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Villa de Guaduas Villa de San Miguel de las Guaduas | |
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Municipality and town | |
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Nickname: Guaduas | |
Motto: Confianza y Desarrollo | |
![]() Location of the town and municipality of Guaduas in Cundinamarca Department. | |
Coordinates:5°4′10″N74°35′53″W / 5.06944°N 74.59806°W /5.06944; -74.59806 | |
Country | Colombia |
Department | Cundinamarca |
Province | Bajo Magdalena |
Natural region | Andean Region |
Settled around | 1549 |
Established | December 13, 1610 |
Founded | December 27, 1644 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• Mayor | Jhon Alexander Morera |
Area | |
• Municipality and town | 763.7 km2 (294.9 sq mi) |
• Urban | 8.51 km2 (3.29 sq mi) |
Elevation | 992 m (3,255 ft) |
Population (2020 est.)[1] | |
• Municipality and town | 33,212 |
• Density | 43/km2 (110/sq mi) |
• Urban | 15,862 |
• Urban density | 1,900/km2 (4,800/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | guadeño,-ña (es) |
Website | http://www.villadeguaduas.gov.co |
Guaduas (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈɡaðwas]) is a municipality and town inColombia, in theLower Magdalena Province department ofCundinamarca, about 117 km fromBogotá. It is an agricultural and tourist center of some importance with a population of about 33,000 in the municipality. Its name refers to a type ofbamboo cane. It is one of the cities on theBogotá-Medellín highway. Its main plaza is featured on the Colombian ten-thousandpesos bill, and is one of the seats of theRoman Catholic Diocese of La Dorada–Guaduas
The early inhabitants of the "Valley of the Guaduas" were the indigenousPanche people. It was an important stop on the road from Santafé de Bogotá to Honda, located in a small, fertile valley. The town proper was founded on April 20, 1572 byAndrés Díaz Venero de Leiva. It was abandoned after its foundation until December 13, 1610, when Fray Tomas de Morales founded the Franciscan monastery ofLa Soledad on the same location. It was recognized officially as avilla on December 27, 1644 and formally re-founded by Francisco Pérez de Guzmán.
In 1696, Guaduas became a parish seat, thanks to a charter fromKing Charles II. The convent was closed around 1805. In 1809 Fray Domingo de Petres, aCapuchin architect who also directed the construction of theCathedral of Bogotá, began building a church in the village. The original convent building was subsequently transformed into a prison by order of the Congress of Cucuta.
Guaduas was a center of botanical experimentation, which included the introduction ofníspero trees from the West Indies in the late 18th century. The crop is now widely cultivated in the region.
The provincial constitution of 1815 upgraded Guaduas to a canton, which in turn was incorporated into the province of Bogotá in 1824. The town experienced rapid growth after that. The first official school was opened in 1833, the town acquired the status of provincial capital in 1857, four years later the local hospital was founded, and in 1871 it was connected to the national telegraph network.
In recognition of its historical significance, Guaduas was declared aPueblo Patrimonio (heritage town) by the Colombian government in 2010.[2] The municipal anthem's music and lyrics were written by Guaduas-born Miguel Raga Fernández in the mid-1940s.
In 2007, the school community of Guaduas picked 7 of the locality's most notable features or locations:
TheMaastrichtian-PaleoceneGuaduas Formation is named after Guaduas.