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Bosa (Bogotá)
Encyclopedia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n capital city, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. Bosa is located in the southwestern part of Bogotá and is the 8th largest locality and 9th most populated.
Geography
Bosa limits to the north with the Tunjuelo River and the Camino de Osorio neighborhood in the locality of KennedyKennedy (Bogotá)
Kennedy, or Ciudad Kennedy, is the eighth locality of Bogotá, capital of Colombia. It is located in the south-west of the city and is the most populous of all localities being home to 14% of the city's residents.- Borders :...
. To the south with the Autopista Sur (South highway)
Norte-Quito-Sur
Avenida Norte-Quito-Sur or NQS is an arterial road in Bogotá, Colombia that crosses the city from northeast to southwest.The avenue is formed from the union of three old avenues, Avenida Ciudad de Quito, Avenida Novena, and Autopista Sur.-The names:...
bordering the localitity of Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar (Bogotá)
Ciudad Bolívar is the 19th locality in the Capital District of the Colombian capital city Bogotá. Ciudad Bolivar is located in the southwestern part of the city. The rural area of the Ciudad Bolivar locality covers most of its area...
and the municipality
Municipalities of Colombia
The Municipalities of Colombia are decentralized subdivisions of the Republic of Colombia. Municipalities make up most of the departments of Colombia with 1,119 municipalities...
of Soacha
Soacha
Soacha is the city of Colombia on the southern edge of Bogotá, the country's capital. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working class families.-Demographics:...
in Cundinamarca Department
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
. To the east Bosa borders again with the Tunjuelo river and the locality of Kennedy and to the west with the Bogotá River
Bogotá River
The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of Colombia, crossing the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá...
and the municipalities of Soacha and Mosquera
Mosquera, Cundinamarca
Mosquera is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It lies near the national capital and has a population of a city of 90,000....
.
Besides being crossed by the Tunjuelo and Bogotá rivers Bosa also has the Tunjuelito river and numerous creeks and streams which include the Quebradas Limas (Limas Stream), Trompeta stream, La Estrella stream and El Infierno, Quiba, Calderón, Bebedero and Aguas Calientes creeks.
History
Bosa was once the site of an important muiscaMuisca
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
village. During the Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
era the area was governed by Cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
s, among them and at the moment of the Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
arrival; the Cacique Techotiva. The name of Bosa in chibcha means "fence of the one that guards and defends the cereals".
Early in 1538, Bosa witnessed one of the most dramatic chapters in the history of the Muisca
Muisca
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
people. The Zipa or ruler Sagipa (o Saquesazipa) was hung by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in Colombia. He explored the northern part of South America. While successful in many of his exploits, acquiring massive amounts of gold and emeralds, he ended his career disastrously; and has been suggested as a possible model...
when his subjects failed to fill up a room with the amount of gold the conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
asked as ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
for his freedom. At the same time, Cuxinimpaba and Cucinimegua, the legitimate heirs to the throne of Tisquesusa, the last Muisca ruler who had been assassinated in Facatativa
Facatativá
Facatativá is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, located about 28 miles northwest of Bogotá, Colombia and 2,586 meters above sea level...
in 1537 by Jimenez de Quesada's soldiers, were hanged. This way the conquistador put end to the lineage of the Muisca rulers.
In 1538 Bosa became a meeting place for Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in Colombia. He explored the northern part of South America. While successful in many of his exploits, acquiring massive amounts of gold and emeralds, he ended his career disastrously; and has been suggested as a possible model...
, Nicolás de Federmán and Sebastián de Belalcázar
Sebastián de Belalcázar
Sebastián de Belalcázar was a Spanish conquistador.-Early life:He was born Sebastián Moyano in the province of Córdoba, Spain, in either 1479 or 1480. He took the name Belalcázar as that was the name of the castle-town near to his birthplace in Córdoba...
during the conquest of the Americas. The exact location of their encounter was marked with stone cross, today located on the east side of Bosa's main square.
The 4th article of the June 22, 1850 Law dissolved the resguardo for indigenous peoples in an effort to drive them away from the villages. These process ended in 1886.
On November 22, 1853 a battle took place in Bosa between the forces of Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...
, José Hilario López and Pedro Alcántara Herrán
Pedro Alcántara Herrán
Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez de Zaldúa was a Colombian general and statesman who served as President of the Republic of the New Granada between 1841 and 1845. As a general he served in the wars of independence of the New Granada and of Peru....
against the forces of Dictator Jose Maria Melo
José María Melo
José María Dionisio Melo y Ortiz was a Colombian general and politician of Pijao ancestry, who fought in the South American wars of independence, and who in 1854 rose to power and held the presidency of Colombia. In August, 1850, artisans demanded protection and the creation of a national workshop...
, this became known as the Battle of Bosa.
Until the mid 20th Century Bosa was a relatively small municipality formed by five neighborhoods and a population inferior to 20,000 people dedicated to rural agricultural activities. by 1954 the government of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was a Colombian politician, military officer, General of the Army and President of Colombia between 1953 and 1957.- Biographic data :...
annexed Bosa to the Special District of Bogotá, which triggers a demographic expansion. Bosa then became a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
.
In the Colombian Constitution of 1991
Colombian Constitution of 1991
The Political Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4 of 1991 , it replaced the Constitution of 1886...
Bogotá was rearranged and became the Capital District and Bosa became its 7th locality. in 1992 and 2000 the Cabildo
Cabildo (council)
For a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...
s of Suba and Bosa were officially recognized by the Government of Bogotá as estipulated in Law 89 of 1890.
Sites of interest
- San Bernardino Church, the construction of this church began in 1618 and was declared a National Monument by the Colombian government. In front of it a stone cross marks the exact place where the three conquistadorConquistadorConquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
es met.
- El Humilladero Hermitage.
Barrios
- Among the most important neighborhoods are : La Libertad, Palestina, Bosa Brasil, Bosa La Independencia, Piamonte, Jiménez De Quesada, Despensa, Laureles, La Estación, La Azucena, La Amistad, El Motorista, Antonia Santos, Naranjos, Olarte and Downtown Bosa.
Veredas
- The San Bernardino vereda, is inhabited by direct descendants of the muiscas who used as last name the name of the tribe, such as Neuta, Chiguasque, Tunjo, Orobajo and Fitata.
Transport
Locally Bosa has very few access points due to the presence of large slums which do not have paved roads besides "Bosa Avenue". Public transportation from Bogotá arrives through the City of Cali Avenue and the May 1st Avenue and the 86th Diagonal. Bosa is served by two TransmilenioTransMilenio
TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80...
stations; Portal del Sur
Portal del Sur (TransMilenio)
Portal del Sur is one of the terminus stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:...
(line G) and Portal de Las Américas
Portal de Las Américas (TransMilenio)
Portal de Las Américas is a terminus station of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:...
(line F) and their support routes.