Quillacollo

Coordinates: 17°24′S 66°17′W / 17.400°S 66.283°W / -17.400; -66.283
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Quillacollo
City & Municipality
UTC-4
(BOT)
Map showing the location of Quillacollo

Quillacollo is the capital of Quillacollo Province in Cochabamba Department, Bolivia. The municipality was established on 14 September 1905 under the Presidency of Ismail Montes.[2]

Population and growth

The city of Quillacollo is located 13 km (8.1 mi) westward of Cochabamba City. Quillacollo's population is 74,980 based on the 2001 census.[3] The National Statistics Institute estimated in 2010 that the population had grown unexpectedly rapidly to approximately 142,724.[2] The increase in population makes Quillacollo the second fastest growing city in Bolivia after El Alto in La Paz.

Quillacollo City is one of the various provincial capitals around Cochabamba City, which are increasingly swallowed by the extending perimeter of "greater" Cochabamba (city).

Quillacollo is linked to the city of Cochabamba through the Avenida Blanco Galindo, a particularly busy stretch on the main national highway. Quillacollo is mostly a market town with a sizable agricultural hinterland, but also hosts some relevant industry and a district court which supports a relevant population of lawyers.

Festivals

Virgin of Urqupiña
with pilgrims during the festival on August 16.

The

Virgin of Urqupiña for money, health and luck. People greet pachamama (mother earth) with alcohol and food, burying or spilling it on the floor. A curious rite held on this festivity is extracting rocks from a hill near the sanctuary of the Virgin, whether the rock is big or small, it has to be taken home with the people who cracked the rocky hill to get it, who must return it the next year, as a symbolic act to ask the Virgin to lend them something (like health, money, luck etc.).[4]

The Urqupiña festival is annually attended by hundreds of thousands of faithful and national and international tourists, and it is one of the biggest events of popular

Feast of the Assumption, and so mirrors other Marian celebrations elsewhere, Urqupiña has spawned a variety of offshoots in other parts of the world, such as Argentina, Virginia (USA), Spain, and Sweden
, and wherever a sufficient number of followers of the Marian basilica of Quillacollo dwell.

However, in addition to the pagan religions, Protestantism also stands against the orthodoxy of the Church of Rome in Quillacollo, with various denominations represented, one of which is the

reformed baptist
tradition, by the Iglesia de Quillacollo.

The city

The

post-colonial
blend. Contemporary architecture is seen in modern houses and buildings.

Gastronomy in the city is varied. Several restaurants are found in the city's streets. The city also offers electronic artifacts cheaper than in Cochabamba.

One of Quillacollo's main economic resources is tourism. Quillacollo has hotels and hostels to stay. Flea markets and informal commerce abound in the city, especially during the festivities. Sunday is market day.

References

  1. ^ "World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 2013-01-11.
  2. ^ a b Camacho G., Zulma (2011-12-16). "Lo que queda de Quillacollo tras crisis de 7 años". Opinión. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  3. ^ World-Gazetteer [dead link]
  4. ^ "Bolivia: Believers of the Virgin of Urkupina break rocks to ask for favours during a religious…". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Quillacollo.

17°24′S 66°17′W / 17.400°S 66.283°W / -17.400; -66.283

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