Santiago de Cali, or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans 560.3 km2 (216.3 sq mi) with 120.9 km2 (46.7 sq mi) of urban area, making Cali the second-largest city in the country by area and the third most populous after Bogotá and Medellín. As the only major Colombian city with access to the Pacific Coast, Cali is the main urban and economic center in the south of the country, and has one of Colombia's fastest-growing economies. The city was founded on 25 July 1536 by the Spanish explorer Sebastian Belalcazar.
Valle del Cauca, or Cauca Valley, is a department in western Colombia abutting the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Santiago de Cali. Other cities such as Buenaventura, Buga, Cartago, Palmira and Tuluá have great economical, political, social and cultural influence on the department's life. Valle del Cauca has the largest number of independent towns with over 100,000 inhabitants in the country, counting six within its borders. Buenaventura has the largest and busiest seaport in Colombia, moving about 8,500,000 tons of merchandise annually.
The National Liberation Army is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla insurgency group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocates a composite communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism and liberation theology. In 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, the European Union and Venezuela's National Assembly.
Ernesto Samper Pizano is a Colombian politician. Samper is a member of the influential Samper family. He served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A.
Palmira is a city and municipality in southwestern Colombia in the Valle del Cauca Department, located about 27 kilometres (17 mi) east from Cali, the department's capital and main city in the South of Colombia. Palmira is the second largest city in the Valle del Cauca, behind Cali.
Jorge Isaacs Ferrer was a Colombian writer, politician and soldier. His only novel, María, became one of the most notable works of the Romantic movement in Spanish-language literature.
Fabián Andrés Vargas Rivera is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career playing for América de Cali and Boca Juniors, making more than 100 appearances for both clubs. He also played for Internacional, Almería, AEK Athens, Independiente, Barcelona SC, Millonarios, and La Equidad. At international level, he played for the Colombia national team 41 times and also captained the side.
Álvaro Gómez Hurtado was a Colombian lawyer, politician, journalist and active member of the Colombian Conservative Party. Gómez was a son of the former President of Colombia, Laureano Gómez. He is mostly remembered for being one of the writers of the Colombian Constitution of 1991, for running three times for the presidency, without success, and for his murder at the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. He served separate appointments as ambassador to Switzerland, Italy, the United States and France, beginning in the 1940s.
Boca Juniors de Cali is a professional football club which represented the city of Cali since its creation in 1937 until its exit from professional football in 1957 and again from 2019 onwards competing in the Categoría Primera B, the second tier of Colombian football. Since its early years it adopted the jersey from Argentine team Boca Juniors.
Francisco Hélmer Herrera Buitrago also known as "Pacho" and "H7", was a Colombian drug trafficker, fourth in command in the Cali Cartel, and believed to be the son of Benjamín Herrera Zuleta.
Paz sin Fronteras refers to a series of free outdoor concerts led by the Colombian singer Juanes along with other internationally recognized artists. The first string of concerts took place in 2008 along the Colombia–Venezuela border on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge. The second took place in 2009 in Cuba's Plaza de la Revolución, and a third was planned for Caracas, Venezuela in 2013. The purpose of the first concert was to reaffirm the nonviolence message that Colombians, Venezuelans, and Ecuadorians are South American brothers, independent of the relation between the political orientation of shifting governments. It was organized by Juanes, who in turn was the show's host. It took place on March 16, 2008, between 1:35 pm and 5:40 pm (GMT) on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, on the Colombia–Venezuela border located between the city of Cúcuta in Colombia and the town of San Antonio del Táchira in Venezuela.
Virginia Vallejo García is a Colombian author, journalist, television director, anchorwoman, media personality, socialite, and political asylee in the United States of America.
Maria Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid was a Colombian politician, suffragist and the first woman elected to the Senate of Colombia, serving from 1958 to 1961.
Niver Arboleda Díaz was a Colombian footballer who played for Atlético Nacional, Deportivo Cali, Veracruz, Zacatepec and Zhejiang Greentown.
José David Leudo Romaña is a Colombian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Argentine Primera División club Rosario Central.
Frank Yusty Fabra Palacios is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Argentine Primera División club Boca Juniors and the Colombia national team.
Carlos Holmes Trujillo García was a Colombian dynasty politician, diplomat, scholar, and attorney who served as minister of defense, foreign affairs, interior, and education. He also served as the mayor of Cali and as ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union, and a number of nations.
Maria Mireya Arboleda Cadavid was a Colombian classical pianist and teacher.
The Arboleda family is Colombian political and aristrocratic family originally from the city of Popayán, which had its period of greatest influence between the 17th and 20th centuries in the South American country and whose origins date back to the Arboleya region in Asturias, Spain.
