, image_map = Colombia - Cundinamarca - Soacha.svg , map_caption = Location of Soacha in Cundinamarca , pushpin_map = Colombia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 =

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, ...

, subdivision_name1 = Cundinamarca , subdivision_type2 =

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, subdivision_name2 =

Soacha , image_map = Colombia - Cundinamarca - Soacha.svg , map_caption = Location of Soacha in Cundinamarca , pushpin_map = Colombia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_nam ...

, established_title = Founded , established_date = 15 August 1600 , founder = Luis Enríquez , government_type =

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Juan Carlos Saldarriaga Gaviria
(2016-2019) , area_total_km2 = 184.45 , area_urban_km2 = 19 , elevation_m = 2565 , elevation_ft = , population_total = 808288 , population_as_of = 2016 , population_density_km2 = auto , population_urban = 516435 , population_density_urban_km2 = auto , population_demonym = Suachuno , area_code = 57 + 1 , website
Official website
, footnotes = Soacha is an autonomous municipality of the

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 Cundinamarca, and part of the

Metropolitan Area of Bogotá Metropolitan Area of Bogotá is the metropolitan area of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá, usually used for statistical analysis or technical use. It is not a formal administrative division and its limits are therefore not defined. The st ...

. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working-class families. Soacha borders

Bojacá Bojacá is a municipality and town of the Western Savanna Province, Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna at from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Zipacón, ...

and

Mosquera Mosquera is a Spanish surname (first name) originally from Galicia (Spain). The family crest states (Spanish) Gallego. It derives from the mansion of the family's founder, Ramiro de Mosquera. In the fifth century, it was already linked to ''Moscos ...

to the north,

Sibaté Sibaté () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Soacha Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Sibaté is located on the Bogotá savanna with the urban centre at an altitude of and a distance of from the capital Bogotá. I ...

and

Pasca Pasca is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia located in the Andes. It belongs to the Sumapaz Province. Pasca is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. It borders Fusag ...

to the south, to the east the capital Bogotá and to the west

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

San Antonio del Tequendama San Antonio del Tequendama is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Tequendama Province part of the department of Cundinamarca. The municipality is located along the ''Serranía de Subía'' in the Tena Valley and borders Tena and Bojac� ...

Demographics

With a population of 808,288 inhabitants (census 2022), it is one of the biggest cities in Cundinamarca.

Etymology

The name Soacha is derived from the

Chibcha The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

words ''Súa'', name of Sun god

Sué Sué, Xué, Sua, Zuhe or Suhé was the deity, god of the Sun in the Muisca religion and mythology, religion of the Muisca. He was married to Moon goddess Chía (goddess), Chía.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.4, p.33 The Muisca people, Muisca and their Mu ...

, and ''chá'' which means "man"; "Man of the Sun". The original name ''Suecha'' has been changed to Soacha over time.Official website Soacha
/ref>

History

Soacha was inhabited first by indigenous groups during the

Herrera Period The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and ceramic, time equivalent of the North American pre-Columbian formative and classic stages and age dated by various archaeologists. The Herrera Per ...

and later became an important village in the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', '' iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The ...

, the former country of the

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

before the arrival of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s. The ''

zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the n ...

'' of Bacatá (now known as Bogotá) ruled over Soacha. Modern Soacha was founded on 15 August 1600. It gained national notoriety after the

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

Luis Carlos Galán Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento (29 September 1943 – 18 August 1989) was a Colombian liberal politician and journalist who ran for the Presidency of Colombia on two occasions, the first time for the political movement New Liberalism that he fou ...

was assassinated on August 18, 1989 while visiting the city during his presidential campaign. Also during 1989, the bombing of

Avianca Flight 203 Avianca Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia. It was destroyed by a bomb over the municipality of Soacha on November ...

happened in Soacha, killing everyone on-board plus three Soacha residents. The bombing was planned by Cartel de Medellin leader

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar is the wealthiest criminal in h ...

, who intended to murder presidential candidate

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Di ...

, who was supposed to be on board. Gaviria had decided not to fly and instead went on to become President of Colombia. In 2008, the 'false positives' scandal broke when 22 men from Soacha who had been recruited for work were found dead several hundreds of miles away. They had been killed by the military and presented to authorities as guerrilla fighters (insurgents) killed in battle, in order to increase action head counts. Similar cases have since appeared all over the country.

Modern development

Ciudad Verde is a development project for the lower middle class (''estrato 3'') residents of Soacha with housing, parks and playgrounds. The project started in 2010 and is scheduled to be finished at the end of 2016.

Food

Soacha has a specific neighborhood name Soacha Parque and it is the most important place that most of the people that go to Bogota have to go. In Soacha Parque their specialty are different kind of traditional desserts, some of them are almojabanas and

buñuelo A ''buñuelo'' (; alternatively called ''boñuelo'', ''bimuelo'', ''birmuelo'', ''bermuelo'', ''bumuelo'', ''burmuelo'', or ''bonuelo''; ca, bunyol, ) is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical co ...

s, they are some kind of bread. Also, Soacha is famous because of the arequipe that is dulce de leche but arequipe is home version. There is the largest logistics center in the coffee world.

Born in Soacha

Luz Marina Bernal Luz Marina Bernal Parra (born 1960) is a Colombian peace and human rights activist, a founding member of the group ( es, Madres de Soacha, links=no). She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and has been a champion of the struggle of wo ...

(born 1960), peace and human rights activist, founder of the *

Walter Pedraza Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (born November 27, 1981 in Soacha) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for Colombian amateur team Team Cartagena. Pedraza is a two-time winner of the Colombian National Road Race C ...

Demographics

Etymology

History

Modern development

Food

Born in Soacha

Arts and Culture

Films

Gallery

References

External links