Chocontá
Chocontá | |
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Municipality and town | |
UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time) | |
Website | Official website |
Chocontá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Almeidas Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. It is located on the Pan-American Highway. In 1938 Chocontá had a population of 2,041.[2]
Etymology
In the Chibcha language of the Muisca, Chocontá means: "Farmlands of the good ally" or "Garden of the neighbour".[3]
History
Chocontá is located in the territories of the
The Spanish conquistadors 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.[3]
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.[4]
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[5]
- The Sisga Reservoir is located within Chocontá
- The genus Choconta with species Choconta circulata, found near Bogotá, have been named after Chocontá
Gallery
References
- ^ Citypopulation.de
- ^ Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 403
- ^ a b (in Spanish) Official website Chocontá Archived 10 March 2014 at archive.today
- ^ (in Spanish) History of Chocontá Archived 10 March 2014 at archive.today
- ^ (in Spanish) Version of Spanish language Wikipedia – accessed 20-04-2016
External links
- (in Spanish) Government of Cundinamarca – Chocontá