Chocontá
Chocontá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located on the Pan-American Highway.
In 1938 Choconta had a population of 2,041.[1]
[edit] History
Foundation date: 06 September, 1538
A new town was founded in a hill on the other side of the Funza river, in front of the current site in 1563 by mandate of the Oidor Tomás Lópes, and it was moved to the current site in 1573.
Chocontá in Chibcha language means: “Cultivation of the good ally"/"Garden of the neighbour". In precolombian times, it was strong spot for the Zipas. Spaniards arrived on 9 June, 1537, Pentecostal day, when Father Fray Domingo de las Casas named it "Town of the Holy Spirit" ("Pueblo del Espíritu Santo") with a mass.
Gonzálo Jiménez de Quezada visited the town in 1537. In 1854 it was presidential headquarters and on 21 April, 1854 Tomás Herrera was proclaimed President in the Rectory of the town. On 9 August, 1819 at 2 pm The Liberator Simón Bolívar arrived to Chocontá and stayed to rest in what currently is the House of Culture after his trioumph, defining the fate of the Colombian Republic.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 403
- ^ (http://choconta-cundinamarca.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=mIxx-1-&m=f#historia)
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Government of Cundinamarca; Choconta
- (Spanish) Choconta official website
Coordinates: 5°09′N 73°41′W / 5.15°N 73.683°W
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