Usaquén
Encyclopedia
| Usaquén in Bogotá |
|
| Area: | 65.31 km² |
|---|---|
| Population: | 489.216 (2008) |
| Type of locality: | Mixed |
Usaquén is a residential and commercial locality (district) in northern Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, capital of 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...
. Although it is designated on maps as Bogotá's #1 locality, it was a separate municipality of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
until 1954, when it was annexed into the city. Today, Usaquén is home of more than 480.000 inhabitants as projected by 2008. The Cordillera Oriental forms a natural border to the east.
Borders
North: The municipality of ChíaChía, Cundinamarca
Chía is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia, located to the north of Bogotá on the main road to Zipaquira. Its history dates back to the pre-Columbian era. The name comes from the Chibchan language and means "moon" or "month"....
East: The municipality of La Calera
La Calera, Cundinamarca
La Calera is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.In the weekends many Bogotanians drive out of the city to spend time with nature, go to their finca or enjoy lunch in one of the many restaurants in the nearby villages. La Calera is one of the top destinations; it...
South: The locality of Chapinero
Chapinero
Chapinero is the second locality of Bogotá, capital of Colombia. It is located in northeastern Bogotá. It is among the more affluent of localities in the city, and is home to several important commercial and dining areas. It comprises three major residential areas: Chicó, El Lago, and Chapinero...
West: The locality of Suba
Suba (Bogotá)
Suba is the 11th locality of the Capital District of the Colombian capital city, Bogotá. Suba is located north of the city, limiting to the north with the municipality of Chía in Cundinamarca Department, to the west with the municipality of Cota, to the east with the locality of Usaquén and to the...
Sites of interest
- The neighborhood of Usaquén, comprising most of the buildings which belonged to the old municipality of the same name, characterized by its colonial style architecture. Some important buildings are: the Santa Barbara church (constructed in 1665 and modernized in the 20th century), the old country manor of the same name (now a mall) and the San José de Usaquén seminar. A famous flea marketFlea marketA flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
(in Spanish "Mercado de las pulgas") is held weekly every Sundays. - Country Club, the largest golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club in Bogotá. - Unicentro, one of the largest shopping malls in Colombia.
- Santa Ana Centro Comercial, a very exclusive shopping mall.
History
The name comes from the caciqueCacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
Usaque, which was founded by indigenous peoples in 1539 and abandoned by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
decree in 1777. It was gradually repopulated by people from Bogotá, and was host to some fighting during the war for Colombian independence. It was re-founded as a municipality in 1846, and in 1860 it was the scene of a battle between government troops and Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...
. After winning that battle, Cipriano took power of the country.
Until 1954, the municipality covered 71 km², starting from Avenida España in the south and ending at 12 km on the road to Chía
Chía, Cundinamarca
Chía is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia, located to the north of Bogotá on the main road to Zipaquira. Its history dates back to the pre-Columbian era. The name comes from the Chibchan language and means "moon" or "month"....
. It had traditionally been a spot for Bogotá's elites to maintain country homes. When it was integrated into the city, it maintained many of its municipal institutions, but with the supervision of Bogotá's mayor. Under the new constitution of 1991, Bogotá was reorganized into localities. Usaquén was numbered first of twenty.
On December 31, 1978, the guerrilla group M-19
19th of April Movement
The 19th of April Movement or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance , or AD/M-19.The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970...
took the military base called Cantón Norte, robbing the arsenal.
Neighborhoods
Among the important neighborhoods are: Lijacá, Verbenal, San Antonio, Servitá, San Cristóbal Norte, Toberín, Cedritos, Bella Suiza, La Carolina, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, San Gabriel Norte, Cantón Norte, Francisco Miranda, Las Margaritas, San Patricio and the old village of Usaquén.Parks
Torca, located at the extreme north, is the locality's largest park.The Country Club's polo area was acquired by the District and transformed into a metropolitan park for northern Bogotá.
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