Cordoba (Colombia)

Córdoba is one of the 32 departments that, together with Bogotá, Capital District, form the Republic of Colombia. Its capital is Monteria. It is located in the north of the country, in the Caribbean region, bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean), to the east by the departments of Sucre and Bolívar, and to the south and west by the department of Antioquia. With 1,710,000 inhabitants in 2015, it is the eighth most populous department, behind Bogotá, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Cundinamarca, Atlántico, Santander and Bolívar. It was created by means of Law 9 of December 18, 1951, regulated on June 18, 1952.

History

The history of the department is built from the records of the General Archive of the Nation, the General Archive of the Indies, chronicles left by the Spaniards, oral tradition and recent research. The name of the department was taken from General José María Córdova, as a tribute to the hero of independence for his important participation in the freedom of Colombia.

Pre-Columbian period

It goes from the appearance of the first peoples who crossed the Sinú River from North America more than 6,000 years ago, until approximately 1501, the date on which the first Spanish expedition arrived in the current department of Córdoba. At this stage, the Zenúes were the lords of these vast territories and developed one of the most prosperous cultures in America.

In the opinion of some researchers, the Zenúes reached the Upper Formative. However, due to the destruction and looting of their tombs upon the arrival of the Spanish, it is not possible to take the aforementioned opinions for granted. The archaeological discovery of San Jacinto in January 1992 has provided new evidence to clarify the controversy.

Colonial period

It covers the period from 1500 to the emancipation of the Spanish crown, in the first two decades of the XIX century. In these three centuries the Spaniards founded cities, imposed a new economic, political, administrative and religious regime, mixing with them as evidenced by the existing racial typology in the region.

The Cordoba coastline was recognized by Rodrigo de Bastidas in 1501, who arrived at Cispatá bay and discovered the mouths of the Sinú river and the Fuerte and Tortuguilla islands; later Alonso de Ojeda, Francisco Pizarro and Martín Fernández de Enciso arrived, who entered the Sinú river inland, in search of riches. These conquerors began the foundation of towns such as Chimá (1573), San Andrés de Sotavento (1600), Los Córdobas (1621) and Momil (1693), among others. During this period Córdoba belonged to the Province of Cartagena.

Antonio de la Torre y Miranda carried out several expeditions to Cordoba territory at the request of the governor of Cartagena, Juan de Torrezar Díaz Pimienta. The first began in 1774 with the founding and refounding of the towns located in the area of influence of the Sinú and San Jorge rivers. In 1775 Chinú and Sahagún were founded. In 1776, Momil, Lorica, San Bernardo del Viento, Ciénaga de Oro, San Antero and Chimá. In 1777, Montería, San Carlos, San Pelayo and Purísima. In his expeditions, Antonio de la Torre y Miranda promoted the breeding of cattle and domestic animals, taught how to prepare fields and cultivate cotton and corn in a technical way.

Córdoba was already a center of secret anti-Spanish sentiment, as the illegal trade in Asian goods with Peru, Mexico and the Philippines, had Córdoba as a distribution center for banned Asian silk and porcelain from the Manila Galleons.

Republican era

It covers from the years of the cry for independence (1810-1819) to the present day and has the year 1952 as a reference in the identity of the department, since this was the year in which it was created as an independent territorial entity. This implied the establishment of a pre-segregational stage and after it, a post-segregational stage after the division of the department of Bolívar.

With the consolidation and creation of the department of Córdoba by Law 9 of December 18, 1951 and regulated on June 18, 1952, the Department acquires regional autonomy, which causes a remarkable development. Thus begins the Post-segregational stage that continues to this day.

Geography

Physical map of Córdoba.

Limits

The department of Córdoba is located in the northwestern part of Colombia on the extensive Caribbean Plain (132,000 km²) at 7° 22' and 9° 26' north latitude and 74° 47' and 76° 30 ' in longitude west of Greenwech. It has an area of 23,980 km², which in terms of extension is similar to that of Sardinia.

It is part of the Colombian Caribbean region together with the departments of Sucre, Cesar, Magdalena, San Andrés y Providencia, Bolívar, Atlántico and Guajira. It has an area of 23,980 km², bounded to the north by the Caribbean Sea, to the west, south and southeast by Antioquia and to the east by Bolívar and Sucre.

Physiography

The geography of Córdoba presents two easily distinguishable zones: one flat and the other mountainous, which is the one that borders Antioquia.

Flat area

It represents approximately 60% of the total area of the department and is formed by the great Caribbean plain. This area has elevations that do not exceed 100 m s. no. m. and houses the alluvial valleys of the Sinú and San Jorge rivers and the coastal area. Most of the municipalities are in this area, where agro-economic activity is intense.

Coast

Dawn on the beaches of Moñitos, Córdoba.

The Cordoba coast stretches from Punta de Arboletes on the border with Antioquia to Punta de Piedra on the border with Sucre, on the Gulf of Morrosquillo, going through the municipalities of Los Córdobas, Puerto Escondido, San Bernardo del Viento, Moñitos and San Antero. In total there are 124 km of coastline and an average width of 6 km. The fluvial currents on the coast are few, but the Canalete and Mangle rivers can be mentioned.

Estuaries

This zone did not emerge until the end of the 1950s when struggles between peasants and landowners in the region surrounding the mouth of the Sinú changed its course. When the river changed its mouth from Cispatá to Boca de Tinajones, it became salinized, forming an estuary ecosystem and the nascent delta allowed the deposit of many species and control of the Sinú. It is estimated that the extension of this area is 130 km² and is located in the municipalities of San Bernardo del Viento, San Antero and Lorica, including both deltas and the Caños del Lobo, Salado, Sicará and the swamps of Garzal, Corozo and Ostional..

The most important swamps are, among the many that are located in the department, the following:

• Ciénaga Grande de Lorica: located on the right bank of Sinú, with an extension of 304,5 km2, is located between the municipalities of Lorica, Purísima, Momil and Chimá. Its main tributaries are the San Carlos, Aguas Prietas and the Bugre which is a branch of Sinú.

• Cienaga de Betancí: the Finns placed this name for the abundance of fish that it harbored. Etymologically it comes from the cool Betá= fish and Ncí= place it smells. I mean, where the fish smells or where the fish are. Its extension is 120 km2 and is located in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Montería. It receives waters from the Betancí, Ñeque and Leon ravines.

• Ciénaga de Ayapel: located on the left bank of the river San Jorge, collects the aquifer surpluses of this and sometimes of Cauca. It has an extension of 250 km2 where a true agrarian complex has been formed. The ravines of Trejos, Escobilla and the San Matías and Guayabal are poured there.

Mountainous area

It is made up of branches of the western cordillera. When the Andean system reaches the Nudo de Paramillo it bifurcates and enters the department as follows: to the west the Abibe mountain range, which further north bifurcates taking the names of El Águila and Las Palomas. The San Jerónimo mountain range penetrates the center, and the Ayapel mountain range to the east.

• The serrania of Abibe was thus baptized by the Zenus and the first European to recognize it was Francis Cesar and his hosts who came from Urabá in search of gold. It is the longest of the three and serves as a Western limit with the department of Antioquia. It is in this mountain range where the highest hills of Cordoba are presented: Carrizal (2200 m.), Quimarí (2000 m. n. m.), La Gloria (320 m. n. m.), Las Palomas (700 m.), Carepa, among others. Lacking about 58 km to reach the coast and at the height of the hill La Gloria, it forks to form the serrania of The Eagle that is westernized and the serraía de Las Palomas. The latter separates the waters that run to the Canalete River and the middle and lower part of the Sinú River.

• The San Jerónimo mountain range is the second in extension and runs south-northeast. This system separates the hole from the river Sinú from the San Jorge and presents peaks like the Murrucucú with 1270 m. n. m. and from which it descends vertiginosmente forming a series of hills ranging from 200 to 100 m. n. m. Some important hills are: Pando, Mellizas, Mula, Flechas, Betancí, Pulgas, Higuerón, Moncholo and Women.

• Ayapel's serranium is the lowest length and runs south-northeast. Separate the hole of the river San Jorge de la del Cauca. It serves as an oriental boundary with Antioquia. Its most important hills are: Matoso (260 m. n. m.), important for its richness in ferroniquel, Bear (600 m. n. m.) and the high of Don Pio (200 m. n. m.).

Hydrography

The hydrography is very rich and varied. Throughout its rivers and sea, it manages to create an ecosystem full of fish, crabs, shrimp, etc., which are used in culinary and commercial activities.

Córdoba's hydrographic system is made up of the Sinú valley, which covers 1,207,000 hectares, and collects the tributaries from the south of the department; the area of the San Jorge valley, which covers 965,000 hectares in the southeast of the department, and channels the waters of the Ciénaga de Ayapel towards the momposina depression; and the area of the Canalete and Mangle rivers, located to the northwest of the department. In the entire department there are 846 km of main rivers and more than double the number of tributaries and other channels. There are also 110,000 hectares of swamps and an appreciable amount of groundwater -which according to the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Sinú and San Jorge Valleys, CVS- not fully quantified.

The main rivers, the Sinú and the San Jorge, originate in the Nudo de Paramillo, and run parallel in their first sections, separated only by the San Jerónimo mountain range.

• The river Sinú is born at a height of 3960 meters above sea level and runs from south to north for a journey of more than 460 kilometers, leading to the bay of Cispata, in the Gulf of Morrosquillo. Its hydrographic hole covers a total area of 13 874 square kilometres of which 12 600 belong to Córdoba. On its left bank it has as tributaries the Green and Emerald rivers; and on the right the rivers the Manso, Saiza, Tucurá, Piru, Jui, Urrah, Salvajin, Betancí, Caimanera, the Desire and Prietas Waters. The river flow varies from 60 cubic meters in summer to 700 cubic meters in winter.

• The San Jorge River is born next to Sinú and runs equally from south to north until it flows into the Cauca River, which in turn tributates the Magdalena in the depression mumboina. It travels 368 kilometers, being its upper and middle part belonging to the Department of Córdoba. Its tributaries are the San Pedro, Sucio and Uré rivers. It records a minimum flow of 24 cubic meters per second and a maximum of 697 cubic meters.

• The Canalete River is born in the municipality of Canalete and flows into the Caribbean Sea, after a journey of 63 kilometers.

Climate

Córdoba receives winds from the Pacific system, trade winds from the southeast and northeast, as well as sea breezes from the Caribbean. The average annual rainfall ranges from 1,000 mm in the lower Sinú and the coast, to 4,000 mm in the south. Half of the territory receives an annual average that goes from 1,400 to 1,800 hours of light/year, 40% is between 1,800 and 2,200 hours of light/year, and in certain municipalities such as Sahagún, Chinú, and the Momposian depression, this average increases and can vary from 2,200 to 2,600 light hours/year on average.

Due to the low average altitude of the Córdoba territory, the lower zone of the atmosphere, called the troposphere, has a high air temperature that is an average of 32 °C.

Based on rainfall and temperatures -according to Wladimir Koppen's climate classification- most of the territory is in the tropical rainy zone (A) since its temperature exceeds 20 °C and rainfall is above of the 750 mm per year. Within this same tropical rainy zone, a very humid climate of equatorial jungle occurs to the south with rain throughout the year (Af). Towards the middle and lower part of Sinú and San Jorge, there is a humid climate throughout the year but with less rainy periods (Am). The lower part of the Sinú, except at the mouth and at the height of the municipalities of Ciénaga de Oro, Sahagún, Chimá, Chinú, Lorica and Purísima, has a savannah climate, periodically humid and with zenithal rains (Aw). At the mouth of the Sinú there is a dry low-latitude climate (B), of the BSwh type or warm xerophilous savannah climate, with zenithal rains. The thermal floor is warm.

Cordoba's soil is very rich and varied, a fact that is explained, among other things, by its area of mountains and hills, its coastline, fluviolacustrine plain and those of alluvial plain and foothills.

• Range: with elevations of more than 500 m. n. m. We found her at the High Sinus and St. George.
• From the hill: they are unprotected elevations that occupy most of the territory. At this level already the Andean system decreases and the elevations do not exceed 500 m. n. m.
• Coastal: it has two areas: the first is the estuarina located in the Bay of Cispatá, the soils are rich in organic matter, soft and textured. Mangrove-like vegetation is predominant, except in the Sicará cany where the herbs predominate. In the second instance, the marine soil is properly said where the soils do not possess good drainage.
• Fluvio-lacustre plain: along Sinú, San Jorge and Canalete. There are flood plains flooded in the low and supperous areas adjacent to the Ayapel swamp, mainly. The non-undable are located in the natural dams of the Sinuanos and Sanjorjanos valleys.
• Flood of piedemonte: these are soils formed on alluvial fans by the streams, streams and ravines that descend from the medulla area of the Abibe and St. At the same time, soils with good and bad drains, variable fertility and man regulation increase agricultural and livestock production.

Natural parks

Cordoba is home to the Paramillo National Natural Park, the hydrographic star of the department.

Political-administrative division

Municipalities of Córdoba
Montería Ayapel Buenavista Canalete Cereté Chima Chinú Ciénaga de Oro Cotorra La Apartada The Cordoba Momil Moñitos Montelíbano Planeta Rica Pueblo Nuevo Puerto Escondido Puerto Libertador Pure. Sahagún San Andrés de Sotavento San Antero San Bernardo del Viento San Carlos San José de Uré San Pelayo Lorica Tierralta Tuchín Valencia Fort Island (Cartagena) Tortuguilla Island

Politically, the department of Córdoba is divided into 30 municipalities, territorially organized into seven (7) subregions:

• Alto Sinú: made up of the municipalities of Tierralta and Valencia.

• Low Sinus: made up of the municipalities of Chimá, Cotorra, Lorica, Momil and Purísima.

• Costanera: made up of the municipalities of Canalete, Los Córdobas, Moñitos, Puerto Escondido, San Antero and San Bernardo del Viento.

• La Sabanas: made up of the municipalities of Chinú, Sahagún, San Andrés de Sotavento and Tuchín.

• Middle Sinú: made up of the municipalities of Cereté, Ciénaga de Oro, San Carlos and San Pelayo.

• Montería.

• San Jorge: made up of the municipalities of Ayapel, Buenavista, La Apartada, Montelíbano, Planeta Rica, Pueblo Nuevo, Puerto Libertador and San José de Uré.

Demographics

Evolution of the population of the department of Córdoba (1950-2016)

Population by census.Population by projection.Source: Statoids. DANE.

The race is the product of the cross between the Zenúes who lived in the department in pre-Columbian times, the blacks brought from Africa during the colony, in its capital Arab immigrants especially from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Italy and the Spanish colonizers. Each group contributed genetic, historical and folkloric elements. The mestizo race is found in greater proportion in the middle and lower Sinú, where the mixture with Syrian-Lebanese immigrants is appreciable. Negroes towards the coastal zone and indigenous towards the upper Sinú and San Jorge where groups of mulattoes (black and white) and zambo (black and Indian) are also concentrated.

Ethnography

• White " mixed " (76.39%)
• Black or Afro-Colombian (13.21%)
• Amerindians or indigenous people (10.39%)

Economy

The regional economy is sustained on two strong pillars specific to the land: livestock and agriculture. Livestock is the first economic line of the department, so large tracts of land have displaced traditional agriculture to make way for farms livestock. Agriculture is represented by crops of rice, corn, yams, cassava, sesame seeds, bananas, sugar cane, cotton, sorghum, cocoa and coconut. The industrial mining sector is concentrated in the production of ferronickel in Cerro Matoso (municipality of Montelíbano) and the exploitation of mineral coal in the municipality of Puerto Libertador. In addition, the exploitation of wood has become the second export product of Córdoba. Some mines that are exploited in the southern part of the department are illegal, which finance groups outside the law.

Services and commerce are located mainly in the capital.

Agriculture

It represents 8% of the total territory. It is estimated that some 170,000 hectares are devoted to biannual, annual and permanent crops. The main products are corn, cotton, rice, yams, cassava, plantain, coconut, sorghum, sesame, etc.

Livestock

It is practiced especially in the savannahs of the department. Montería, annual headquarters of the National Livestock Reign, is the livestock capital of Colombia. Bovine types such as Zebu, Brown Swiss, Holstein and the very Cordovan Romo Sinuano are bred.

The pastures are flat and hilly. The first are in the lower Sinú and San Jorge. The Pará or admirable, resistant to floods, predominate in this area. In non-flooded sites there are Guinea grasses which, together with Pará, were brought from Brazil and Venezuela in 1875. The latter are low-nutrition grasses in times of drought. In the low hills the guinea grows and the Pointer in the high parts.

The fishing, mining, hydroelectric, logging and manufacturing industries are lines of singular importance within the departmental economy. The Cerromatoso ferronickel deposit located on an isolated hill of 269 m s. no. m. 22 km from Montelíbano, it was discovered in 1956 by Richmond Petroleum, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company. The government granted Richmond a concession contract, distinguished with No. 866 of March 30, 1963, which was modified in its terms by means of an additional contract of July 22, 1970. Said contract allowed the entry of the national government as investor through the IFI. In 1979, the Dutch company Billiton (since 2001 BHP Billiton) became a partner and Cerromatoso S.A. was established.

Sites and events of interest

Montelíbano Ecological Park.

Parque Simón Bolívar de Montería

• Festival of accordioners and composers in Chinú at the end of October.
• Ronda del Sinú Park, located in the capital of the department.
• Beaches of San Bernardo del Viento, Puerto Escondido, Los Córdobas.
• Holy Week in Ciénaga de Oro.
• Sahagún Cultural Week.
• In Montelíbano: The mining complex of Cerromatoso, The great ecological park of the city.
• The spa of the Uré and the Sanctuary of San José de Uré,
• Playa Blanca in San Antero, the Lodo de San Antero volcano and the Bay of Cispatá.
• Beaches of Moñitos, Broqueles Bay, mud volcano in La Rada, ecological trail of Río Cedro, in Moñitos.
• Ecopark Los Caimanes, in Buenavista.
• Mangle River between the municipalities of Puerto Escondido and Moñitos.
• The spectacular Ayapel swamp, where you can enjoy water sports and stay in beautiful hotels.
• The swamp of Betancí, a magical water mirror where countless remains of Zenu culture have been found.
• Montería: Avenida Primera o Ronda del Sinú; the largest Lineal park in Colombia, mattresses on the Río Sinú.
• Urra dam in Tierralta, a real inner sea.
• The petroglyphs of Cerro Colosiná in San Carlos.
• The mouth of the Río Sinú in the Caribbean Sea (Boca de Tinajones).
• The playones of the San Jorge River, Paramillo Natural Park, also in Montelibano.
• The city of Lorica, famous for its republican architecture and market square declared a national monument.
• The Great Cienaga of Lorica, majestic view from the western hills of San Andrés de Sotavento.
• The floating islands of the Ciénaga El Arcial, in New Town.
• The Porro Festival in San Pelayo at the end of June. Festival of folklore and culture of the savannahs of Córdoba and Sucre.
• National reign of cattle ranching in Montería the capital of Colombia.
• Festivals and Intermunicipal Queen of the Sea in the municipality of Moñitos, held in June.
• Bullerengue National Festival in Puerto Escondido on June 24.
• Porro National Festival in San Pelayo.
• Yabolín Festival in Pueblo Nuevo.
• Cascadas de Morindó Betulia, en el corregimiento Morindó Central, municipio de Montería.
• Festival Internacional de Cine de Córdoba.
• Burro Festival in San Antero
• Bullerengue Festival in Puerto Escondido

Gastronomy

Cordoba's cuisine is very varied and elaborate; It uses products of indigenous roots such as corn and cassava that have been complemented with other ingredients such as aubergines and almonds from the Arabs, and rice, bananas and yams from African and Asian cultures. These foods, together with fish, beef and pork, make up the essence of Córdoba's cuisine.

When the Sinú, San Jorge and Cauca rivers begin to lower their channels as a consequence of the summer, the phenomenon of “la subienda” occurs. It is the annual invasion of millions of fish known by the scientific name of prochilodus reticulatus Magdalenae and by the popular name of bocachico.

The consumption of bocachico is not limited solely and exclusively to the inhabitants of the Sinuana region, it is also dispatched to the savannahs of Córdoba, Sucre, Bolívar and other departments of the coast and the interior of the country. Various dishes are prepared with it, from smoked bocachico to sancocho, a typical dish from Córdoba.

Typical Dishes:

• Cheese Mote
• Fish widow
• Bocachico frito
• Fried mojarra
• Fried coconut rice
• Milk rice
• Corn owls
• Peto
• Mote de guandu
• Coconut sweet

Culture

The culture of the department of Córdoba is represented by the music of folk bands and the porro, as well as the fandango and corralejas. These are carried out in most of the municipalities of the department.

Cordoba characters

Cordova or Cordoba

According to a note published in the newspaper El Tiempo, there is confusion about the correct way to write the surname of the hero José María Córdova and therefore, of the department, which is written with B, despite being a tribute to the soldier from New Granada, although temporarily, the department was called Córdova, but the original name provided in the law creating the department was returned.

This confusion is due to the fact that the first Spaniards with the surname Córdoba arrived from Andalusia to the region of Antioquia, between the 17th and 18th centuries, and for this very reason, the hero was baptized with the surname Córdoba, but during his military career, decided to change the B of his surname to the V of victory.