Popayan

Popayan
Coordinates: 2 ° 26 '  N , 76 ° 37'  W. Popayan​ Popayán on the map of Colombia
Location of the municipality of Popayán on the map of Cauca
Basic data
Country	Colombia
Department	Cauca
City foundation	January 13, 1537
Residents	286,724  (2019)
City insignia
Detailed data
surface	512 km 2
Population density	560 inhabitants / km 2
height	1737  m
Waters	Río Las Piedras
Post Code	190001-190019
prefix	+578
Time zone	UTC -5
City Presidency	Juan Carlos López Castrillón (2020-2023)
City patron	Holy Ecce Homo of Popayán Sorrows of Popayán
Website	www.popayan.gov.co
Popayan Cathedral
Church in Popayán

Popayán is the capital and a municipality ( municipio ) of the Colombian Department del Cauca . Since many public and private buildings are traditionally painted white, Popayán is also called the white city ( La Ciudad Blanca in Spanish ).

Popayán is a university town with the seat of the Universidad del Cauca, founded in 1827, and also the seat of the Archdiocese of Popayán, founded in 1546 . Among the cities of Colombia, Popayán is the one where most of the later Colombian presidents were born.

Popayan Climate diagram J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     203   24 13     181   24 13     122   25th 14th     203   24 14th     166   25th 14th     82   25th 13     49   25th 12     62   25th 12     124   25th 12     251   24 14th     331   24 14th     251   24 14th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: IDEAM

Geography and climate

Popayán is located in the Pubenza Valley ( Spanish Valle de Pubenza ), which is located in southwest Colombia between the western and central Cordillera . Because of its location in 1738 m altitude near the equator, the climate is the year most stable at an average daily temperatures around 19 ° C . The "cielo roto" (broken sky) is also known for the climate, which means that it sometimes rains several times a day and then tears open again. The municipality is bordered by Cajibío and Totoró in the north, Puracé in the east, Sotará and Timbío in the south and El Tambo in the west .

population

The municipality of Popayán has 286,724 inhabitants, of which 256,735 live in the urban part (cabecera municipal) of the municipality (as of 2019).

history

Popayán was founded on January 13, 1537 by Sebastián de Belalcázar , who was traveling north from Quito to find the legendary gold treasures of Eldorado . The name Popayán is said to derive from the name of Chief Payán, the head of the indigenous people who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spaniards.

During Holy Week 1983 , March 31, Popayán suffered significant devastation from an earthquake, with hundreds of deaths.

Universidad del Cauca

Popayán is home to the Universidad del Cauca , founded on April 24, 1827 , which developed from the Seminario Mayor de Popayán , an educational institution for philosophy, politics and science, which was renowned in the eighteenth century .

17,411 people studied at the Universidad del Cauca in 2019. The university currently has nine faculties: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, Faculty of Civil Engineering - FIC, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Law and Social Policy, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, School of Accounting, Economics and Management, distance learning center.

Sightseeing and tourism

One of the main attractions of Popayán is its colonial architecture. The old town in particular, with its white colonial buildings and street lamps, has a special charm.

The Passion processions of Holy Week ( Semana Santa ), in which figures and statues are carried through the city from the churches, are just as important as the carnival celebrations on January 5th and 6th. In the latter case, the residents throw bags full of flour and pitch / shoe wax in the streets to celebrate the diversity of skin colors in Popayán and Colombia.

Infrastructure

Popayán has one airport, Aeropuerto Guillermo León Valencia ( IATA code : PPN ). Avianca and EasyFly fly to Popayán from Bogotá (as of 2019). Popayán is on the Panamericana .

Sports

The club Universitario Popayán , which played in the second Colombian league and played its home games at the Estadio Ciro López, was based in Popayán from 2011 to 2019 .

Town twinning

• Málaga , Spain

sons and daughters of the town

• Camilo Torres Tenorio (November 22, 1766 to October 5, 1816), President of Colombia 1814–1816
• Francisco José de Caldas (October 1768 – October 1816), scientist (geography, botany, astronomy, natural sciences). The Departamento de Caldas (capital Manizales) was named after him.
• José María Gruesso (1779–1835), poet
• Joaquín Mariano de Mosquera y Arboleda (December 14, 1787–1878), President of Colombia 1830–1831
• José María Ramón Obando del Campo (March 3, 1795 to August 7, 1861), President of Colombia 1853–1854
• José Hilario López (February 18, 1798 to November 27, 1869), President of Colombia 1849–1853
• Julio Arboleda Pombo (June 9, 1817 to November 13, 1862), President of Colombia, 1861
• Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera (September 26, 1798 to October 7, 1878), Colombian President 1845–1849, 1861–1864, 1866–1867
• Froilán Largacha Hurtado (December 15, 1823 to May 5, 1892), President of Colombia, 1863
• Ezequiel Hurtado Hurtado (December 14, 1825 to September 4, 1890), President of Colombia, 1884
• Julián Trujillo Largacha (January 28, 1828 to July 18, 1883), President of Colombia 1878–1880
• Diego Euclides de Angulo Lemos (November 12, 1841 to February 14, 1917), President of Colombia 1908
• Guillermo Valencia (1873–1943), poet and politician
• Guillermo León Valencia (1909–1971), Colombian President from 1962 to 1966
• Víctor Mosquera Chaux (October 1, 1919 to November 5, 1997), President of Colombia 1986
• Edgar Negret (1920–2012), sculptor
• Guillermo Alberto González Mosquera (* 1941), politician
• Amparo Ángel (* 19 **), pianist and composer

Gallery

• 

  San Francisco Church (interior view)

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  The Cathedral

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  The cathedral (interior view)

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  San José Church (interior view)

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  San José Church

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  In the city

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  The city in the evening

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  White city

Web links

Commons : Popayán  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Alcaldia de Popayán. Alcaldía de Popayán - Cauca, accessed June 6, 2019 (Spanish, website of the municipality of Popayán). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nuestra geografía. Alcaldía de Popayán - Cauca, accessed June 6, 2019 (Spanish, information on the geography of the municipality). 
2. ↑ ESTIMACIONES DE POBLACIÓN 1985 - 2005 Y PROYECCIONES DE POBLACIÓN 2005 - 2020 TOTAL DEPARTAMENTAL POR ÁREA. DANE, May 11, 2011, accessed on June 6, 2019 (Spanish, extrapolation of the population of Colombia (Excel; 1.72 MB)). 
3. ↑ Historia. Alcaldía de Popayán - Cauca, accessed June 6, 2019 (Spanish, information on the history of the municipality). 
4. ↑ Terremoto de Popayán, treinta años de una tragedia que no se olvida , notociascaracol.com, from March 31, 2013 (Spanish)
5. ↑ Estadística de Estudiantes de Pregrado y Posgrado, Periodo 2019 analytics.zoho.com, accessed on April 13, 2020 (es)
6. ↑ Cómo llegar. Alcaldía de Popayán - Cauca, accessed on June 6, 2019 (Spanish, information on the infrastructure of the municipality).