Valle del Cauca, orCauca Valley (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈbaʎeðelˈkawka]), is adepartment in westernColombia abutting thePacific Ocean. Its capital isSantiago de Cali. Other cities such asBuenaventura,Buga,Cartago,Palmira andTuluá have great economical, political, social and cultural influence on the department's life. Valle del Cauca has the largest number of independent (i.e., nonmetropolitan) towns with over 100,000 inhabitants in the country, counting six within its borders.[4] Buenaventura has the largest and busiest seaport in Colombia, moving about 8,500,000 tons of merchandise annually.[5]
The department of Valle del Cauca is located in the western part of the country, between 3° 5′ N and 5° 1′ N latitude and 75° 42′ W and 77° 33′ W longitude. It borders the departments ofRisaralda andQuindío to the north,Cauca to the south,Tolima to the east, andChocó and thePacific Ocean to the west. The valley is geographically bounded by theCordillera Central andOccidental and is watered by numerous rivers that empty into theCauca River. The department is divided into four zones: the Pacific Fringe, which is humid and mostly jungle; the western mountain range, also humid and full of jungle, heavilydeforested because of the paper industry; the Andean valley of the Cauca River, whose surrounding lands are the most fertile in the country; and the western ridge of the Cordillera Central. Valle del Cauca also administersMalpelo Island in the Pacific.
Palynological analyses performed by experts have determined that during the SuperiorPleistocene some 40,000–10,500 years ago, the valleys of El Dorado and Alto Calima had Andean forests and sub-Andean vegetation. The discovery of projectiles indicated that there were communities ofhunter-gatherers at the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of theHolocene. The extinction of the Pleistocenic megafauna in the beginning of the Holocene forced humans to adapt to their new environment, becoming hunter-gatherers. In the lower basin of theCalima River (Sauzalito River, El Recreo River, and El Pital River), archaeologists found the oldest traces of hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Valley of theCauca River. According to these, in 5000 BC these societies already had some level of primitive agriculture and cultivatedmaize. There is little information about the years between 3000 and 1500 BC.
In 1500 BC the first agricultural–pottery society, theIlama culture, appeared, extending along theCalima River (in what is now the towns ofRestrepo andDarién). Its society had a social structure ofcacicazgos ("chiefdoms") that prevailed until thearrival of the Spaniards. The Ilama economy was based on migratory agriculture usingmaize,yuca, and beans; hunting; fishing; textile manufacturing; and metallurgy. The chief orcacique was the head of the settlement and hadchamanes ("spiritual leaders"), warriors, farmers, hunters, pottery men, and goldsmiths. By 100 AD, the Ilama had developed into theYotoco, whom expanded the region of the Ilama further, down the Cauca River to the Pacific Ocean, and southward to the present-day region ofSantiago de Cali (Cali).
TheYotoco were a highly stratified society, headed bycaciques, who managed several settlements. They existed in the region until around 1200 AD. A rising population forced them to develop effective agricultural systems to meet food demand, which improved pottery and metalworking techniques. Yotoco agriculture — based on maize, yuca, beans,arracacha, andachiote, among other foods - was more diverse than that of the Ilama. The Yotoco experienced a decline beginning in the 6th century AD.
This archeological period is called the Late Period and is divided into Late Period I (6th to 13th centuries) and Late Period II (14th to 16th centuries). In Late Period I the Valle del Cauca region was inhabited by the earlySonso culture, Bolo, Sachamate, and La Llanada. During Late Period II the region was inhabited by the late Sonso culture, Pichinde, Buga, and Quebrada Seca. Their development is attributed to population growth. Almost all the settlers in the area became subject to the rule of one maincacique.
The first 67 Spanish explorers arrived in the area after founding the village ofPopayán, in an expedition fromQuito headed bySebastián de Belalcázar. In the Valle del Cauca the explorers founded the village ofVilla de Ampudia, named after one of them,Juan de Ampudia. By orders of Belalcázar the village was then moved to the Riviera of the Cauca River, within the Gorrones indigenous people's territory. In 1536, a Captain Muñoz ordered the city to be moved to the Valley, where the Village ofCali was founded on 25 July of that same year. Another Spanish explorer,Juan de Vadillo [es], coming from the village ofCartagena de Indias, entered Cali on 23 December 1538 with a second group of explorers, but he returned to Cartagena, leaving many of his men behind includingPedro Cieza de León. A third group of explorers, led by AdmiralJorge Robledo under orders ofLorenzo de Aldana [es], advanced to the North of the Valle del Cauca and founded the villages ofAnserma (now part ofCaldas Department; 15 August 1539),Cartago (9 August 1540), andAntioquia (25 November 1541), and under command ofPascual de Andagoya who came fromPanama to Cali with a fourth group of explorers.
The Department of Valle del Cauca was created by decree number 340 on April 16, 1910, which created 12 other departments in Colombia. The Valle del Cauca Department was a result of the union of four former departments:Cartago,Buga, andCali.
The government of Valle del Cauca is similar to the centralgovernment of Colombia, which has three branches of power: executive, legislative, and judicial, along with variouscontrol agencies with oversight capacity. The executive branch in Valle del Cauca is represented by thegovernor, the legislative branch is represented by thedepartment assembly and its deputies, and the judicial branch is represented by four department-wide court systems: theSuperior Tribunal of Cali, thePenal Court of the Circuit of Cali, theAdministrative Tribunal of Valle del Cauca, and theSuperior Military Tribunal for military cases. Valle del Cauca has 42 municipalities, each with a mayor, who is a popularly elected representative of the governor.
Hospital Universitario (University Health Centre)] : The University Health Centre of Valle located in the heart of Cali is designated as a level 4 hospital, the highest level in the national ranking system.[6] Its E.R and traumatology centres are ranked among the country's busiest and most well trained.
Acuavalle (Department's water management and rural water supply Agency)
Bellas Artes (Fine Arts School): Until the 80's it was Colombia's most admired Arts School. Due to funding reductions and other problems, its influence gradually disappeared.
Beneficiencia del Valle (Department's Lottery): Currently, the biggest prize awarded is $1,200,000,000 COP (about US$500,000). In the Colombian system, regional lottery agencies run their own programs and prizes. Departments' budgets are largely funded by lottery agencies transfers.
Infivalle (Department's financial agency)
Indervalle (Department's sports Institution)
Industria de Licores (Department's Liquor Company): Aguardiente Blanco del Valle is the main product made by the company.
Telepacifico (Regional TV channel)
Incolballet (School of Ballet of Colombia)
Bibliovalle (Libraries Network) : The department runs a network of libraries in municipalities with no resources to run their own. The Central Department's library is located in Cali into the Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo Science Center.
Valle del Cauca has a diversified economy. Its valley containssugarcane, cotton,soy, andsorghum crops, and there are coffee crops in the mountains. The department is known for its sugar industry, which provides sugar to the markets of the rest of the country and nearby countries. The sugar is obtained from the large sugar cane plantations, which were introduced to the department bySebastián de Belalcázar. The production by the city of Yumbo also stands out, where several companies are found, most prominently the paper and cement businesses. The port atBuenaventura is Colombia's main port on the Pacific coast, allowing for the import and export of goods, and is of great importance for the economy of both the department and the country.
More than 80% of the population lives in cities or towns. The coverage of public services is among the highest in the country, with electrical power and education standing out the most.
The capital of the department isSantiago de Cali, with approximately 2,800,000 inhabitants. It is made up of 42 municipalities, the most populous being, from north to south,Cartago (famous for its craftsmanship, embroidery, and theCasa del Virrey, "House of the Viceroy"),Roldanillo (location of the museum containing works by the artist Omar Rayo),Tuluá (located in the center of the department),Yumbo (an industrial center with more than 2,000 industries),Ginebra,Palmira,Buga, andJamundí.
The population of nonmetropolitan towns with over 100,000 inhabitants is as follows (capital in italics):[4]
The Cauca Valley was historically a place dedicated to cattle and agricultural activities. For this reason, the region has not developed an artistic and European-influenced architectural style, as the relative near city ofPopayán, located in thedepartment of Cauca; instead, the department generates simple and pragmatic constructions, with a few exceptions. The material of the colonial constructions was basically of wood and bricks, with some use of stones.[citation needed]
The food most closely associated with the department issancocho de gallina, a stew made with an old hen, potatoes, yucca, corn, and other ingredients; the characteristic flavor comes from a herb calledcimarrón orrecao (Eryngium foetidum).[citation needed]
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