Bosa is the 7th locality of the Capital District of the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n capital,

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

. Bosa is located in the southwest of Bogotá and is the 8th largest locality and 9th most populated. This district is inhabited by working-class residents.

Etymology

The name of Bosa in Muysccubun means "enclosure of the one that guards and defends the cornfields".Etymology localities of Bogotá
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Geography

Bosa limits to the north with the

Tunjuelo River The Tunjuelo or Tunjuelito River is a river on the Bogotá savanna and a left tributary of the Bogotá River. The river, with a length of originates in the Sumapaz Páramo and flows northward through the Usme Synclinal to enter the Colombian capit ...

and the Camino de Osorio neighborhood of the locality

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

. To the south Bosa borders the

Autopista Sur An autopista is a controlled-access highway in various Spanish-speaking countries *List of highways in Argentina includes autopistas of Argentina *List of autopistas and autovías in Spain *List of Mexican autopistas *Autopistas of Puerto Rico *Lis ...

separating it from the localitity of

Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...

and the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Soacha Soacha is an autonomous municipality of the department of Cundinamarca in Colombia, and part of the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working-class families. Soacha borders Bojacá and Mosq ...

in Cundinamarca. To the east, Bosa borders the Tunjuelo River and the locality of Kennedy and to the west the

Bogotá River The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the wester ...

and the municipalities of Soacha and

Mosquera Mosquera is a surname of Galician origin, later spreading to other parts of Spain such as Castile and Extremadura or Latin America. The family crest states (Spanish) Gallego. It derives from the mansion of the family's founder, Ramiro de Mosquera. ...

. Besides being crossed by the Tunjuelo and Bogotá River, Bosa also has numerous creeks and streams which include the Quebrada Limas, Quebrada Trompeta, La Estrella, El Infierno, Quiba, Calderón, Bebedero and Aguas Calientes.

History

Bosa was once the site of an important

Muisca The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...

village. During the

Pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

, the area was governed by ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

s'' as part of the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanis ...

, among them and at the moment 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

arrival; the ''cacique'' Techovita. Early in 1538, Bosa witnessed one of the most dramatic chapters in the history of the

. The last ''

zipa When the Spain, 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 Funza, Muyquytá. The ''Zaque'' was the ...

'',

Sagipa Sagipa or Zaquesazipa (died 1539, Bosa, New Kingdom of Granada) was the fifth and last ruler (''psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, currently known as Bogota, as of 1537. He was the brother of his predecessor Bogotá but the traditional faction of the Mu ...

(also called Saquesazipa among other names), was hung by

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...

when his subjects failed to fill up a room with the amount of gold the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s asked as

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

for his freedom. At the same time, Cuxinimpaba and Cuxinimegua, or Cuxininegua, the legitimate heirs to the throne of

Tisquesusa Tisquesusa, also spelled Thisquesuza, Thysquesuca or Thisquesusha (referred to in the earliest sources as Bogotá, the Elder) (died Facatativá, 1537) was the fourth and last independent ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, main settlement of t ...

, the last independent Muisca ruler who had been assassinated in

Funza Funza () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, of the Departments of Colombia, department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca. Funza is situated on the Bogotá savanna, the southwestern part of the Altiplano C ...

in 1537 by Jiménez de Quesada's soldiers, were hanged. This way the conquistador put an end to the lineage of the

Muisca rulers 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 ''Zaque'' was the ruler of th ...

. In 1538, Bosa became a meeting place for

Nikolaus Federmann Nikolaus Federmann (, ) (c. 1505, Ulm – February 1542, Valladolid) was a German adventurer and conquistador in what is modern-day Venezuela and Colombia. He is a significant figure in the history of Klein-Venedig (1528–1546), the concessio ...

and

Sebastián de Belalcázar Sebastián Moyano y Cabrera, best known as Sebastián de Belalcázar (; c. 1490 – April 28, 1551) was a Spanish conquistador. Belalcázar, also written as Benalcázar. He is known as the founder of important early virreinal cities in the northw ...

during the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...

. The exact location of their encounter was marked with a stone cross, today located on the east side of Bosa's main square. The 4th article of the June 22, 1850 Law dissolved the resguardo for

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, in an effort to drive them away from the villages. These process ended in 1886. On November 22, 1853, a battle took place in Bosa between the forces of

Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano Ignacio Maria de Mosquera y Figueroa Arboleda Salazar, Prieto de Tovar, Vergara, Silva, Hurtado de Mendoza, Urrutia y Guzmán (September 26, 1798 – October 7, 1878) was a Colombian general, political figure, and slaveholder ...

José Hilario López José Hilario López Valdés (18 February 1798, Popayán, Cauca – 27 November 1869, Campoalegre, Huila) was a Colombian politician and military officer. He was the President of Colombia between 1849 and 1853.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ...

and

Pedro Alcántara Herrán Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez de Zaldúa (October 19, 1800 in Bogotá, Viceroyalty of the New GranadaArismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; ...

against the forces of Dictator Jose Maria Melo, this became known as the Battle of Bosa. Until the mid 20th century, Bosa was a relatively small municipality formed by five neighborhoods and a population less than 20,000 people. The people dedicated to rural agricultural activities. By 1954, the government of

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...

annexed Bosa to the

Special District of Bogotá Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces M ...

, which triggered a demographic expansion. Bosa then became a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for

. In the

Colombian Constitution of 1991 The Political Constitution of Colombia of 1991 (), is the Constitution of the Republic of Colombia. It was promulgated in Constitutional Gazette number 114 on Sunday, July 7, 1991, and is also known as the Constitution of Human Rights. It re ...

, Bogotá was rearranged and became the Capital District in which Bosa formed the 7th locality. In 1992 and 2000, the Cabildos of Suba and Bosa were officially recognized by the Government of Bogotá as stipulated in Law 89 of 1890. The

Cabildo Mayor del Pueblo Muisca The ''Cabildo Mayor del Pueblo Muisca'' is an organisation of indigenous peoples of Colombia, indigenous people, in particular the Muisca people, Muisca. It was established in September 2002 in Bosa, Bogotá, Bosa, Bogotá, Colombia. The organisat ...

was founded on September 22, 2002 in Bosa.

Sites of interest

* San Bernardino Church, the construction of this church began in 1618 and was declared a National Monument by the Colombian government. In front of it a stone cross marks the exact place where the three

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

met. * El Humilladero Hermitage * Francisco de Paula Santander School. It is a school located in next to the Town hall of Bosa, is recognized as the first school of Bosa, its creation and inauguration was in 1938 as a rural school, now "La Casona" is a cultural heritage being a structure on the verge of collapse, but it is composed of other buildings where classes are taught for all grades. Currently has the classroom RTC (Reinvent The Classroom), which is a classroom of education 3.0, first classroom in Colombia and Latin America.Reinvent The Classroom-View 360°

Neighborhoods and veredas

Neighborhoods

* Among the most important neighborhoods are : La Libertad, Palestina, Bosa Brasil, Bosa La Independencia, Piamonte, Jiménez De Quesada, Despensa, Laureles, La Estación, La Azucena, La Amistad, El Motorista, Antonia Santos, Naranjos, Olarte, El Corzo and downtown Bosa.

Veredas

The San Bernardino vereda is inhabited by direct descendants of the

who used as last name the name of the tribe, such as Neuta, Chiguasque, Tunjo, Orobajo and Fitatá.

Transport

Locally, Bosa has very few access points due to the presence of large

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

which do not have paved roads besides Avenida Bosa. Public transportation from other parts of Bogotá arrives through the

Avenida Ciudad de Cali Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lo ...

and the Avenida Primero de Mayo and the Diagonal 86. Bosa is served by two main

TransMilenio TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and Soacha, a neighbouring city. The system opened to the public in December 2000. As of 2024, 12 lines totalling run throughout the city. It is pa ...

stations; Portal del Sur (line G) and Portal de Las Américas (line F) and their support routes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosa, Bogota Localities of Bogotá Altiplano Cundiboyacense Populated places of the Muisca Confederation