Fontibon is the 9th locality of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. It is located in the west of the city. This district is mostly inhabited by low and middle class residents.

Etymology

The origin of the city's name can be traced to 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 ...

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a S ...

Huintiva'' or ''Hyntiba'' (meaning "powerful cacique" in Muysccubun) and the mutation of the word to its present spelling, being this among other names such as Ontibon and Hontibón.Etymology localities of Bogotá

History

Fontibón was part of the southern

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. T ...

in the times before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

. It was incorporated into the newly formed capital district of Bogotá on December 17, 1954. Fontibon was the gate to the current city of Bogotá founded as Santa Fe de Bogotá, for

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, ...

Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada and his fellow expeditioners. The city was cradle to the residence of

Peter Claver Peter Claver, SJ ( es, Pedro Claver y Corberó; ca, Pere Claver i Corberó; 26 June 1580 – 8 September 1654) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary born in Verdú ( Catalonia, Spain) who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint ...

. Little by little the community became one of the most idolizing and religious. The city started to expand, and in the sixteenth century it was divided into 22 "capitanias". Fontibon's original maps constitute one of Colombia's oldest documents. In the year 1956, Fontibon was merged with Bogotá, losing its status as "associate town".

Economy

The neighborhood has the headquarters of

SATENA SATENA (acronym of ''Servicio Aéreo a Territorios Nacionales'') is a Colombian government-owned airline based in Bogotá, Colombia. It operates mostly domestic routes. Its main hub is El Dorado International Airport. History SATENA was firs ...

.Satena
." City of Bogota. Retrieved on January 20, 2011. "Avenida El Dorado # 103 – 08."

Monuments

* Fontibón Cathedral * San Antonio Bridge

Transportation

The city is still far away from Bogota's major mass transport system, the

TransMilenio TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and Soacha. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Caracas Avenue and 80 street. Other lines were added gradually over the next s ...

. Fontibon's main highway leads to

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontibon Localities of Bogotá Muysccubun