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APaisa is someone from a region in the northwest ofColombia, including part of theWest andCentralcordilleras of theAndes in Colombia.[1] The Paisa region is formed by thedepartments ofAntioquia,Caldas,Risaralda andQuindío. Some regions ofValle del Cauca Department (north) andTolima Department (west) culturally identify aspaisas. The main cities of the Paisa region areMedellín,Pereira,Manizales andArmenia.
The name Paisa derives from the Spanishapocope ofPaisano (fellow countryman), but they are also known as "Antioqueños" (those from the oldAntioquia, which included the other Paisa provinces, which was a single administrative body until the creation of theCaldas State in 1905). Although many refer to Paisas as an ethnic group (raza antioqueña orraza paisa), they are a part of theColombians andLatin American peoples.
Paisas can be found in other regions of Colombia and theAmericas where they have migrated. They have a particular way of speaking Spanish that some writers refer to asespañol antioqueño.[2]
The Paisas have been considered agenetically isolated population according to scientific studies.[3][4] As evidenced by the analysis of direct-line mitochondrial DNA ormtDNA (inherited from mother-to-child) and Y-chromosomal DNA orY-DNA (inherited from father-to-son), the initial founding of the Paisa population occurred primarily through the admixture of maleIberians (mostly from variousSpaniard ethnic groups, and a smallerSephardic Jewish element) and femaleAmerindians.[5][6]
Subsequently, within the emerging Paisa colonial society, a continued flow of additional male Spaniards immigrating into the Paisa region in the following generations encouraged marriages of these males to the early established Paisa population. Thisincreased the overall European component and resulted in the "racial whitening" of the founding mixed-race population by preventing the mixed-race individuals marrying among themselves and growing in numbers, as well as preventing further unions of either Spaniards or mixed-race individuals with unmixed Amerindians.[citation needed]
Ultimately, this led to the overall predominantlyEuropean ancestry of today's Paisa population according to testing of autosomal DNA oratDNA,[3] despite the asymmetrical sex-specific genetic markers that they inherited from the founding population which indicates their Y-DNA as being predominantly from European male forebears and mtDNA as being predominantly from Amerindian female ancestors. Nevertheless, the average population does still carry a significant amount of Native American ancestry, ranging from 20% to 40%, and from 4% to 10% for African.[7]
The mountains played a large role in isolating the Paisa population until the end of the nineteenth century and the area's industrial revolution.
The ancestors of the Paisa are primarily Spanish immigrants fromExtremadura, Spain (sixteenth century). The first colonizers wereExtremaduran likeGaspar de Rodas ofTrujillo, who was the first colonial governor of the region. Several towns, cities and places in the Paisa Region are also Extremaduran:Medellín forMedellín of Badajoz;Cáceres for theProvince of Cáceres;Valdivia for conquerorPedro de Valdivia.
Some conquerors fromAndalusia like MarshallJorge Robledo ofJaén, came also with the Extremadurans during the sixteenth century. However, during the seventeenth century, a group of Andalusian migrants is said to have settled the region.
The presence of Basque ancestry in the Paisa Region is exhibited by the proliferation of Basque surnames.[8] Some scholars point out that this may be one of the regions ofHispanic America with the greatest concentration of ancestry from the Iberian region.[9] The Basques arrived in Antioquia during the seventeenth century.[10]
The use of Basque language (Euskera) terminology in the present territory of Colombia goes back to the early exploration which occurred in 1499, during the third voyage of Columbus. It is said that from that time the territory experienced a strong influx of Basques including prominent figures such as the pilot and geographerJuan de la Cosa, nicknamed "El Vizcaíno" (although some reputable sources claim that he was not a native of the Basque Country, but was instead born inSantoña, Cantabria).
Thereafter, the Basques began to come regularly and distributed throughout the country. Due to this presence, the Colombian department of Antioquia has been considered a major point of Basque-Navarre immigration. This occurred mainly during the colonial era, when thousands of Basques migrated to be linked to the Spanish colonization companies.
To people interested in investigating the presence of Euskal Herria in the department of Antioquia, one of the questions that troubles them relates to the use and retention of the Basque language in the department.
It is estimated that for Antioquia, a region where tens of thousands of Spaniards arrived, of which a good portion were Basque, limited aspects of the Basque language were brought over. It has been difficult to track the use of Euskera in Antioquia and Colombia because the Basque language was always an outcast, which apparently left no written evidence in Antioquia.[citation needed]
This is likely because the Spanish crown, to maintain the monopoly of its overseas companies and to restrict those people not belonging to Spanish rule, did not allow languages other than Castilian to be spoken. This meant that those invited to participate in the colonization of Indian companies, and foreigners in general, had to learn the official language, i.e., Castilian, hence the prevalence of Castilian-Basque-speaking bilinguals.[citation needed]
Despite these restrictions, it is still possible to trace the history of Colombia's ties to the ancient language of the Basques. A reference that has use of Euskera in Colombian territory occurred in relation to Lope de Aguirre, a native of Gipuzkoa nicknamed "The Madman". Aguirre's rebellion defied the Spanish empire, carrying out acts against the subjects of the Spanish crown. Pedro de Ursúa, a Navarrese faithful to the Spanish king, who was also the founder ofPamplona in eastern Colombia, said that he could persuade the soldiers to be part of Aguirre's revolt, if they spoke in Euskera.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth century,Basque families from Northern Spain settled in theAburrá Valley whereMedellín andEnvigado are located, as well as small towns in eastern Antioquia, such asMarinilla,El Retiro andEl Santuario. This part of Antioquia reminded these families of northern Spain.
There is debate aboutJewish ancestry in the Paisa people.[11][12]
It was known that some Spanish and PortugueseNew Christians ofSephardic Jewish ancestry (some of whom continued topractice Judaism secretly, and were also known asmarranos, Spanish for swine) fled theCartagena de IndiasInquisition and took refuge in the Antioquian mountains during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Some Colombian authors likeJorge Isaacs andMiguel Ángel Osorio have claimed that it is indisputable that Paisas have Jewish ancestry. Several Paisa surnames are known to have been prevalent amongNew Christianconversos of Sephardic Jewish origin, for exampleEspinosa,Pérez, Mejía, and many others.[citation needed]
Some scholars state that the presence of Sephardic Jews among the ancestors of Paisas is a fact, but it does not mean that all Paisas descend from them, nor that it is the only or predominant element among those that do, as is proven by the Paisas' descent from other groups like Basques, Extremadurans, and Andalusians.[13]
There are records also of presence of some Canarians and Canarian families, at least some of them known to be fromLanzarote, who settled inCáceres, Antioquia, in the second half of the 16th century.[14] Others emigrated in 1678 by the terms of theTributo de Sangre to Santa Marta.[15] In 1536,Pedro Fernández de Lugo led an expedition of 1,500 people, 400 of whom were Canarians from all the different islands that make up the archipelago[16]), for the conquest of the area around what becameSanta Marta.[14] This contingent pacified the warring tribes on the coast and penetrated into the interior (including Paisa region). On the way, they founded several cities, two which, Las Palmas and Tenerife, still exist.[16] In addition,Pedro de Heredia led 100 men from the Canary Islands toCartagena de Indias.[17]
The expression "Paisa" is of popular use asapocope of "Paisano" (person from one's own country; fellow countryman). Consequently, "Paisa Region" is the region where the Paisa people live. A more ancient expression isAntioqueño (Antioquean; one fromAntioquia). This one is more official, especially during the Colony (16th – 18th centuries) and the nineteenth century after the Independence of Colombia. All the region made a single body as "Province of Antioquia" first and "State of Antioquia" after. In 1905, theCaldas Department was created from the southern part of Antioquia, rendering the word "Antioqueño" remain only applicable to those of Antioquia, while "Paisa" became a more cultural one for both the new Antioquia and the former Antioquia and the rest of theEje cafetero.
Although some sources argue that theAmerican Indians that populated most of the Paisa Region were extinguished through European diseases and fights against the Spaniard conquerors, this has not been fully demonstrated.
Francisco César made an expedition in 1537 fromUrabá to theCauca River to the lands ofDabeiba, but his troops were rejected by theNutibaras. In 1540 MarshallJorge Robledo foundedCartago. In 1541 he founded Arma in what is today the south of Antioquia, near todayAguadas andSanta Fe de Antioquia, at the banks of the Cauca River. This last town would become the provincial capital in 1813.
The first colonial governor was DonGaspar de Rodas (1518–1607).[18] The mountains of Antioquia attracted the Spaniards for its gold and lands for cattle, and the first towns were located near gold mines and rivers. Despite that, the region did not attract a population interested in creating important centers for the Spanish civilization likeCartagena de Indias,Popayán orBogotá and it remained almost entirely isolated from the rest of the colony. This is the main reason for the cultural identity of the Paisas within the Colombian national context.
Since the seventeenth century and until the end of the nineteenth centuries, Paisa families moved to the southern regions of Antioquia, in what is today theColombian Coffee-Growers Axis or the "Viejo Caldas" (Old Caldas), though now most Colombian nationals refer to this region as theEje cafetero. This constant internal migration is known in history as the "Colonización Antioqueña" (Antioquean Colonization). Most of the cities and towns founded in the Old Caldas (Caldas,Risaralda,Quindío and some towns of the north ofValle del Cauca and the west ofTolima) are from that time.
During the wars for the independence of Colombia, the most important Paisa figure was GeneralJosé María Córdova. He was fromRionegro and fought important battles to free the region from the Spanish regime under the orders ofSimón Bolívar, who never went to the region. DuringBolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada, Córdoba participated in theBattle of Boyacá and was entitled "Lieutenant Colonel" by the Libertador, despite his young age (he was only 20). Then he was charged by Bolívar to defend the Province of Antioquia and in fact he defeated the Spaniards during the Campaign ofNechí between the end of 1819 and the beginning of 1820.[19]
In 1826Medellín was declared the capital of the Province of Antioquia. In 1856 a Federalist Political Constitution created the State of Antioquia and it faced some civil wars among Liberals and Conservatives. In 1877 the president of the federal state wasPedro Justo Berrío, who was one of the most prominent political leaders of the region at the end of the century and developed an active politic in education, transportation (including connecting the region with the rest of the country by train in 1874) and economic development.
In 1886, with a centralized Political Constitution, the "Department of Antioquia" was created. Although the region was not affected directly by theThousand Days War (1899–1902), one of the main characters of the fighting, GeneralRafael Uribe Uribe at the side of theLiberal Party rebels, came from the area.
The progressive government of GeneralRafael Reyes (1904–1909) was of benefit in the development for the region. One of his projects was the creation of new departments, including theCaldas Department to be taken from the southern part ofAntioquia in 1905. During the twentieth century both Paisa departments (Antioquia and Caldas), would continue their development in industry, mining and agriculture. In 1966 the Caldas Department was divided in three parts: Caldas itself,Quindío andRisaralda.
At the end of the century the region faced the crisis of growing drug traffic mafias, paramilitary groups and guerrillas, especially in Antioquia with theMedellín Cartel and the north ofValle del Cauca. However, development has proved to be a Colombian model in regions like theMetropolitan Area of Medellín according to theInter-American Development Bank.[20][21]
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Although what is known as "Paisa Region" is a cultural entity and it is not defined by administrative divisions, it is possible to locate some areas as the natural space of the Paisa people.
The Paisa Region coincided with the important economic centers of Colombia like theMetropolitan Area of Medellín (textile, industries like appliances, automobiles and chemicals, services like health care and fashion); theColombian Coffee-Growers Axis in agriculture and other economic activities like flower growing, cattle, gold and coal mines, tourism and others.
The way Paisas speak Spanish, also known asAntioquean Spanish, is distinctive within Colombia. Paisas are said to speak Spanish slow and soft. They have many local and regional expressions that are opaque even for other Colombians. From the rural Paisa dialect, a popular urban version calledParlache developed.[24]
Paisas are very attached to their families and land. As their natural cultural space is on the mountains, it is also a symbol of their land. They give a great importance to surnames and ancestors. They even associate surnames to towns ("los Pérez son de San Pedro de los Milagros", the Pérez [family] are from San Pedro de los Milagros). Though thepatrilinear character is very important for families, Paisas keep a strongmatriarchal culture.
Paisas are well known in Colombia for their kindness and welcoming attitude to people from other regions and visitors. They are known to joke and exaggerate creating enjoyable conversations, though this can confuse those who are not used to their way of speaking. They speak proudly of their land, towns, cities, history, traditions and abilities in commerce. It is common that Paisas do not use their localdemonym (for example, "medellinenses,manizalitas, etc), but they refer to themselves as "Paisas".
The Paisa cuisine is very influenced by their traditional rural background of the mountains. It belongs to the Colombian Andes cuisine with abundance ofbeans,rice,maize,pork andcattlemeat, tropical fruits,potato and several types of vegetables.[27]
The Paisa Region is center of different genres of music among traditional, modern and adopted. The most important instruments of music by tradition are thetiple and theguitar.
Roman Catholicism in Colombia arrived in the region with the Spaniard colonizers at the beginning of the sixteenth century.Franciscans settled along with colonizers and built churches and monasteries in the towns founded by the Spaniards. Perhaps Spanish and Portuguesemarranos arrived in the region as well. Roman Catholicism became the predominant religion and Paisas remained devout and churchgoing. The 1991 Colombian Political Constitution that decreed freedom of religion opened the gates to other religious denominations, though Paisas are considered Catholics by culture. The theory of Jewish origins has benefited the Jewish communities in the region as well[citation needed]. The two first Colombian persons recognized by the Catholic Church asblessed orsaints are from the Paisa Region:Laura Montoya (fromJericó) andMariano de Jesús Euse (fromYarumal). A Paisa prelate fromTolima, CardinalAlfonso López Trujillo, was close to the PopeJohn Paul II.
Several Paisa personalities have been famous in regional, national and international contexts in every field of science, sport, music, technology, economy, politics and even crime. Some of the most notable in an international context:
y como solo para Antioquia escribo, yo no escribo español sino antioqueño[Because I write only for Antioquia, I do not write in Spanish but in Antioquean]