Villanueva, La Guajira

Last updated
Villanueva
Town
Collage de villanueva.png
Villanuevaguajiraflag.png
Villanuevaseal.png
Colombia - La Guajira - Villanueva.svg
Location of the municipality and town of Villanueva in La Guajira Department.
Colombia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Villanueva
Location in Colombia
Coordinates: 10°36′32″N72°59′3″W / 10.60889°N 72.98417°W / 10.60889; -72.98417
CountryFlag of Colombia.svg  Colombia
Region Caribbean
Department La Guajira
FoundationJanuary 16, 1662 by Roque de Alba
Government
   Mayor Luis Erasmo Dangond
(Colombian Conservative Party) [1]
Area
  Total265 km2 (102 sq mi)
Elevation
250 m (820 ft)
Population
 (2005)
  Total18,804
  [2]
Time zone UTC-5
Climate Aw
Website villanueva-guajira.gov.co

Villanueva is a town and municipality located in the northern Department of La Guajira, Colombia. Villanueva is known in Colombia for being the cradle of many vallenato singers and composers. The economy of the town relies heavily on agriculture and farming.

Contents

Geography

The municipality of Villanueva is located in the southern region of the Department of La Guajira within the valley of the Cesar River, between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains and the Serranía del Perijá which Villanueva borders. The municipality is crossed by the Villanueva River which flows into the Cesar River. [3] The municipality seat is located by the Cerro Pintao ("Painted Hill") which also covers the municipalities of San Juan del Cesar, El Molino and Urumita and in the Department of Cesar the municipalities of Manaure, La Paz, San Diego and Codazzi covering an area of 25,000 ha and with an altitude ranging from 1600 to 3,688 m (Páramo) giving birth to some 13 rivers. [4]

Villanueva limits to the north with the municipalities of El Molilno, with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the east; to the south with the municipalities of Urumita and San Juan del Cesar; and to the west with the Department of Cesar covering a total area of 265 km² and at altitude of 250 m over sea level. More than half of the total area of the municipality is part of the Serranía del Perijá while the rest is flat, within the valley. [3]

Climate

Climate in the municipality of Villanueva is determined by altitude and precipitation. The municipality has an average temperature of 28 °C throughout the year with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. [5]

History

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish explorers in the early 16th Century the area of what is present-day Villanueva was inhabited by a Chimila tribe; the Itotos, then led by cacique Canopan and their settlement was called Timiriguaco ("great village"). The village was allegedly founded by Don Roque de Alba in 1662. [6]

Colombian armed conflict

Villanueva massacre

massacred occurred on December 8, 1998 in the neighborhood known as El Cafetal and some 11 people were assassinated by members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) by orders of Carlos Castaño. Alias "Jorge 40", commander of the Northern Bloc of the AUC, part of the paramilitary structure later admitted to participating in the massacre by order of Castaño, in which the operation was commanded by alias "Daniel" and a unit of some 80 paramilitaries. [7]

Victims were dragged out of their homes while a paramilitary commander called out their names on a list. Alias "Jorge 40" confessed that the massacre had taken place because there had been reports that the neighborhood was an enclave of the Luciano Ariza Front of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla. He also confessed the motives of selecting December 8 as the date of the massacre, a traditional local Roman Catholic celebration known as the " Dia de las Velitas ", and in which people use fireworks to celebrate. Fireworks would conceal the sound of the shots. [7]

Economy

The economy of Villanueva is based primarily on agriculture and commercial trade between the other Southern Guajira municipalities and the city of Valledupar in the Department of Cesar. of the 26,500 Ha, 7,300 Ha are used for plantations, 8,000 for cattle raising, 10,146 Ha were unused and 454 covered urban areas. [8]

In the lower part of the Serranía del Perijá there are limestone deposits which are exploited in artisan manner. [8]

Culture

Villanueva celebrates in the month of September the Cradle of Accordions Festival, a vallenato musical contest as well as a religious celebration in honor of Saint Thomas. [9]

Related Research Articles

Cesar Department Department of Colombia

Cesar Department or simply Cesar is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Department of Bolivar, to the south with Department of Santander, to the east with the Department of North Santander, and further to the east with the country of Venezuela. The department capital city is Valledupar.

Valledupar City and municipality in Caribbean, Colombia

Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department. Its name, Valle de Upar, was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar. The city lies between the mountains of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía del Perijá to the borders of the Guatapurí and Cesar rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan del Cesar</span> Place in Caribbean, Colombia

San Juan del Cesar is a municipality and town located in the La Guajira Department, Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Robles La Paz</span> Place in Caribbean, Colombia

Los Robles La Paz or simply La Paz is a municipality and a town in the Department of Cesar, Colombia. The town is close to the Capital city of the Department of Cesar; Valledupar. The municipality of La Paz borders to the north with La Guajira Department, to the northeast with the municipality of Manaure. To the east with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sharing the Serranía del Perijá mountain range. To the south with the municipality of Codazzi, southwest with the municipality of El Paso, Cesar. To the west with the municipality of San Diego and to the northwest with the municipality of Valledupar.

Serranía del Perijá

The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá[pe.ɾi.ˈxa] is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern Andean branch, in northern South America, between Colombia and Venezuela, ending further north in the Guajira Desert, a total distance of about 310 kilometres (190 mi). It separates the Maracaibo Basin from the Cesar-Ranchería Basin. Some of the area has been considered as a Flora and Fauna Sanctuary.

Cesar River River in Colombia

The Cesar River is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It flows through the Cesar-Ranchería Basin and separates the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from the mountain ranges of the Serranía del Perijá, an extension of the Cordillera Oriental. It flows north to south, down from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Guajira Department onto the Cesar Department and flowing into the Zapatosa Marsh where it turns to the southwest and discharges into the Magdalena River. Valledupar is the only major city on its route.

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, was born in Valledupar, Colombia. He was the leader of the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. He demobilized with his two thousand men strong group on March 10, 2006 in La Mesa, Department of Cesar.

Agustín Codazzi, Cesar Municipality and town in Caribbean, Colombia

Agustín Codazzi, or Codazzi, is a city and municipality of the Department of Cesar in Colombia. It was founded in 1784 by the Spanish Captain Salvador Felix de Arias with the name of El Pueblito del Espiritu Santo but later renamed after the Italian cartographer, Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi, who died in this place in 1859. It is located along the Serranía del Perijá, covering some of the area pertaining to the valley of the Cesar River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Guajira Department</span> Department of Colombia

La Guajira is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the department is Riohacha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manaure, Cesar</span> Town in Caribbean, Colombia

Manaure also known as Balcón del Cesar is a Colombian town and municipality located in the northeastern region of the Cesar Department on the Serranía del Perijá.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Molino, La Guajira</span> Town in Caribbean, Colombia

El Molino is a town and municipality located in the Colombian Department of La Guajira.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fonseca, La Guajira</span> Town in Caribbean, Colombia

Fonseca is a municipality located in the Colombian Department of La Guajira. The town celebrates the Festival del Retorno in honor of St Augustine with religious celebrations, vallenato music events and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatonuevo</span> Town in Caribbean, Colombia

Hatonuevo, Spanish for New Herd, Is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of La Guajira. A municipality of the La Guajira Department since 1994, it has a population of approximately 17,014 inhabitants, the majority of which being workers of El Cerrejon coal mine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Jagua del Pilar</span> Municipality and town in Caribbean, Colombia

La Jagua del Pilar, literally "The Jagua of the Pillar", is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of La Guajira. The municipality has a total area of 187 km² and located some 450 meters over sea level and with an average temperature of 27 °C. La Jagua del Pilar became a municipality of La Guajira in 1998.

The Cradle of Accordions Festival is a festival in the Colombian northern town of Villanueva, Department of La Guajira in the month of September. The Cradle of Accordions Festival is celebrated on the same day as Saint Thomas and many vallenato musicians from the Department of Cesar and La Guajira gather to participate in an accordionist contest. The religious event is celebrated with a mass, a procession and fireworks. In 2006 the Senate of Colombia by Law 1052 of this same year declared the Cradle of Accordions Festival as a Cultural and Artistic Patrimony of Colombia. The president of the event is Binomio de Oro de America accordionist and owner Israel Romero.

The Villanueva massacre was a massacre in the Colombian town of Villanueva, Department of La Guajira. The massacre occurred on December 8, 1998 in the neighborhood known as El Cafetal and some 11 people were assassinated by members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) by orders of Carlos Castaño. Alias "Jorge 40", commander of the Northern Bloc of the AUC, part of the paramilitary structure later admitted to participating in the massacre by order of Castaño, in which the operation was commanded by alias "Daniel" and a unit of some 80 paramilitaries.

The Bahía Portete massacre was a massacre in the Colombian town of Bahía Portete, in the Department of La Guajira on April 16, 2004. It was perpetrated by paramilitary groups of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Wayuu Counter-Insurgency Bloc led by alias "Jorge 40" killing 12 people and the disappearance of one. Some 600 people were displaced against their will and took refuge in neighboring Venezuela.

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park National park in Colombia

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park is a national natural park in Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia. The northernmost national park of mainland South America is located at the Caribbean coast of the La Guajira peninsula in Bahía Portete, between Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas. Established on December 20, 2014, it is the most recently designated national park of the country. As of 2017, 59 nationally defined protected areas are incorporated in Colombia. The park hosts a high number of marine and terrestrial species.

The Clan del Golfo, also known as Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and formerly called Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga, is a prominent Colombian neo-paramilitary group and currently the country's largest drug cartel. It is based in the Urabá region of Antioquia, and is involved in the Colombian armed conflict. Los Urabeños is one of the organizations that appeared after the demobilization of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. In late 2011 Los Urabeños declared war on Los Rastrojos over the control of the drug trade in Medellín. Their main source of income is cocaine trafficking as they appear to be the largest distributors of cocaine in all of Colombia. As of late 2021, it is considered the most powerful criminal organization in Colombia, having some 3,000 members in the inner circle of the organization in 2016 with its current numbers unknown. Its rivals include the National Liberation Army. The Gulf Clan has recruited accomplices at the highest level of the military hierarchy, such as generals and colonels.

Alfredo Cuello Baute better known as "Ape Cuello" is a Colombian politician and business administrator. He has served as a member in the House Representative of Colombia. He represented the Cesar Department with the endorsement of the Colombian Conservative Party since 2002. During the 2014 legislative elections he was elected with 32,119 votes and in the 2018 legislative elections he obtained 55,615 this being the largest vote for the House of Representatives in the history of the Department of Cesar.

References

Coordinates: 10°36′N72°59′W / 10.600°N 72.983°W / 10.600; -72.983