- Armenia, Colombia
Infobox City
official_name = Armenia
nickname = "Miracle City"
motto = "Trabajo y Civilización" (work and civilization)
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of the city and municipality of Armenia in the Quindio Department
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name =Colombia
subdivision_type1 = Departamento
subdivision_name1 =Quindío
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area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 140
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population_as_of = 2004
population_note =
population_total = 324,588
population_density_km2 = 5320.75
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utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST =
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latd=4 |latm=51 |lats=30 |latNS=N
longd=76 |longm=8 |longs=30.49 |longEW=W
elevation_m = 1480
elevation_ft =
website = [http://www.armenia.gov.co/ Government of Armenia's official website]
footnotes =Armenia is the capital of Quindío, a department in
Colombia . The city is located at coordinates 4.5170° north, 75.6830° west, 290 kilometers west ofBogotá . Armenia is a mid-size city located between Bogotá,Medellín andCali , the 3 largest Colombian cities. The city's area code for phone calls is 096. Its average temperature is between 18 °C- 22 °C.Raipur ,India is the latest to become asister city of Armenia (seelist of twin towns and sister cities ). It's one of the three that forms theColombian Coffee-Growers Axis . Perhaps one of the most attractive areas in Colombia.History
Armenia was founded in
October 14 ,1889 by Jesús Maria Ocampo, also known as "Tigrero" (translates to "tiger killer") due to his love of huntingjaguar s, known locally as tigers. Ocampo came from Anaime, Tolima, looking for shelter in the mountains of Quindío since he was running away from General Gallo. He paid one hundred pesos in gold coins to Antonio Herrera for the land in which to build a fonda, or trade center, not only for himself but also for other colonists who calme fromSalento ,Antioquia ,Manizales and areas surrounding theQuindío River andLa Vieja River . Ocampo then proceeded to sell land for settlement. To encourage settlement, Ocampo returned to Anaime to ask for the help of his friend Juan de La Cruz Cardona, and to marry thirteen year-old Arsenia Cardona. Six months after its founding, in August 1890, Armenia had reached a population of 100 people, allowing it to gain legal recognition by the government. The city was initially called Villa Holguin, in honor of the then-current president of the country. It is believed the name was changed to Armenia in memory of the Armenian people murdered in the Turkish ottomanHamidian Massacres of 1894-97 inWestern Armenia .Despite Armenia's quickly expanding economy at the time, the means of transportation were still very limited. The main form of transporting people and merchandise was by
mule , due to the mountainous terrain surrounding the city. It was not until the construction of the first asphalt road in 1927 toZarzal in theCauca river valley that transportation was improved.Nowadays, the city combines its contemporary development with the all traditional ways of its forefathers' heritage, like the historic Liberator Pathway, the path used by Colombia's 19th century Liberator
Simon Bolívar to move his army between the west of the country and Santa Fe de Bogotá during his successful independence campaign fromSpain , currently one of the top two tourist destinations in Colombia.The
1999 Armenia earthquake caused devastation in Armenia] InJanuary 25 ,1999 , at 1:19 P.M. (local time), the city was devastated by anearthquake measuring 6.2 on theRichter Scale . The earthquake caused extensive damage to the city, mainly because of poor construction codes and aging buildings. The earthquake claimed several thousand lives and left over 200,000 people homeless.Since then, international aid has helped rebuild and expand the city. Numerous new government buildings and highways have been constructed.It is estimated that a large earthquake, approximately 6-7 in magnitude, will hit this area every 20 years due to high seismic activity. It can be explained by the triple junction that occurs at the northwest corner of the
South American Plate where the Nazca, Cocos, and Pacific plates converge.Economy
s. To the south of the city as it gets closer to sea level, the temperature favors not only Quindio's agricultural economy, but a renewed tourist industry in the shape of villas for rent, theme parks, eco-hoteles and family day leisure centers, not excluding all time favorites like local cuisine restaurants, exhibition centers and country clubs specialized in
fishing ,tennis ,golf , cart racing and other sports. Many traditional plantations still exist in the surrounding area and many offer bed and breakfast accommodation and "ecotourism " packages. The city has a modern airport with daily links to Bogotá,Cali , andMedellín which make the city a convenient choice for conferences, meetings, business and social events.Tourism and Folklore
The renewed tourist industry has activated the popularity of the city and its surrounding areas. The region's northern area is the gateway to
Los Nevados national park, where the highest peaks in central Colombia rise to perpetual snows at more than 4,500 meters. At the Quindio side of the foothills of this national park, lays the magnificentCocora valley, where the National Tree of Colombia, thewax palm grows, and whose municipality of Salento is a top touristic destination famous for its culinary delicacy: fried river trout, for its guadua crafts and furniture (the strong nativebamboo cane), its art galleries and its fame for being the bohemian centre of regional artists. Tourists and hikers walk from here to reach the spectacular views of the park.The county's folklore is rich and is represented throughout events and traditions visible during most of its towns festivities to name a few:
The
Yipao (Parade of Jeeps): After World War II Armenia was given imported general purposeJeep s vehicles so that they may be used for the difficult paths. However, these old vehicles have been also adopted into a traditional parade carrying oversized loads of coffee, local agriculture products and people.The Chapoleras
beauty pageant , with costumes depicting the traditional coffee harvesting dress in the fashion of late 19th century, and the various popular dances is widely known in the entire country.Art and handcrafts
This region was widely known in the coutry at the early XX century for the production of storage recipients made of the empty dried shell of the fruit of a local specie of inedible pumpkin, the "Cuyabra" or "totumo", which gives the
demonym of "cuyabros" to the people born in this city. Nowadays, this recipients are no longer mass produced to practical purposes, since the cheaper materials such plastics displaced them from the market, but these traditional recipients are still produced and hand painted as artcrafts.The
Carriel is a traditional handbag leather handcraft symbolic of thepaisa culture and the early antioquiancolonisation . It is often used in the typical dances and parades, and its miniature version is sold to tourists as souvenir. Thecabuya hancrafts are often seen.The bamboo
guadua is widely used in creation of artcrafts, furniture and buildings.Education and Sports
Armenia has several universities, the primary ones being the University of Gran Colombia and the University of Quindio.
The main sport center in the city is the Centennial Stadium, where local sporting events can be seen, including national and international soccer tournaments. Other sport events are
bullfighting ,golf ,swimming andcycling . The mountainous area surrounding Armenia has helped create some of the greatest climbing cyclists in the world, many of whom compete internationally in events such as theTour de France ref|Rendell.The
Quimbaya museum designed byRogelio Salmona , offers a permanent display of precolumbian handcrafts, ceramic and gold artpieces.Media
* Newspaper:
La Crónica del Quindío
* Television: Telecafé [http://www.telecafetv.com.co]Transportation
*
El Edén Airport References
*Rendell, M.: Kings of the Mountains: How Colombia's Cycling Heroes Changed Their Nation's History, Aurum Press Ltd. 2003
External links
* [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,18896,00.html Colombia Quake Kills 1,000]
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