San Bernardo () is a municipality in

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 ...

, in the department of Cundinamarca. It is 99km from

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 ...

. It is characterized as an agricultural pantry area due to the high fertility of its land and variety of climates. San Bernardo's main products are

blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

and

pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

, renowned for its excellent quality. Due to its location on the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, the weather conditions are ruled by the altitude and wind coming from Páramo Sumapaz; this affects the municipality with the cooling of some areas, especially at night, providing mild weather in some other high altitude areas.

History

San Bernardo was established July 22, 1910, when Father Mazo celebrated Mass and said the town was founded in honor of the Archbishop of Bogotá, Bernardo Herrera Restrepo; according to him, San Bernardo was blessed that day. The bells of its chapel were donated by General Charles J. Heredia. The first mayor was Miguel Mena. The parish was established by decree of January 29, 1932 Archbishop Ismael Perdomo.

Mummies

The

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

of San Bernardo are located in a mausoleum at the local cemetery. Due to severe floods and the cemetery's relocation in the mid-1950s, hundreds of mummies have been discovered at the old cemetery. It is unclear what caused the bodies buried at the cemetery to mummify. Many locals believe that a diet rich in a local fruits, such as the

chayote Chayote (; previously placed in the obsolete genus ''Sechium''), also known as christophine, mirliton, güisquil, and choko, is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. This fruit was first cultivated in Mesoamerica between ...

(known locally as the guatila), causes this phenomenon. However, scientist refute these beliefs because the clothes of the buries are also preserved. It is believed that the cause of mummification is more likely due to the climate and/or the high altitude of the town's cemetery. The mausoleum displays approximately 14 mummies. Most are preserved almost completely with skin, hair and even the clothes. The cemetery's Groundskeepers insist that the bodies are not embalmed or treated in any way before being buried. The cause is the micro climate in the tombs, and the fact that the buried bodies wear clothes that protect from fly larvae inside the tombs. The only insects that enter the tombs are from burial flowers, and flies enter on those. The bodies are buried with clothes, which protect the bodies from the larvae, the dry micro climate in the tomb then dries out the bodies. The bodies have arched backs, which is typical of mummies from dry climate, according to forensic specialist in the documentar
Udda platser i Världen (2018), season 1, episode 9 of 20

Events and places

* Fairs and festivals are held at the end of June and early July;. * Cerro Paquilo * Natural caves * Piedra del Sol: rock in the sidewalk "El Carmen" with prehispanic indigenous petroglyphs. * The Lajas * Mirador of Portones

References

External links

San Bernardo Principal Page. Spanish
{{Municipalities cundinamarca department Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department