Yolombó is a town and

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 ...

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, ...

of Antioquia. It is part of the subregion of Northeastern Antioquia, located 108 km from

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 ...

History

Yolombó is an indigenous term that comes from the area. In 1535, Don Pedro de Heredia, the founder of

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

, discovered, in the Antioquian region, a village of indigenous people of the same name, Yolombó. The town was initially called, "San Lorenzo de Yolombó." No official date of its founding is known to exist. In the middle of the 17th century, gold was found in the area and made Yolombó a celebrated and important town. Parish records revealed the growing prominence of the town by the settlement of high ranking Spanish families. Up until 1750, its prosperity earned Yolombó the name, Ciudad Illustre (Illustrious City). However, the prosperity was short-lived. Between 1760 and 1800 the gold mines were depleted with the advent and use of efficient mining technology. Following this economic decline, Yolombó was downgraded to a township of the city

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

in 1879 until 1883. In 1883 Yolombó was once again promoted to the status of District and Township and it has remained as such until 2009 when it became a

. Yolombó has a diverse climate and rich biodiversity. At 1,450 km above sea level, the mountainous landscape offers both scorching and frigid temperatures. It is known for its exotic agriculture, forests full of medicinal plants and precious wood, and it is also a land that is abundant in water and pasture.

Demographics

Total Population: 23,958 (2015) * Urban Population: 7,216 * Rural Population: 16,742 Total Literacy Rate: 84.3% (2005) * Urban Literacy Rate: 90.5% * Rural Literacy Rate: 81.5% According to

DANE Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

census records from 2005, the racial makeup of Yolombó is composed of: *

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

(98.0%) * Afrocolombian (1.9%) *

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

(0.1%)

Climate

Yolombó has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Notable residents

* Sofía Medina de López – Colombian politician, first female

Mayor of Medellín This is a list of mayors of Medellín, Colombia. Ordinary mayors of Villa de la Candelaria Until 1863, the administrator of Medellin was known as the Ordinary Mayor of Villa de la Candelaria de Medellín. * José Zapata y Múnera * Tomás Ibarr ...

(1976–1977)

Yolombó in the media

Yolombó was popularized in part by

Tomás Carrasquilla Tomás Carrasquilla Naranjo (1858 – 1940) was a Colombian writer who lived in the Antioquia region. He dedicated himself to very simple jobs: tailor, secretary of a judge, storekeeper in a mine, and worker at the Ministry of Public ...

's historical novel, "La Marquesa de Yolombó" (The Marquise of Yolombó).

References

Municipalities of Antioquia Department {{Antioquia-geo-stub