Chocontá
| Chocontá | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality and town | |||
|
Main square of Chocontá | |||
| |||
 Location of the municipality and town inside Cundinamarca Department of Colombia | |||
  Chocontá Location in Colombia | |||
| Coordinates: 5°8′48″N 73°40′57″W / 5.14667°N 73.68250°WCoordinates: 5°8′48″N 73°40′57″W / 5.14667°N 73.68250°W | |||
| Country |
 Colombia | ||
| Department |
 Cundinamarca | ||
| Founded | 6 September 1563 | ||
| Founded by | Tómas López | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor |
Jorge Enrique Pinzón Pinzón (2016-2019) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Municipality and town | 301.1 km2 (116.3 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 299.66 km2 (115.70 sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 1.44 km2 (0.56 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 2,655 m (8,711 ft) | ||
| Population (2015) | |||
| • Municipality and town | 25,257 | ||
| • Density | 84/km2 (220/sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 12,867 | ||
| Time zone | Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5) | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
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Chocontá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. In the Chibcha language of the Muisca, Chocontá means: "Cultivation of the good ally"/"Garden of the neighbour". It is located on the Pan-American Highway. In 1938 Chocontá had a population of 2,041.[1]
History
Chocontá is located in the territories of the Muisca on the border between the area led by the cacique of Vélez and the southern Muisca zipazgo reign. Around 1490 the armies of the northern Muisca led by Michuá and the warriors of the southern Muisca ruled by Saguamanchica confronted each other in the bloody Battle of Chocontá.
The Spanish conquistadores led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada reached the Colombian highlands in 1537. On 9 June 1537, Pentecostal day, the Spanish arrived in Chocontá and Father Fray Domingo de las Casas named it Pueblo del Espíritu Santo ("Town of the Holy Spirit") with a mass. The village was founded by Tómas López on 6 September 1563 and relocated in 1573.[2]
In 1854 the presidential headquarters was located in Chocontá and on 21 April 1854 Tomás de Herrera was proclaimed president in the rectory of the town. On 9 August 1819 at 2 pm liberator Simón Bolívar arrived to Chocontá and stayed to rest in what currently is the House of Culture after his triumph, defining the fate of the Colombian Republic.[3]
Trivia
- Chocontá is the principal producer of strawberries in Colombia
- The town is nicknamed La ciudad satélite de Colombia ("The satellite town of Colombia") because of the satellite dishes of Telecom[4]
- The artificial lake Represa de Sisga is located within Chocontá
Gallery
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Church in Chocontá
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Train station Chocontá
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Train station
References
- ↑ Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 403
- ↑ (Spanish) Official website Chocontá - accessed 20-04-2016
- ↑ (Spanish) History of Chocontá - accessed 20-04-2016
- ↑ (Spanish) Version of Spanish language Wikipedia - accessed 20-04-2016
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chocontá. |
- (Spanish) Government of Cundinamarca - Chocontá