Pijao, Quindío
Encyclopedia
Pijao is a municipality in the south-eastern part of the department of Quindío
, Colombia
. The township is located 31 km south of the departmental capital Armenia
.
In 2005 Pijao had an estimated population of 10,250, of which 5,700 live in the urban center.
and Córdoba
, to the south by Génova
, to the west by the department of Valle del Cauca, and to the east by the department of Tolima. It has an area of 243 km².
Other settlers arrived from Manizales
and Antioquia
. The inhabitants of the area decided to construct a town in order to have a church, school and other amenities. Juan García donated the land to form the village, located in a small valley on the banks of the Lejos River. The founding act of the town was signed on May 15, 1902.
The settlement was first named San Antonio de Colón. It was recognized as a corregimiento of Calarcá
in 1905. It separated from Calarcá and became a municipality in 1927. The name was changed to Pijao by the Caldas Assembly in 1930.
For the first 36 years of its existence, Pijao had no road access. There was a mountain path to Calarcá that took two days to transit by mule. Travellers who were carried in seats on the backs of porters took three days to make the journey. The road from the Verde River took ten years to construct, and was inaugurated on July 20, 1938.
Pijao originally incorporated the land that would become Buenavista. This settlement was founded in 1933 and became a corregimiento of Pijao in 1936. In 1966, shortly after the formation of the department of Quindío, the separate municipality of Buenavista was created.
Quindío Department
Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains. Its capital is Armenia. It is famous for the quality of the coffee plantations, colorful architecture, benign weather, variety of hotel accommodations and touristic landmarks...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. The township is located 31 km south of the departmental capital Armenia
Armenia, Colombia
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 of Bogotá. Armenia is a mid-size city located between Bogotá, Medellín and Cali, the 3 largest Colombian cities. The city's area code for phone calls is...
.
In 2005 Pijao had an estimated population of 10,250, of which 5,700 live in the urban center.
Geography
Pijao is bounded to the north by BuenavistaBuenavista, Quindío
Buenavista is a municipality in the south-central part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is known and named for the spectacular view over the department. The township is located 33 km south of the departmental capital Armenia....
and Córdoba
Córdoba, Quindío
Córdoba is a municipality in the eastern part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 24 km southeast of the departmental capital Armenia....
, to the south by Génova
Génova, Quindío
Génova is a municipality in the southern part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 52 km south of the departmental capital ArmeniaIn 2005 Génova had an estimated population of 12,600, of which 7,100 live in the main urban zone....
, to the west by the department of Valle del Cauca, and to the east by the department of Tolima. It has an area of 243 km².
History
The first settlers in the Pijao region arrived in the 1890s from Tolima. Many were radical Liberal guerrillas, fleeing reprisals from the governing Conservative regime and the civil disorder that culminated in the Thousand Day War. Among them were Quintiliano Fernández and his wife Griselda Marín. Loaiza (2004) cites their great-grandson, who tells of how their Conservative enemies tracked the couple to Pijao, where they had built a house and farm. The pregnant Griselda was hung from a tree and tortured until she revealed the location of her father, a leading guerrilla from Tolima.Other settlers arrived from Manizales
Manizales
Manizales is a city and municipality in central Colombia, capital of Department of Caldas and part of the region of Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis, near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano....
and Antioquia
Antioquia Department
Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range...
. The inhabitants of the area decided to construct a town in order to have a church, school and other amenities. Juan García donated the land to form the village, located in a small valley on the banks of the Lejos River. The founding act of the town was signed on May 15, 1902.
The settlement was first named San Antonio de Colón. It was recognized as a corregimiento of Calarcá
Calarcá, Quindío
Calarcá is a municipality in the eastern part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 4 km east of the departmental capital Armenia...
in 1905. It separated from Calarcá and became a municipality in 1927. The name was changed to Pijao by the Caldas Assembly in 1930.
For the first 36 years of its existence, Pijao had no road access. There was a mountain path to Calarcá that took two days to transit by mule. Travellers who were carried in seats on the backs of porters took three days to make the journey. The road from the Verde River took ten years to construct, and was inaugurated on July 20, 1938.
Pijao originally incorporated the land that would become Buenavista. This settlement was founded in 1933 and became a corregimiento of Pijao in 1936. In 1966, shortly after the formation of the department of Quindío, the separate municipality of Buenavista was created.