Itagüí () is a city and municipality of

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 ...

, located in the south of the

Aburrá Valley Aburrá Valley (in Spanish ''Valle de Aburrá''), is the natural river basin of the Medellín River and one of the most populous valleys of Colombia in its Andean Region with near 4 million inhabitants in its biggest urban agglomeration: The M ...

in the

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

. It is part of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley.

Demographics

The population was estimated to be 289,994 in 2020. The population at the 2005 census was 230,272 on an area of 17.74 km².

History

Founded in 1743, Itagüí was declared a municipality in 1832. Its name comes from (according to some historians) the name of an indigenous chief, ''Bitagüí''. Two of Itagüí’s most iconic inhabitants include Diego Echavarría Misas and Eladio Vélez. There were two chapels in Itagüí in colonial times; one was in the place of the ''Tablaza'' that had been owned by Bruno Saldarriaga, built with the permission of the Bishop of Popayán, Francisco José de Figueredo (granted December 19, 1743). Saldarriaga, with Francisco Riaza, gave an extension of thirty blocks for expansion. This chapel was what later came to be elevated to the status of parish. In 1774, the priest of Medellín, Juan Salvador de Villa, called for the creation of four parishes:

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, Bello,

Envigado Envigado () is a city and municipality due South of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It borders El Poblado, Medellín to the north, Sabaneta, An ...

and Itagüí. On 29 April 1825 party Itagüí neighbors gave Mr. Joaquín Vélez Velasquez to represent them before the civil and ecclesiastical governments to achieve this party was elevated to parish district. Then, Mariano Orjuela Garnica took office as the first bishop of Antioch and the attorney raised the request, but Monsignor Garnica said I should go first to the civil authority, i.e., the governor of the province. This was done, but the governor, Gregorio Maria Urreta was adverse and so reported in a communication of 13 January 1829. In 1832, Urreta founded the first primary school, at first known by the name of Don Manuel Antonio Piedrahita for several years. It was a private facility, and only in 1871 was opened publicly. On 26 March 1876, Itagüi was connected by

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

. This was unveiled when Mayor Joseph M. Ruiz sent the first telegraph message to President Don Reccared in the state of

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

. In 1931, the first municipal aqueduct was constructed. On 13 May 1945, the Itagüi Library was unveiled, built by philanthropist Diego Echavarría Misas]p. In 1962, he began building the first formal City Hall. In 1967, the renowned painter of Itagüí, Eladio Vélez, died. In 1993, the Centro Administrativo Municipal de Itagüí (CAMI), Administrative Center Municipal of Itagüí (CAMI) and the Estadio Metropolitano City of Itagüí were inaugurated. In 2006, Itagüí and Medellín city limits were defined by an industry sector called Bethlehem.

Etymology

The territory of the present Itagüí was, along with those of

and Sabaneta, a territory inhabited by ''Nutabes'', indigenous tribe which some historians and researchers are classified within the

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

language family. The town was inhabited from the early days of the sixteenth century. Some historians that the name comes from the indigenous chief ''"Bitagüí"'', apparently his tribe inhabited this territory, although this may be just a legend. Initially Bitagüí site belonged to different owners, many of whom lived in Medellin. However, later, was inhabited by people who had ties to the founding families of "the Villa" (Medellin).

Geography

Itagüi is located south of the

, a valley in the Andes, has an area of 17 km², making it the third smallest municipality in

. The municipality is fully urbanized in the flat. Itagüi has a relief with inconsiderable heights belonging to the Central Cordillera. The heights are: High Manzanillo and the hills of Three Sweet Names and El Cacique The main stream is the Medellín River, which forms the border with the municipalities of

and Sabaneta. The most important tributary of the river, in the town, is the creek Dona Maria Itagüi walking from west to east.

Economy

Itagüí has a favorable tax rate compared to the surrounding

in having a higher tax collection; which has resulted in the development of major infrastructure in the last 10 years, making it one of

's most important economic engines. Itagüí became the site of Colombia's first motorcycle assembly plant when Auteco opened a factory there in 1962. It also has the presence of other big companies like

Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...

, which has worldwide recognition as

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

. A large

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

, FLA, has operated for a century manufacturing

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

s, ''

aguardiente ( Portuguese) or ( Spanish) (; ; ) is a type of distilled alcoholic spirit that contains between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It is a somewhat generic term that can refer to liquors made from various foods. It originates from and is t ...

s'' and other

distilled beverage Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the ...

s. The city has the ''Municipal Administrative Center Itagüí (CAMI)'', which holds the government and regulating the economy and politics of the city. The CAMI is an urban complex that performs the functions of the local town hall in the subregion Itagui

in the department of Antioquia in Colombia.

Political structure - administrative

Itagüí is governed by a democratic system based on administrative decentralization processes generated from the proclamation of 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 ...

. The city is governed by a mayor (executive) and a Municipal Council (legislative power). Itagüí Mayor is the head of government and municipal administration, representing legal, judicial and extra to the municipality. It is a position elected by popular vote for a four-year period, which currently is held by ''León Mario Bedoya López'' for the period 2012–2015. Among its main functions is the administration of the resources of the municipality, to ensure the welfare and interests of their fellow citizens and represent them in the national government, while supporting local policies to improve their quality of life, such as health programs, housing, education and road infrastructure and maintain public order. The council is a public corporation Itagüí popular vote, made up of 19 councilors from different political, democratically elected for a four. The council is the legislative body of the municipality issued mandatory arrangements within its territorial jurisdiction. Its functions include the mayor approving projects, determine the structure of local government and the functions of its dependencies, issue budget organic standards and issue annual budget of revenues and expenditures. To manage the municipality, the Mayor has 12 departments, 3-way and 4 advisory offices:

Administrative division

Itagüí is composed of the county seat, divided into 64 districts organized into six districts, and a township called Manzanillo consisted of 8 paths. Itagüí bordered to the north the city of Medellin, creating a conurbation that currently is unclear, since both municipalities are in border disputes. The communes and districts are:

Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley

The Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley is a political entity administrative sits throughout the

at an average altitude of 1,538 m. The area consists of 10 municipalities, and is crossed from south to north by the ''Medellín river'' which, being born south of it in the town of Caldas, and in the north, in the town of Barbosa, takes the name of Rio Porce. It was the first metropolitan area created in

in 1980, and is the second metropolitan area population in the country after the Capital District of

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 ...

. The total population, which adds the urban and rural population of the ten cities is of 3.312.165 inhabitants. The main urban area of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley is located in the center of the valley and consists of the four largest cities by population:

, Bello, Itagüí and

Culture

Although the town has been known Itagüí in the national as a locality with a strong industrial and commercial vocation, it would still be a major cultural center of the

and the

Antioquia department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

. Itagüí shown to have important exponents of the art, in painting with Eladio Vélez, in writing, the poet ''Carlos Enrique Sierra'' and sculpture find Salvador Arango . Eladio Vélez On behalf of the School of Art this Eladio Vélez Art School Itagüí a historic place in providing artistic alternatives for citizens. The rich cultural treasures customs of a population cheerful, hardworking, with a high degree of religiousness and the strength of its own that since ancient characterizes

. The main cultural precinct Itagüí is the House of Culture of Itagüí Diego Echavarría Misas. Recently opened ''Museum Graciliano Arcila Vélez'', located in a historic district for Itagüí, rosary, as this is found indigenous parts of the tribes that inhabited this territory. Itagüí has the ''South Auditorium'' which hosts various events, among them the ''Festival Theatre Itagüi City''.

Famous People

* Salvador Arango (1944) * Camilo Monroy (1998)

Festivals and events

* The Festival of Industry, Trade and Culture lasts eight days, ending with the World Day of Laziness. Both were started in Itagüí. * ''Theatre Festival City Itagüí'' * ''Poetry Festival Park'' * October event, ''Our Lady of the Rosary'' *

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

of New Year

Transportation

The city has four metro stations: (Itagui, Envigado, Sabaneta, and La Estrella) that link it directly to Medellín and other municipalities. It has a vast bus system that transports people to and from the metro stations as well as a taxi system which conforms with the needs of the city.

Gallery

File:Itagui central park church.jpg, Church in central park of Itagüí File:Itagui cemetery entrance 01.jpg, Itagüí cemetery

Sports

Itagüí was home to a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team called Itagüí F.C. from 2008 - 2014 that played in the Colombian first division. However, the team moved to

Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...

in the 2015 season and switched names to Águilas Doradas. However, the city was not left without a professional team for long; in 2016, a new team was established in Itagui named Leones. They began play that year and were promoted to the top division for the 2018 season, but currently play in the second division as of 2023. The team plays in Estadio Metropolitano Ciudad de Itagüí.

References

External links

Itagüí official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itagui Municipalities of Antioquia Department The Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley Populated places established in 1775 1770s establishments in the Viceroyalty of New Granada 1775 establishments in South America