'Santiago de Cali' (), often shortened to 'Cali' (), is the main city, municipality and capital of the
Valle del Cauca Department in western
Colombia. It was founded
July 25,
1536 by Spanish conqueror
Sebastián de Belalcázar.
The name 'Santiago de Cali' comes in one part to honour
Saint James the apostle (''Santiago'' in Spanish) whose feast day is celebrated on
July 25. About the word 'Cali' there are several opinions about its possible origin. Some attribute it to a mispronunciation of the word "Lili", the name of a local tribe. Others believe that the word "Cali" has
quechua origin, and it was brought by the
Yanaconas Indians that came from
Quito serving
Sebastián de Belalcázar. This theory is reinforced from the fact that near Quito there is an indigenous town named ''Cali Cali''.
Geography and climate
Cali is located on the Cauca Valley to the west of the
Cauca River and to the east of the Western Mountain Range near the hills known as Farallones de Cali. The city rests approximately 1,000 meters (3,280 ft.) above
sea level and its topography is fairly flat. Approximately 100 km west of Cali lies the port city of
Buenaventura on the Colombian Pacific coast; to the northeast are the industrial town of Yumbo and the city of Palmira, where Cali's international airport, the
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón (CLO), is located; the colonial city of
Popayán is two hours south by car in the Cauca department.
Several rivers that descend from the Western Mountain Range and empty into the Cauca River pass through the metropolitan area of Cali. In the western part of the city the
Aguacatal River flows into the
Cali River, which continues on to the Cauca River. In the south the rivers Cañaveralejo, Lilí, and Meléndez flow into the CVC south channel which also empties into the Cauca River. Farther south, the banks of the
Pance River are a popular place for recreation and leisure.
The local climate is semi-tropical as the Western Mountain Range screens the flow of humidity from the Pacific coast toward the interior of the country. In the afternoons Cali enjoys a fresh cross breeze that originates in the west and blows east. The Western Mountain Range rises from an average of 2,000 meters above sea level in the northern part of the city to approximately 4,000 meters to the south. Because of this variation in altitude, the weather in the northwest portion of the city is drier than in the southwest. The average annual precipitation varies between 900 mm to 1,800 mm depending on the metropolitan zone for a citywide average of approximately 1,000 mm. Cali's average temperature is 24°C (74°F) with an average low temperature of 19°C (66°F) and a high of 30°C (86°F).
Due to its proximity to the
equator there are no major seasonal variations. However, locals refer to the dry season as the city's "summer" period and call the rainy season "winter." There are typically two rainy seasons: from April to May and from October to November. Regardless, rain can be expected to fall at any point during the year nourishing the city's permanent green and lush vegetation.
History
Pre-Columbian era and conquest
Before the arrival of the Spaniards the actual region of Cali was inhabited by many indigenous tribes, mostly speakers of
Cariban languages. On the region between the
Cauca River and the Western Cordillera, the
Gorrones were established between the actual
Roldanillo and Cali; the biggest Morron's town was settled on the River Pescador near the actual towns of
Zarzal and
Bugalagrande. Although
cannibals, the Morrones traded with the
Quimbayas who inhabited the north of the
Valle del Cauca.
On his way to Cali,
Sebastián de Belalcázar first met the
Timbas which ran away before the arrival of the Conqueror's men leaving behind their towns and gold. After the Timbas, towards the north, the Spaniards entered in the territory of the chief Jamundí and his tribe the Jamundíes between the rivers Pance and
Jamundí. These Indians offered a strong resistance to the invaders, fighting with poisonous darts and arrows against the
arquebuses and swords of the Spaniards. After taking Jamundíes' town the Spaniards looted the Indian's gold.
Before taking complete control over the region the Spaniards had to defeat the chief Petecuy, whose tribe inhabited between the river Lilí and the Western Cordillera. Petecuy formed a big army formed by many tribes and fought the Spaniards on the
Holy Tuesday of
1536.
The Morrones gave up easily to the Spaniards and were divided in
encomiendas. The already "
mestizo" nature of the Spaniards made the process of mixing with the
Amerindians easy. In fact, Belalcázar himself had several children born in the Americas from Indian mothers, as did his men.
Cali was important for Belalcazar because it was beyond the
Inca empire. After the capture and execution of the Inca
Atahualpa at
Cajamarca,
Francisco Pizarro had sent Belalcazar to take possession of
Guayaquil and Quito on his behalf. Cali, being beyond the Quechua empire, was claimed by Belalcazar as his own territory. After his death, his descendants maintained possession of much of the land until the
war of independence against Spain.
Founding and colonial period
The founder of Cali,
Sebastián de Belalcázar, came to the American continent in the third voyage made by Columbus in 1498. In 1532, after serving in
Darién and
Nicaragua, he joined
Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of
Perú. In 1534 Belalcázar separated from Pizarro's expedition to found the city of
Quito, and later in his search of
El Dorado he entered the actual Colombian territory founding the cities of
Pasto and
Popayán.
On
July 25 1536, Belalcázar founded Santiago de Cali, first established a few miles north of the present location, near the actual towns of
Vijes and
Riofrio. Under the orders of Belalcázar, captain Miguel Muñoz moved the city to its present location in
1537, where the chaplain Brother Santos de Añasco celebrated a mass in the place occupied by the Church La Merced today, and Belalcázar designated Pedro de Ayala as the first municipal authority.
During the Colonia (colonial period), Santiago de Cali was part of the gobernación of
Popayán, which was part of
Quito's Audiencia. Although initially Cali was the capital of Popayán's Gobernación, in 1540 Belalcázar moved this function to Popayán due to better weather.
Until the 18th century most of the territory of what is now Cali was occupied by haciendas (ranches), and the city was only a small town near the Cali River. In 1793, Cali had 6,548 inhabitants, 1,106 of whom were slaves. The haciendas were the property of the dominant noble class with many slaves dedicated mostly to stockbreeding and raising sugar cane crops. Many of these haciendas became neighborhoods of the present city like Cañaveralejo, Chipichape, Pasoancho, Arroyohondo, Cañasgordas, Limonar, and Meléndez.
Cali was strategically positioned for trade, centrally located in relation to the mining regions of
Antioquia,
Chocó, and
Popayán. In the colonial period, the first trail for mules and horses between Cali and
Buenaventura was completed.
Independence
On
July 3 1810 Santiago de Cali proclaimed its independence from Popayán's Gobernación. This local uprising predates the national one in
Bogotá by 17 days. Soon the local militia looked for allies forming the "Ciudades Confederadas del Valle del Cauca" with Anserma, Cartago, Toro, Buga and Caloto. Immediately after the rebellion the Governor of Popayán, Miguel Tacón y Rosique, organized an army to control the uprising. The people from Cali called for help to the "Junta Suprema" in Bogotá which sent a contingent under colonel Antonio Baraya to support the independence cause. On the
28 March 1811 in the battle of Bajo Palacé the Army of Baraya defeated the royalist army with the help of Atanacio Girardot.
In the following years there were many battles between royalists and local militia. After having been released from captivity by Napoleon, King
Fernando VII of Spain sent a large army under the command of the Pacificador (peacemaker)
Pablo Morillo who reclaimed power for Spain.
In 1819 after
Simón Bolívar defeated the bulk of the Spaniard army in the
Batalla de Boyacá, there were new uprisings in the Valle del Cauca and the
Criollos took control permanently. In 1822 Bolívar arrived in Cali. The city was an important military outpost and the region contributed many men to the war of independence that liberated the nations in the south.
Recent History
On
August 7th,
1956, at around 1 a.m., seven
Colombian army trucks filled with 42
tons of
dynamite exploded near the
train station, destroying around eight city blocks and leaving a toll of thousands of dead and wounded.
[1][2]
Cali hosted the
Pan American Games in
1971, an event which is considered by many as the height of the city's golden age as a model of civic orderliness.
During the
1980s the city saw an increase in violence and corruption due to the ascendancy of the
Cali Cartel, a drug
mafia dedicated to the
trafficking of
cocaine.
On April 9th, 2007, a 110-pound car bomb gutted the five-floor police headquarters before dawn, killing a taxi driver and injuring 34. Authorities blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or
FARC, which has been trying to overthrow
Colombia's democratic government for nearly five decades. Later that week on April 12th, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Cali to protest the bombing of the city's police barracks. Carrying giant banners reading "I reject terrorism" and "Death to fear," protesters were joined by Colombia's Defense Minister
Juan Manuel Santos.
Politics
Cali is governed by a mayor elected for a three year term. Under the mayor there are several administrative departments and secretaries.
The legislative branch is a city council whose members are elected by citywide circumscription for four year terms.
The first elected mayor was
Carlos Holmes Trujillo from the liberal party. The last elected mayor was
Apolinar Salcedo, who is blind and a former member of the city's council. He was dismissed from his post by the Procuraduría General de la Nación on May 8th, 2007 because of irregularities in an official contract. Ramiro Tafur was designated by Valle del Cauca Governor Angelino Garzón to complete Salcedo's term, which ends December 31st, 2007.
Transportation
Cali has started building a massive transportation system, (
MIO) (Masivo Integrado de Occidente) which consists of special buses and bus routes. This system is highly needed to organize the transport in the City. It should start operating in 2007. Currently people commute in the city using an intricate and disorganized network of buses with many routes and names.
Cali is served by the
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (CLO), which serves as an important national and international hub for the southwestern Colombia region. Its international terminal is served with daily international flights to and from Houston, Miami, Quito, Madrid, Panama City and other important cities.
Education
The most important higher education institution is the
Universidad del Valle (Valle State University), or
Univalle, which was founded in 1945; with more than 20,000 students distributed in its schools and departments, Univalle is the only institution offering a wide variety of academic programs in the region,less law studies. It stands out because of the developments in the areas of scientific and applied technological research. The
Universidad Santiago de Cali is another academic center with a considerable number of schools and departments. Other important universities, offering academic programs are
Universidad Autónoma de occidente,
Universidad Javeriana,
Universidad ICESI,
Universidad Libre, and
Universidad San Buenaventura.
Cultural activities
Feria de Cali
"La Feria de Cali" the main feria in Colombia and America, is the main cultural event in the city. From December 25 to December 30 people enjoy of many activities like an opening cabalgata (parade of horseback riders), tascas, salsa concerts, bullfights, parades, and athletic activities and competitions.
Cali is also known as the "Capital de la Salsa" given the city's infatuation with that type of Afro-Caribbean music. In early July there is the Summer Salsa Festival which lasts for one week. It usually includes concerts by the world's great remaining salsa bands as well as dance shows and "melomano" competitions in which salsa connoisseurs try to out do each other by digging deep into the archives of salsa music and related sounds to find and reveal long lost tunes.
Rio Cali race
Cali has two main athletic events, a mid-year half marathon
[4] and a December 10k race called Carrera del Río Cali.
Sports
★ The city of Santiago de Cali is recognized as the sport capital city of the republic of
Colombia, as it is the first Colombian city to have had hosted the Pan American Games in the 1970's.
★ Santiago de Cali is home to two of the greatest
soccer clubs in the country of
Colombia, these clubs are
Deportivo Cali and
America de Cali.
★ Santiago de Cali has two soccer stadiums:
Estadio Deportivo Cali for future use by
Deportivo Cali, and
Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero for use by America de Cali. Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero is currently home to both Deportivo Cali and America de Cali, since Estadio Deportivo Cali is still under construction. After completion of construction, Estadio Deportivo Cali will be home to Deportivo Cali while Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero will remain as America de Cali's home stadium.
★ Though there is no current
basketball team that calls Santiago de Cali home, basketball is the second-most played sport in the city. Near the center of the city, on "La Carrera del Cholado", basketball is one of the most preferred sports.
Soccer still surpasses basketball in sport popularity.
★ Although
bullfighting is only active during the
Feria de Cali which is held in
December, it is anticipated by many citizens in Cali, and all around
Colombia. The bullfighting
ring is called La Plaza de Toros, located in
Cañaveralejo, on the southwest of Cali.
Sister Cities
★
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
★
Melbourne,
Australia
★
Stockholm,
Sweden
★
Athens,
Greece
★
Montreal,
Canada
★
Atlanta,
United StatesCity]],
Panama
★
Monte Carlo,
Monaco
★
Brighton,
United Kingdom
★
Prague,
Czech Republic
★
Fukuoka,
Japan
External links
(The following links are all in Spanish language)
★
Gobernación del Valle del Cauca
★
Universidad del Valle
★
Universidad Santiago de Cali
★
Universidad San Buenaventura
★
Universidad Autónoma de Occidente
★
Universidad ICESI
★
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana - Cali
★
El País newspaper
★
Occidente free newspaper
★
(PDF) - 2005 Census data
References
1. [2] Cali, la explosión de 1956: catástrofe histórica
2. [3] El País - Cali recuerda la explosión del 7 de agosto
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