Ibagué

Ibagué
City
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Musical city of Colombia And Amercian
Motto:
Location of the city of Ibagué in Tolima department
Ibagué Location in Colombia
Coordinates: 4°26′N 75°14′W / 4.433°N 75.233°W / 4.433; -75.233Coordinates: 4°26′N 75°14′W / 4.433°N 75.233°W / 4.433; -75.233
Country	Colombia
Region	Andean Region
Department	Department of Tolima
Foundation	October 14, 1550
Government
• Mayor	Luis Hernando Rodriguez Ramirez
Area
• Total	1.498 km2 (0.578 sq mi)
Elevation	1,285 m (4,216 ft)
Population (2005)
• Total	650.000
Demonym	Ibaguereño
Time zone	Eastern Time Zone (UTC-5)
Postal code	730001-730019
Area code(s)	57 + 8
Website	Official website (Spanish)

Ibagué (Spanish pronunciation: [iβaˈɣe]) is the music capital of the Republic of Colombia and Tolima department,^[1] one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia.^[2] The city is located in the center of the country near the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, near Nevado del Tolima. It is part of the Golden Triangle and is one of the most populated cities in the country with about 650,000 inhabitants,^[2] making it the seventh (7th) most populous in Colombia. It was founded on October 14, 1550 by the Spanish captain Andrés López de Galarza. The urban area of the city of Ibagué is divided into 13 communes and rural areas over 17 veredas.^[3] as the capital of the department of Tolima, the city hosts the Government of Tolima, the Departmental Assembly, the Attorney General's Office, and is the main epicenter of political, Economic, Administrative, Business, Art, Culture, and Tourism departments.

Ibagué is one of the major economies of Colombia and is projected to be one of the largest in South America^[4] with development potential and competitive national and international business centers, industry and infrastructure business, through the world trade center in Ibagué. It is one of only three cities in the country chosen by the World Trade Center Association (WTCA) to build them along with Cali^[5] and along with the one existing in Bogotá. Its economic plan is based primarily on the industrial, tourism, agricultural sectors, and the textile industry,^[6] which is the third largest of Colombia.^[7] According to Doing Business from the World Bank in Washington DC, Ibagué tops the rating of the cities with greater ease of doing business and investment in the country after Manizales.^[8]

The city is called "Musical Capital of Colombia and America". Thanks to the Conservatory of Tolima^[9] (the most prestigious and important of Colombia),^[10] National Pageant Folklore festivities,^[11] its countless monuments referring to music, and culture, Ibagué officially earned the title "Musical Capital of Colombia". Its main educational institutions are the University of Tolima, the University of Ibagué, the National Open and Distance University and Conservatory of Tolima.

History

Ibagué was founded by Spaniard Andrés López de Galarza on October 14, 1550 as "Villa de San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas" ("Town of Saint Boniface of Ibagué of the Valley of the Spears") in the place where today is located the urban area of the neighbouring municipality of Cajamarca, which lies 42 km (26 miles) to the west of the modern city of Ibagué. Due to the frequent attacks by the indigenous Pijaos commanded by cacique Ibagué, the city was founded once more in its current location on February 7, 1551. From April to December 1854 Ibagué was briefly the capital of the New Granada following a coup d'etat promoted by José María Melo, a general and politician born in Chaparral, Tolima. In 1908, when the department of Tolima was created, Ibagué became its capital. University of Tolima was founded in 1945, and was raised to state university status in 1954. The city is also the home of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ibagué.

Geography

Ibagué is located in the Colombian Andean region, in the centre of Tolima department, surrounded by mountains in all sides, except for a plateau which extends to the east.

Volcanism

Ibagué lies within the Andean Volcanic Belt. It has two active volcanoes in its immediate vicinity, the Nevado del Tolima, 28 km (17 mi) NW of the city, and the Cerro Machín, 17 km (11 mi) W of the city centre but still within the Municipality of Ibagué. The city is one access point to the Los Nevados National Park, the other being Manizales.

Cerro Machín has been dormant for the last 800 years, but recently seismological activity has been registered, causing several earthquakes. The volcano is classified as "III - Changes in behaviour of volcanic activity" by Ingeominas, the Colombian Institute for Geology and Mining.^[12] A map of menaced areas has been published indicating that in case of an eruption the city of Ibagué would, despite its vicinity, not be affected.^[13]

Demographics

The total population of the municipality of Ibagué (including urban and rural zones) is 745000 inhabitants, of which 468,647 reside in the urban area.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Municipal transport is managed by several local bus companies that operate minibuses throughout the city and to neighbouring villages.

Ibagué lies at the intersection of national roads 40 and 43, connecting the city to Magdalena River Valley and Bogotá to the east, Armenia and the Valle del Cauca to the west, and Honda to the north. There is a long distance bus terminal with connections to most big cities in Colombia. There are frequent connections to Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, and several overnight buses to Cartagena, Barranquilla, and seasonal services to Santa Marta.

About 10 km (6 mi) east of the city lies Perales Airport which has several flights a day to Bogotá and Medellín.

Climate

Ibagué features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification, albeit a noticeably cooler version of the climate due to the high altitude. Although the city does experience noticeably drier conditions during the months of January and July, the city has no true dry season month, as all 12 months see on average more than 60 mm (2.4 in) of precipitation. As is commonplace with areas with this climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year in Ibagué, with average high temperatures of about 28 degrees Celsius and average low temperatures of about 18 degrees Celsius. Ibagué on average sees 1,700 mm (66.9 in) of precipitation annually.

Notable people

Ibagué is the birthplace of painter Darío Ortiz Robledo,^[15] boxer Óscar Escandón, singer Jairo Alberto Bocanegra Pena, soprano Patricia Caicedo, and novelist James Cañón, .

Notable Institutions

Ibagué has a series of important institutions of all kinds. Universities, schools, clubs, malls, parks, etc.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Ibagué is twinned with:

Notable Schools

Colegio Tolimense

The Colegio Tolimense is a 79-year-old private educative institution that was founded by Monseigneur Pedro María Rodríguez. This symbolic institution specialises on growing values and a spiritual sense of reflection on students. That spiritual growth is represented by the activities of the pastoral teen work group that interacts with society. For the Colegio Tolimense is important a crosscurricular education based on wealthy academical and sports activities like cheerleading,soccer, peace conciliators and an environmental patrol, which ensure a complete growth for students.

Colegio Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori school is a traditional primary school that was founded by Adelaida Cuellar in 1980 educating the children through games.

Colegio Gimnasio Campestre

Is a private elementary, middle and high school founded in 1958 by Lilia Galindo de Posada as "Baby Garden" and after named Gimnasio Campestre is one of the best schools in the city

Colegio Cisneros

Notable Clubs

Club Campestre

Neighborhoods

• El Jardín
• Villa Café
• Jordán
• La Pola
• Picaleña
• El Vergel
• Piedra Pintada
• Entre Ríos

Sports

The Colombian Football Association announced that Ibagué will be one of the venue cities to host the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup.^[16]

References

v t e Municipalities in Tolima Department Alpujarra Alvarado Ambalema Anzoategui Armero Ataco Cajamarca Carmen Apicala Casabianca Chaparral Coello Coyaima Cunday Dolores Espinal Falan Flandes Fresno Guamo Herveo Honda Ibagué Icononzo Lérida Libano Mariquita Melgar Murillo Natagaima Ortega Palocabildo Piedras Planadas Prado Purificacion Rioblanco Roncesvalles Rovira Saldaña San Antonio San Luis Santa Isabel Suárez Valle de San Juan Venadillo Villahermosa Villarrica