San Rafael (Colombia)

San Rafael is a municipality in Colombia, located in the Oriente subregion of the department of Antioquia. It limits to the north with the municipalities of Alejandría and San Roque, to the east and south with the municipality of San Carlos and to the west with the municipalities of Guatapé and Alejandría.

History

The municipality of San Rafael was founded on August 5, 1864 by miners who came from the Paisa regions of Santa Rosa de Osos and San Carlos, attracted by the abundance of gold in the area. The nascent population was first known by the name of La Cuchilla.

In 1871, the district was erected as a municipality with the name of San Rafael, due to the faith that its founders had in the Archangel San Rafael who was their doctor and guide.

In 1905 the district was transferred from La Cuchilla to the place where it was born, the valley it currently occupies. This feat was carried out by the priest of Rionegro, José de Jesús Correa Jaramillo, a visionary man who foresaw that this place was the most suitable for the development of the population.

It was definitively founded in 1864 by some miners, who called it first El Abra and then El Sueldo. At the end of the XIX century the town was moved to the place called "Paso de Totumito", origin of the current San Rafael; Municipality was erected in 1871.

Located in the largest area of hydroelectric reservoirs in the department of Antioquia, it is a municipality rich in water sources. which has given it the nickname of "bewitchment of crystalline waters". Streams and puddles in abundance are its main reference, and its River Festivals, which are held every June, are famous. Several sugar mills are located near the town center and it is possible to learn about the production of panela in them.

Currently, an economic investment has begun in order to increase tourism, which has consisted among others in improving some hotels.

Demographics

Total Population: 15,698 hab. (2018)

• Urban population: 7 891
• Rural population7 807

Literacy: 84.2% (2005)

• Urban area: 86.6%
• Rural areas: 81.9%

Ethnography

According to the figures presented by DANE from the 2005 census, the ethnographic composition of the municipality is:

• Mestizos & Blancos (90.6%)
• Afro-Colombians (9.4%)

Geography

Its headwaters are located in a hollow between the Guatapé and Bizcocho rivers that provide beautiful landscapes.

It has a broken territory of 327 km², in which the Careperro, Piedra, La Pradera and Totumo highlands stand out, and is crossed by the Bizcocho, Arenal, Jaguas, Nare and Guatapé rivers.

Economy

• Agriculture: coffee, Caña, Fríjol, Maíz, Fruits
• Mining: gold.
• Developmental tourism

Parties

• Rio party, July.
• Classical Freedom, 17-20 July.
• Festivals of the virgin of the carmen from 9 to 18 July.
• First river ride on July 4.
• Farmer's party on July 25.
• Trade parties in early August.
• Centenary Municipal, August 5.
• Fiestas Patronales de San Rafael Arcángel, between 16 and 24 October.
• Fiestas de San Isidro in June.
• Youth Week
• women’s horseback riding in March every year

Gastronomy

Bizcocho de arriero, horchata (drink made from rice, panela and cinnamon).

Sights and ecological destinations

Church of San Rafael Arcángel in the municipality.

• San Lorenzo Ecological Park
• Jaguas reservoir
• On the banks of the rivers Bizcocho and Guatapé grow the trees "carboneros", threatened with extinction.
• Sport fishing, in places like Pescatur, located on the vereda the light and others in, manila, the trocadero and on the campsite.
• San Rafael has several spas in its rivers: El Bizcocho, El Arenal and Guatapé; spas are places that adorn the surroundings of the municipality, where their inhabitants and tourists frequently spend their free time. The most famous spas are: Gallo, La Chocha, El Charco del Amor, El Trocadero, Jamaica, El Burro, el Churimo,la crystalina among others.