Pasto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pasto is the capital of the department of Nariño, located in southwest Colombia. The city is located in the "Valle de Atriz", on the Andes cordillera, at the foot of the Galeras volcano, at an altitude of 2.527 metres above sea level. The city has a population of approximately 450,000 inhabitants.

**City of Pasto**

Country	Colombia
Department	Nariño
Temperature	14°
Locations - Latitude: - Longitude	1º 10`North 77º 16` West
Area	118,01 km²
Distance	886 km to Bogotá.
Population - Total (2002) - Density	424.283 hab Proyection. 3592,6 hab./km²
Rivers	Río Pasto
Panorámic view of Pasto during the sunset
Mayor's office

1 Economy
2 Carnival and arts
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Economy

Pasto is the centre of an agricultural region specializing in the production of dairy products. The manufacturing of furniture is an important part of the local economy. The city is an important centre of commerce and trade with nearby Ecuador.

[edit] Carnival and arts

One of the most important events held by the city is the Blacks and Whites' Carnival (Carnaval de Negros y Blancos in Spanish), with outstanding displays of craftmanship in floats portraying legends and traditions, often mixed in with references to current political events in Colombia. During the carnival the city goes wild and unleashes all the joy it has bottled up all year. It is not advisable to wear your best clothes during this festival as during these celebrations people have fun painting each other's faces with cosmetics colors (skin safe and created for this special purpose) and throwing talcum powder and party foam. The carnival takes place on the 5th and 6th of January each year.

A speciality of this region is a pre-columbian art technique called Barniz de Pasto, or Pasto Varnish in English. This uses a type of natural rubber (extracted from a tree called mopa-mopa) which is colored and then stretched over woodwork pieces; finally the skillful artisan uses a special knife to cut and create the many beautiful designs that characterise this artistic technique.

[edit] History

Pasto was founded in 1539 by the Spanish conquistador Lorenzo de Aldana under the name "San Juan de Pasto". Pasto is a reference to the name of the indigenous people who inhabited the place at the arrival of the conquerors, the Pastos. It has been an administrative, cultural and religious center of the region since colonial times, because of this, the city is known as the theological city of Colombia. During the Independence Wars against Spain Pasto was a royalist city unlike the rest of the country, so after gaining independence and because of its geographical location, it remained for long time isolated from the rest of the country which has resulted in the traditionalist attitude and cultural self-absorption of its people.

On june 25th, 2006 Deportivo Pasto became the champion of the 1st division of soccer in Colombia.