La Ceja del Tambo, known as La Ceja, is a town and

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' ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is part of the subregion of

Eastern Antioquia Eastern Antioquia () is subregion of the Colombian Departments of Colombia, Department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. The region consists of 23 Municipalities of Colombia, municipalities. Geography The region of Eastern Antioquia limits to t ...

. La Ceja borders the

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 ...

and Carmen de Viboral municipalities to the north, La Unión to the east, and Montebello and Retiro to the west. It is located approximately 41 kilometers from

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 ...

, the department capital. The town is known for being well-connected with other towns and municipalities in Antioquia through its extensive roads and highways, including the Medellin-Bogota highway, the Las Palmas roads, and the Medellín Santa Elena road. It also has a dirt road that leads to the Mesopotamia neighborhood of La Unión. Father Germán Montoya wrote the hymn for the town, called "Hymn of La Ceja del Tambo". Donato Duque Patiño created the flag.

History

The territory today known as "La Ceja" was first inhabited by the Tahamíes. Tahamíes is an indigenous people dedicated to agriculture, specifically the cultivation of

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

. By 1541 the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the town, led by Álvaro de Mendoza, deputy to Marshal Jorge Robledo. On arrival to this region, Mendoza discovered a vast and fertile valley full of green meadows furrowed by abundant and clean water. He called it the "Valley of Santamaría", which today is known as the "Valley of La Ceja del Tambo". Since the early 17th century, many people from Antioquia, especially residents of Medellín and Santa Fe de Antioquia, moved to the area due to its natural attractions and fertile land suitable for agricultural industry and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. In 1683, a path was cleared between San Nicolás de

and Santiago de Arma, which in turn led to Popayán. The locals built a shelter, or "tambo" to the side of this route, which originated the subsequent naming of this town as "La Ceja del Tambo". The town was founded as "La Ceja" on 7 December 1789. It was founded by María Josefa Marulanda Londoño and Father José Pablo de Villa. By 1824, the town had 2,012 inhabitants, of which 98 were slaves. La Ceja was elevated to the status of municipality in 1855. In 1905, the first studies for the installation of an aqueduct were made and in 1927 came into operation the first aqueduct and sewerage systems.

Demography

The population was 64,889 at the 2018 census. Total population: 48,879 inhabitants (2009) * Urban population: 41,587 * Rural population: 7,292

Ethnography

According to figures presented by DANE census in 2005, the ethnic makeup of the township is the following:Censo oficial DANE 2005, Perfiles Departamentos y Municipios
*

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

: 92.1% *

Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...

: 7.9%

Economy

Unlike other towns in eastern Antioquia that focus on

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

, La Ceja has traditionally been a town of agriculture and raising livestock. The main agricultural products of the Municipality are tamarillo, bananas, blackberries, caturro and coffee, and other fruits and vegetables. Traditionally, dairy farming has been a very important part of the economy. Currently about 70,000 litres of milk per day are produced in the region. To the north of the city, there are many cut flower growers and exporters, which provide the main source of employment for La Ceja's inhabitants. The majority of the production from these flower farms is exported to the United States. The main flower varieties in production are chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, gerberas, and asters.

Places of interest

The town has more than a thousand commercial establishments: restaurants, cafes, bars, entertainment centers, newsstands, clothing stores, Internet cafes, drugstores, supermarkets, hotels, shops, travel agencies and leases, health centers, schools, and more. The main plaza also has two churches, the Chapel of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá and the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Carmen. The former chapel is also considered a museum of religious art, and contains works by artists such as Gregorio Vasquez de Arce y Ceballos. Additional attractions include the following: * Buey river waterfall * Pantanillo river * Juan de Dios Aranzazu Theater * Gregorio Gutiérrez González House of Culture In addition to all the typical gastronomy of the

Paisa region A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia, including part of the West and Central ''cordilleras'' of the Andes in Colombia. The Paisa region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. ...

, La Ceja is famous for its sweets and preserves such as custards, jams, jellies, arequipes, chocolate delicacies, and panelitas.

Gallery

File:2018 Bogotá La Ceja Antioquia, vista aérea.jpg, La Ceja from the air File:Droguería La Ceja.jpg, Shops and restaurants on the main plaza File:Fachada Capilla Nuestra Sra de Chiquinquira La Ceja Antioquia Colombia.JPG, Chapel of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá File:La Ceja 2.JPG, Main plaza in 2002 from the west File:La Ceja Plaza 2021.jpg, Main plaza in 2021 from the east

References

* Gaviria Correa, Anibal (Dirección) (2000). ''Municipios de Mi Tierra. 31 El Retiro-La Ceja-Carmen de Viboral, Oriente''. Editorial El Mundo, Medellín.

External links

*
La Ceja official website
*
ViveLaCeja - Culture and tourism website
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