- Villanueva, La Guajira
Infobox City
official_name = Villanueva
nickname =
motto =
imagesize =
image_caption =
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of the municipality and town of Villanueva in La Guajira Department.
pushpin_
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pushpin_map_caption =Location in Colombia
pushpin_mapsize =300
subdivision_type =Country
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_type2 = Department
subdivision_name = flag|Colombia
subdivision_name1 = Caribbean
subdivision_name2 = La Guajira
leader_title =Mayor
leader_name =Luis Erasmo Dangond Colombian Conservative Party ) [ [http://www.registraduria.gov.co/reselec2007_esc/1028/x.html es icon Colombian Registry of the Civil State: 2007 election results] ]
established_title = Foundation
established_date =January 16 ,1662 byRoque de Alba
area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi =
area_total_km2 = 265
area_land_sq_mi =
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area_urban_sq_mi =
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area_metro_sq_mi =
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population_as_of =2005
population_note = [ [http://www.ocaribe.org/downloads/grupos/economia_competitividad/estudio_zif_guajira_venezuela.pdf es icon Observatorio del Caribe Colombiano: Grupo Regional de investigación en economía y competitividad en el Caribe colombiano by Weildler Guerra, Paola Quintero, Jorge Quintero and Ana María Maldonado] ]
population_total = 18804
population_metro =
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timezone =
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST =
coor_type =
latd=10|latm=36|lats=32|latNS=N
longd=72|longm=59 |longs=3|longEW=W
elevation_m = 250
elevation_ft =
website = [http://villanueva-guajira.gov.co/sitio.shtml villanueva-guajira.gov.co]
footnotes =Villanueva is a town and municipality located in the northern Department of La Guajira,
Colombia . Villanueva is known in Colombia for being the cradle of manyvallenato singers and composers. The economy of the town relies heavily onagriculture andfarming .Geography
The municipality of Villanueva is located in the southern region of the Department of La Guajira within the valley of the
Cesar River , between theSierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains and theserrania del Perija which Villanueva borders. The municipality is crossed by theVillanueva River which flows into the Cesar River. [ [http://www.villanueva-guajira.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=m-I1--&m=f&s=m es icon Villanueva: Geography] ] The municipality seat is located by the "Cerro Pintao" ("Painted Hill") which also covers the municipalities of San Juan del Cesar, El Molino and Urumita and in the Department of Cesar the municipalities of Manaure, La Paz, San Diego andCodazzi covering an area of 25,000 ha and with an altitude ranging from 1600 to 3,688 m (Paramo ) giving birth to some 13 rivers. [ [http://www.laguajira.gov.co/archivospdf/plandesarrollo.pdf es icon Government of La Guajira: Guajira Development Plan - Cerro Pintao] ]Villanueva limits to the north with the municipalities of El Molilno, with the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the east; to the south with the municipalities ofUrumita andSan Juan del Cesar ; and to the west with theDepartment of Cesar covering a total area of 265 km² and at altitude of 250 m over sea level. More than half of the total area of the municipality is part of the Serrania del Perija while the rest is flat, within the valley. [ [http://www.villanueva-guajira.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=m-I1--&m=f&s=m es icon Villanueva: Geography] ]Climate
Climate in the municipality of Villanueva is determined by altitude and precipitation. The municipality has an average temperature of 28°C through out the year with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. [ [http://www.villanueva-guajira.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=m-I1--&m=f&s=m es icon Villanueva: Climate] ]
History
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish explorers in the early 16th Century the area of what is present-day Villanueva was inhabited by a
Chimila tribe; theItotos , then led byCacique Canopan and their settlement was called "Timiriguaco" (Great village). The village was allegedly founded by DonRoque de Alba in1662 . [ [http://www.villanueva-guajira.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=m-I1--&m=f&s=m es icon Villanueva: History] ]Colombian armed conflict
Villanueva massacre
massacred occurred on
December 8 ,1998 in the neighborhood known as "El Cafetal" and some 11 people were assassinated by members of theUnited Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) by orders ofCarlos Castaño . Alias "Jorge 40 ", commander of theNorthern Bloc of the AUC , part of the paramilitary structure later admitted to participating in the massacre by order of Castaño, in which the operation was commanded by alias "Daniel" and a unit of some 80 paramilitaries. [ [http://www.onic.org.co/actualidad.shtml?x=2174 es icon ONIC: Villanueva Massacre] ]Victims were dragged out of their homes while a paramilitary commander called out their names on a list. Alias "Jorge 40" confessed that the massacre had taken place because there had been reports that the neighborhood was an enclave of the
Luciano Ariza Front of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla. He also confessed the motives of selecting December 8 as the date of the massacre, a traditional local Roman Catholic celebration known as the "Dia de las Velitas ", and in which people use fireworks to celebrate. Fireworks would conceal the sound of the shots. [ [http://www.onic.org.co/actualidad.shtml?x=2174 es icon ONIC: Villanueva Massacre] ]Economy
The economy of Villanueva is based primarily on
agriculture and commercial trade between the other Southern Guajira municipalities and the city ofValledupar in theDepartment of Cesar . of the 26,500 Ha, 7,300 Ha are used for plantations, 8,000 for cattle raising, 10,146 Ha were unused and 454 covered urban areas. [ [http://www.villanueva-guajira.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=m-I1--&m=f&s=m es icon Villanueva: Economy] ]In the lower part of the Serrania del Perija there are limestone deposits which are exploited in artisan manner. [ [http://www.villanueva-guajira.gov.co/nuestromunicipio.shtml?apc=m-I1--&m=f&s=m es icon Villanueva: Economy] ]
Culture
Villanueva celebrates in the month of September the
Cradle of Accordions Festival , avallenato musical contest as well as a religious celebration in honor ofSaint Thomas . [ [http://www.sinic.gov.co/SINIC/ColombiaCultural/ColCulturalBusca.aspx?AREID=3&SECID=8&IdDep=44&COLTEM=215 es icon National System for Cultural Information: Cradle of Accordions Festival] ]References
External links
*es icon [http://villanueva-guajira.gov.co/sitio.shtml Villanueva official website]
*es icon [http://villanuevaguajira.blogspot.com/2007/11/historia_21.html Research on Villanueva]
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