Getting to know Bogotá: Past and Present

Bogotá Nowadays and Before

 Timeline

Take a look at the video below to see some pictures from Bogotá from the past until today!

Life in the past in our city was pretty different, people, places and culture has changed a lot, look at some pictures below!

Getting to know Bogotá: Culture

Cultural aspects and typical food

Colombia has lots of cultural traditions and typical food, there's some of these below!

Food


Ajiaco

Arroz Con Leche

Bandeja Paisa

Chicharron

Guayaba

Liberales

Tomate de Árbol

Panela

Tamales

Tejo
The Tejo is considered the national sport of Colombia. It is a game that involves throwing a metal disc of about 680 grams through a clay court of 18 meters long in order to make some 'mechas' (small envelopes with gunpowder) explote in the Bocin (metal circle located on the court), this is adding points to each team.

Getting to know Bogotá: Icons

Important people that left a mark in our history!

There's plenty of important characters and icons in our history that completely changed our point of view and the development of our city, take a look below!

Policarpa Salavarrieta 'La Pola'

She was born on January 26th, 1795 (approximately) in Guaduas, Cundinamarca. She used to spy for the revolutionary forces during the Spanish reconquer of New Granada, She fought non-stop for our independence. She died executed on November 14th 1718, at the Bolivar Square.

Jorge Eliecer Gaitán

He was a Colombian politician and a lawyer, he also was major of Bogotá in 1936, a minister in 1940 and in 1944 and a candidate for president of the republic from Partido Liberal. He was really loved by colombian people. His assassination in Bogotá, on April 9th, 1948 caused massive popular protests known as 'El Bogotázo'.

Simón Bolivar

He was born in Caracas on July 24th, 1783. He died on December 17th, 1830 in Santa Marta. He was the liberator of Peru,  Ecuador, Venezuela and of course Colombia and he was the first president of the Great Colombia.

Gonzalo Jimenez De Quesada

He was a Spanish explorer, who founded the city of Bogotá on August 6th 1538. He died in Mariquita, Tolima on February 16th, 1579.

Getting to know Bogotá: Places

Emblematic Places

There's plenty of touristic places you can visit in Bogotá in order to know more about our culture and history. Take a look at some of these places below!

Bolivar's Square

Bolivar's Square is the most important square in the city. It's surrounded by some of the main buildings of the city like la Catedral Primada and El Palacio del Lievano. In the past, markets and colonial houses all over the place.

Quinta De Bolivar

In 1820 the house was given to the liberator Simón Bolivar as a symbol of gratitude, it was used by Bolivar as a resting place and celebration events, he even took refuge in it. Before his last trip to Santa Marta, he gave it to Jose Ignacio Paris and then it was used as a girls' school and a hospital. Everything is still there and you can visit it as a museum!

Plaza De Las Nieves

The neighborhood Las Nieves was a settlement for indigenous people in the XVIII century. It was characterized by its increasing trade, its cultural aspects and for being a bohemian place. From the seventies until today, it has changed a lot, mainly because of cultural centers and universities that surround the place. There you can find the Santander park, the journalists park and the Gold Museum.

You can also see the Francisco José de Caldas statue, which is placed in the middle of the square.

Chorro De Quevedo

In 1832 the place was acquired by the Agustinian father Quevedo who installed a public water source. In the past, this place was one of the first settlements ordered by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada in Bacatá. 

Casa-Museo Del Florero

In July 20th, 1810, a group of citizens approached the establishment of the Spanish José Llorente and asked to borrow a vase, Llorente said no and this caused a tense event in the main square, which lead to our independence. Nowadays it's known as the July 20th Museum and you can visit it.

Getting to know Bogotá: History

First things first: Let's get to know some of Bogotá's history!

Bogotá is the capital city of Colombia. It was founded by the Muisca people long before the arrival of the Spanish, who established their own city there. On August 6th, 1538 the Spanish conqueror, Gonzalo Jimenez De Quesada, found the city on the ruins and named it Santa Fé. The new city became the vice-regal capital of New Granada, it quickly became an important city in the region. On April 7th, 1550, the city became a "Royal Audience", which means that it became an official outpost of the Spanish Empire and citizens could resolve legal disputes there. 

Quick facts:

Population: 7,674,366
Total Area: 1775,98¹ km²

Here's a picture of Gonzalo Jimenez De Quesada, our founder!