Bucaramanga

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Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga at night
Bucaramanga at night
Flag of Bucaramanga
Flag		 Official seal of Bucaramanga
Seal
Nickname: The Pretty City
Motto: Montani semper liberi
Location of the city and municipality of Bucaramanga in the Santander Department.
Location of the city and municipality of Bucaramanga in the Santander Department.
Region Andean Region
Department Department of Santander
Foundation 1622
Government
 - Mayor Fernando Vargas, (L)
Elevation 959 m (3,146 ft)
Population (549,263 2005 est.)
 - City 508,102
 - Metro 1,012,331
Website:
www.bucaramanga.gov.co

Bucaramanga is a municipality and capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga is Colombia's seventh-largest metropolitan area (2005 census: 553,046, metro pop. 979,040), and has rapidly grown much since the 1960s, mostly in the neighboring municipalities.

Bucaramanga is the major commercial center of northeastern Colombia, anchoring a regional network that extends to Cúcuta that borders the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the oil-producing center of Barrancabermeja. Local manufacturing, especially of textiles and shoes, has struggled in the face of legal and contraband imports in recent decades. The city is the base of the Colombian Petroleum Institute (ICP), the research branch of the state oil company Ecopetrol, and the Colombian Natural Gas Company (Ecogas).

Contents

[edit] History

Girón was the first and most significant town founded by Spanish colonizers in the region, and Bucaramanga (founded in 1622) did not overtake Girón in population or economic significance until the early 1800s. In the 1860s and 1870s the city attracted a core of German merchants and adventurers (the most famous of whom was Georg von Lengerke), and tensions between the newcomers and local residents flared in 1879. With the political reorganization of 1886, Bucaramanga replaced Socorro as departmental capital. The region (although not the city itself) was devastated by the civil war of 1899-1902, commonly known as the Thousand Days War and Bucaramanga grew only modestly in the first half of the twentieth century.

[edit] Geography

Bucaramanga is located on a plateau in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes, and many residents occupy unstable lands descending steeply from the meseta. The city is located at 7°08′N, 73°08′W. The official metropolitan area includes the municipalities of: Girón, Piedecuesta and Floridablanca, but Lebrija is home to Bucaramanga's airport and is commonly considered part of greater Bucaramanga. All four neighboring municipalities contain extensive rural areas despite recent urbanization.

[edit] Municipal flag

The municipal flag of Bucaramanga was designed by the historian Gustavo Gomez Mejia. Made of two green stripes with a yellow one in the middle. In the center is a blue disk, surrounded with a red circle. In the middle of the blue disk is a white star. In the red circle is written the following legend: "Below the azure of its sky and defended by the generous blood of its sons, Bucaramanga is opened to the four horizons of the motherland". (Ivan Sache, 23 March 2001)

[edit] Municipal Coat of Arms

The words "Montani Semper Liberi" are Latin for "Mountaineers are always free".

[edit] Climatology and Surface

Bucaramanga has a municipal area of 165 km² and is located at 959m above sea level. The average temperature of 23°C (73°F) with an average humidity of 65%. Its medium annual precipitation is of 1,041mm. There are two rain seasons, between March-May and September-November. The dry months of the year are December and January with a medium precipitation of 58mm.

[edit] The City

Bucaramanga is also known as the "Ciudad de los Parques" ("The City of the Parks") and "Ciudad Bonita" ("Pretty City"). The city is served by one transportation terminal and the Palonegro Airport, which is located west of the city. In general, the more prosperous areas are along and above Carrera 33 (Cabecera area) and to the south, over the Viaduct in Floridablanca (Cañaveral area), while the poorest areas are to the north (Kennedy area). The site of the old airport, the last big piece of undeveloped land on the plateau itself, was turned into middle-class apartment housing (Ciudadela Real de Minas) in the 1980s. The government center for the city and department, built around the old colonial plaza, is several blocks removed from the commercial center of the city. The departmental university, the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), is in the northeastern part of the city; there are several private universities of varying quality.

In January 20, 2006, Colombian company Telecom launched WiMAX, thus becoming the first city in Colombia, and the second in Latin America to have it.

[edit] City's Neighborhoods

Bucaramanga is divided in 23 Main Neighborhoods but actually the City it's compose for 17 Communes

  1. Norte (North)
  2. Nororiente (Northeast)
  3. San Francisco
  4. Occidente (West)
  5. García Rovira
  6. La Concordia
  7. Ciudadela Real de Minas
  8. Suroccidente (Southwest)
  9. La Pedregosa
  10. Provenza
  11. Sur (South)
  12. Cabecera del Llano
  13. La Floresta
  14. Pan De Azucar
  15. Terrazas
  16. El Prado
  17. Alvarez
  18. Conucos
  19. Oriente (East)
  20. Morrorico
  21. Centro (Downtown)
  22. Lagos del Cacique
  23. Mutis

[edit] Communes

  • Cabecera del Llano or Commune XII
  • Centro Oriental (Central Eastern) or Commune XIII
  • Centro (Downtown) or Commune XV
  • García Rovira or Commune V
  • La Ciudadela or Commune VII
  • La Concordia or Commune VI
  • La Pedregosa or Commune IX
  • Lagos del Cacique or Commune XVI
  • Morrorico or Commune XIV
  • Mutis or Commune XVII
  • Nororiental (Northeast) or Commune II
  • Norte (North) or Commune I
  • Occidental (Western) or Commune IV
  • Provenza or Commune X
  • San Francisco or Commune III
  • Sur (South) or Commune XI
  • Suroriental (Southeast) or Commune VIII

[edit] People

Many important personalities from Colombia are from Bucaramanga such as Luis Carlos Galán, presidential candidate murdered in 1989, Carlos Ardila Lülle, one of the most important businessmen in Colombia, and politician Horacio Serpa Uribe.

[edit] Education

The city has a good reputation due to its numerous universities, amongst them:

[edit] Universidad Industrial de Santander

[edit] Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga

[edit] Universidad Santo Tomás

[edit] Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Local Bus

[edit] Intercity Bus

[edit] Air

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Municipalities in Santander Department
Aguada • Albania • Aratoca • Barbosa • Barichara • Barrancabermeja • Betulia • Bolívar • Bucaramanga • Cabrera • California • Capitanejo • Carcasi • Cepita • Cerrito • Charala • Charta • Chima • Chipata • Cimitarra • Concepción • Confines • Contratación • Coromoro • Curiti • El Carmen • El Guacamayo • El Peñón • El Playón • Encino • Enciso • Florián • Floridablanca • Galan • Gambita • Girón • Guaca • Guadalupe • Guapota • Guavata • Guepsa • Hato • Jesus María • Jordan • La Belleza• Landazuri • La Paz • Lebrija • Los Santos • Macaravita • Málaga • Matanza • Mogotes • Molagavita • Ocamonte • Oiba • Onzaga • Palmar • Palmas Socorro • Paramo • Piedecuesta • Pinchote • Puente Nacional • Puerto Parra • Puerto Wilches • Rionegro • Sabana de Torres • San Andrés • San Benito • San Gil • San Joaquín • San José de Suaita • San José Miranda • San Miguel • San Vicente de Chucurí • Santa Bárbara • Santa Helena del Opón • Simacota • Socorro • Sucre • Surata • Tona • Valle San José • Vélez • Vetas • Villanueva • Zapatoca
Flag of Santander

http://pwp.etb.net.co/fdrojas/Ciudades/Bucaramanga.JPG