is the third most populated municipality in Andalusia and the 11th overall in the country.
The ...
.
*
Pijao. Named after the
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 A ...
Pijao federation.
*
Génova. Named after the Italian city of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
.
*
Buenavista. Named after the Spanish city of
Buenavista de Valdavia.
*
Filandia. Named from the Latin words "filia" (daughter) and "Andia" (
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
), thus "daughter of the Andes" (the northernmost municipality of the department).
Geography
Most of its surface is occupied for the western face of the
Cordillera Central. Highest mountain: (
Nevado del Quindío) high. The lowest area is the valley of
La Vieja River, high.
This department consists entirely of mountain landscapes covered in tropical
rainforest and
Guadua bamboo forests. The ground is enriched with ancient volcanic eruptions, raising its fertility. There are also many rivers and streams, including the
Quindío River
Quindío River ( es, Río Quindío) is the principal river of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It combines with the Barragán River at the Valle de Maravelez to form La Vieja River, in turn a tributary of the Cauca River.
Quindío River Is ...
which rises in the
Cocora Valley.
The weather varies widely, having two rainy seasons (April and November) separated by two dry seasons. The annual precipitation is around and comes from the humidity of winds from the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
being cooled as they rise over the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
. The average temperature is between in the La Vieja river valley and in Salento.
Quindío wax palm tree
With law 61 of 1985, the Colombian Congress adopted the Quindío wax palm tree, ''
Ceroxylon quindiuense
''Ceroxylon quindiuense'', often called Quindío wax palm, is a palm native to the humid montane forests of the Andes in Colombia and northern Peru.
Description
This palm species can grow to a height of —or rarely, even as high as . It i ...
'', a local endangered species adapted to high altitudes, as the National Tree. As ratified on September 16, 1985, by the then president of Colombia,
Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas (4 February 1923 – 7 December 2018) was a Colombian politician who served as the 26th President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986. He was a member of the Colombian Conservative Party. His presidency was noted for its at ...
, the law states: "The species commonly known as the Quindío wax palm tree, scientific name Ceroxylon quindiuense, is declared the national tree and symbol of our fatherland. The national government is empowered to buy as much land as needed to create wildlife sanctuaries with the purpose of preserving this national symbol and its natural environment. It is forbidden to cut down the Quindío wax palm tree. The punishment for doing so shall be a fine and a term in jail"."
The Quindío wax palm tree was nearly driven to extinction by the extraction of the resinous substance that it exudes. Furthermore, its leaves were widely used for the celebration of
Holy Week processions, especially that of
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
.
Economy
Quindío's economy is based mainly in the harvest of
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
. It is one of the most important producers of
Colombian coffee
Coffee production in Colombia has a reputation for producing mild, well-balanced coffee beans. Colombia's average annual coffee production of 11.5 million bags is the third total highest in the world, after Brazil and Vietnam, though highe ...
. The department belongs to the
Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis
The Colombian coffee region ( es, Eje Cafetero), also known as the Coffee Triangle ( es, Triángulo del Café) is a part of the Paisa region in the rural area of Colombia. It is famous for growing and producing the majority of Colombian coffee ...
which is the center of production and export of the highest quality coffee in Colombia.
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 ...
,
cassava
''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 ...
, Salentune potato and
sugarcane are also cultivated, mostly for sale in local markets.
Tourism
*
Quimbaya museum
*
Colombian National Coffee Park
*
PANACA Panaca may refer to:
;In the United States
* Panaca, Nevada, an unincorporated town in Lincoln County
** Panaca Summit Archeological District, near the above community
* Panaca Formation, a geologic formation in Nevada
;Elsewhere
* PANACA, or (Spa ...
park
*
Cocora Valley
*
El Mariposario (Butterfly
vivarium
A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...
)
*
National Bamboo and Guadua Investigation Center
*
Peñas Blancas
*
Nevado del Quindío
Culture
Gastronomy
Some of the typical food and drinks are:
* Salentune Patacón, which is made with
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 ...
, smashed in a thin layer, fried and covered with grounded cheese and
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
sauce
* Quindian
arepa
''Arepa'' () is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in the northern region of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in the cuis ...
filled with shredded chicken and pieces of pig
chicharrón
(, , plural ; pt, torresmo ; fil, chicharon; ch, chachalon) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. may also be made from chicken, mutton or beef.
Name
, as a dish with sauce, or as finger-food snacks, ar ...
*
Cocora, which is a baked trout
* Maduro, which is a broiled plantain filled with cheese and Bocadillo (thick
guava jam)
* Roasted
gurre
*
Guatin stew
* Coffee wine (obtained from fermentation of coffee berries) with flavor similar to
coffee liqueur
Liqueurs are alcoholic beverages that are bottled with added sugar and have added flavours that are usually derived from fruits, herbs, or nuts. Liqueurs are distinct from eaux-de-vie, fruit brandy, and flavored liquors, which contain no add ...
* Coffee
arequipe
*
Corn chicha fermented in a large pottery recipient containing a
horseshoe to enhance the flavor
* Carajillo, a typical
cocktail made of one part of hot coffee, one part of sugarcane
aguardiente
( Spanish), or ( Portuguese) ( eu, pattar; ca, aiguardent; gl, augardente), is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It originates in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in ...
and
cinnamon sticks
Festivals and celebrations
Quindío department is the main exponent of traditional Cultura Cafetera (
coffee culture
Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the ...
) in the country. There are several events all around the year that attracts a large number of visitors to this region. With the purpose of preserving this cultural expression, the regional government promotes the declaration of Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO.
Among other events:
*The National Coffee Party is the main event of the department. It is celebrated each year since 1960 in Calarcá, the last days of June. The event includes the national beauty contest of coffee.
*The international fair of handcrafts, each may in Armenia.
*The day of St. Isidro (July-all the municipalities).
*The National festival of
kite
A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...
s (August- La Tebaida).
*The anniversary of Armenia (October), with the
Yipao or jeep parade.
*The
candlelight festival of Quimbaya (December) .
*The
Bullfighting season of La Macarena (January- Armenia).
The Quimbayan Christmas Panther
The Quimbayan Christmas Panther is an indigenous & sacred animal recognized by indigenous and
mestizo communities in the Quindío Department of Colombia. Belief in the Christmas Panther (el puma de navidad) has developed throughout the history of the Quimbayan holiday known as the Alumbrado de Navidad (see
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the sinless lifespan and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebr ...
), celebrated on the 7th of December in recognition of the Roman Catholic belief in the Immaculate Conception of Christ. It is believed that the significance of the puma stems from the arrival of ethnically Spanish colonialists from
Antioquia in the region during the 1850s. The colonialist's
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
traditions of using candlelight to celebrate the Immaculate Conception was combined with belief of the local Quimbaya tribe in the effect that fire (luces de fogota) had in protecting against
panther attacks as pumas and other local fauna are believed to fear fire. Thus, in an instance of religious
syncretism, the Alumbrado de Navidad and the symbolism of the puma to native peoples were linked. It is still a common practice to display the symbol of the panther (in the form of sculptures made of ''
terra cotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
'', cloth, plastic, etc.) in conjunction with the lighting of candles on the night of December the 7th. Such religious syncretism is especially visible in the rural
pueblos
The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zu ...
of Quindío where many residents claim full or partial descent from Quimbaya native peoples of the region.(the Quimbayan christmas panther is blue with yellow tail).
Fauna and Flora
Quindío is the natural habitat of 520 species of birds and about 60 species of mammals. Many of them are
endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
s. The area has the largest number of
Heliconia
''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...
species in the world and a large numbers of species of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
s, mainly of the genera
Cattleya
''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals.
Description
Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots grow. Ps ...
,
Odontoglossum,
Miltonia
''Miltonia'', abbreviated Milt. in the horticultural trade, is an orchid genus comprising twelve epiphyte species and eight natural hybrids. The miltonias are exclusively inhabitants of Brazil, except for one species whose range extends from Bra ...
,
Phragmipedium and
Peristeria. The natural forests typical of the area, such as the
páramo, and the
cloud forest, are decreasing progressively due to agricultural activities. As a result, many of the endemic species are threatened, endangered or critically endangered. Some of them are:
*
Yellow-eared parrot
*
Andean guan
*
Colombian weasel
*
Epicrionops columbianus caecilian
Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics o ...
*
Mano de Oso tree.
References
External links
Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango/Quindío
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quindio Department
Departments of Colombia
States and territories established in 1966