Rionegro, Antioquia
Encyclopedia
Rionegro is a city
and municipality
in Antioquia Department
, Colombia
, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia
. The official name of the City is "Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro" but is named after the Negro River which is the most prominent geographical feature of the municipality. Rionegro is also sometimes called the Cuna de la democracia (Cradle of democracy) as it was one of the most important cities during the era of the Colombia's struggle for independence and the 1886 constitution was written in the city.
man who discovered the Valley of (San Nicolás) on September 2 of 1541.
Don Juan Daza, a Spaniard of illustrious lineage, took possession of the lands sometime later, and on the 8th of November of 1581, in agreement with the rituals of the laws of Indias, nailed his sword in the ground marking it as an inhabited place and began constructing a farm.
Immigration to Rionegro came from numerous regions of the country, including from the same provincial capital of the time, Santa Fe de Antioquia and the original ranch grew into a village and then a town in the first half of the 17th century. The chapel, Concatedral de San Nicolás el Magno
, consecrated to Saint Nicholas
was built as early as 1642, another reason why the territory reached a greater degree of independence for religious reasons. In 1783, Rionegro had become like a municipality, resulting in becoming the City of Santiago de Arma de Rionegro in 1786, with administrative powers under certification of King Carlos III
, issued in the Palace of San Idelfonso on the 25th of September 1786.
Rionegro grew in the 19th century and was an important center during the time it was a Spanish colony, and in the early years of Independence. The city then rivaled Santa Fé de Antioquia to compete for the capital of Antioquia, until the city of Medellín
grew prominently and far exceeded the growth of these cities.
in eastern Antioquia. With a total area of 196 km², is part of the sub-region of Eastern Antioquia
. The city is surrounded in the north by the municipalities of Guarne
and San Vicente
, in the east by the municipalities of Marinilla
and El Carmen de Viboral, in the south by the municipality of La Ceja
, and in the west by the municipalities of El Retiro and Medellin
.
The city of Rionegro is located at 6°9′18"N 75°22′48"W, at an average elevation of 2,125 metres above sea level. The average annual precipitation
varies between 1,800 and 2,500 millimeters with an average temperature of 17°C. Much of the land consists of volcanic ashes and soils with a high resistance to the erosion.
The altitude of the rest of the territory varies between the 2,100 and the 2,600 metres, and the topography is characterised by a number of small hills, some of which may rise to a greater height and slope like Cerro del Capiro, located in limits with the municipality of La Ceja. A sharper mountainous system emerges towards the West of the municipality, which becomes a physical barrier between the Valley of the Aburrá and the Plateau of Rionegro, from where the main affluents of the Negro River are born. The main hills of the mountainous chain that surround the Valley by Rionegro are: Alto Gordo, Alto de Amariles, Alto de Salazar o La Pilastra, Cerro Verde, Alto de Careperro, Alto de Pantanillo, Cerro Corcovado and Cerro del Capiro.
Part of the city is an alluvial plain
of the Negro River and its tributaries, which also include the Pantanillo River and the gorges such as Las Palmas and Espíritu Santo y Fizebad.
Historically the Negro River divided the valley in two, with the Valley of Llanogrande and the Valley of San Nicholas. Hydroelectric companies operate in the area, and have constructed a Hydroelectric Power station at Guatapé with the Santa Rita Dam. Today the hydroelectric complex of Eastern Antioquia consists of five power stations, two of which are public companies of Medellín
city.
(DANE) in the 2005 census, the municipality of Rionegro had a total population of 101,046 inhabitants, the sixth largest populated area in Antioquia.
The municipality had a population density
of approximately 466 inhabitants per square kilometer.
The ethnicity of the population is almost entirely of Mestizo
and White
persons (98.9%) with 1.1% Afro Colombian. 48.6% of the population are men and 51.4% women and city had a rate of 5.7% who were illiterate, but most of these were under 5 years of age and not yet eligible or mature enough for an education. Public services in Rionegro are of a relatively high standard with 98.7% of houses supplied with electricity
, 95.6% with a water supply
and 87.1% with a telephone
connection.
system based on the processes of administrative decentralization generated by the proclamation of Political constitution of Colombia in 1991. For the city there is a mayor with executive authority and a Municipal Council with legislative rights. The Mayor of Rionegro is naturally the head of the local government and the municipal administration, representing legal, judicial authority in the municipality. The position of mayor is chosen by popular vote for a period of four years, that at present is a position held by Alcides Tobón Echeverri. Amongst his main functions are the administration of the resources of the municipality including responsibility of health, housing, education and road infrastructure, to guard the well-being and respond to the interests of his fellow citizens and to represent them before the National Government, besides being impelled to implement local policies to improve quality of life within the municipality.
The Municipal council of Rionegro, is also subject to election, composed by 17 politicians of varying political parties, chosen for a period of four years. The council is the associated executive organization of the municipality with obligation to take responsibility for Rionegro's territorial jurisdiction. Amongst its functions are approving the proposals and projects of the mayor, and with financial obligation to draw up the budget
and to take responsibility of collecting rent
s and tax
es. Administratively the Mayorship of Rionegro is divided in two main groups, the chief central administration and the decentralized organizations. These organizations are denominated Secretaries, whose main objective is the benefit of services to the community.
Rionegro has a private system of shuttles that cater for all the sectors of the city and have bus routes throughout the whole city which connect it to Medellín
and the other surrounding municipalities. Taxis are also well used in the urban area. located within Rionegro city is José María Córdova International Airport
that serves Medellín. Domestic flights, international flights and connections with other aerial terminal of the world are made possible via this airport.
football soccer team. Founded in 1939, they play their home games at the Estadio Alberto Grisales.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and municipality
Municipio
Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...
in Antioquia Department
Antioquia Department
Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range...
, Colombia
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...
, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia
Eastern Antioquia
Eastern Antioquia is subregion of the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is conformed by 23 municipalities.-Geography:...
. The official name of the City is "Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro" but is named after the Negro River which is the most prominent geographical feature of the municipality. Rionegro is also sometimes called the Cuna de la democracia (Cradle of democracy) as it was one of the most important cities during the era of the Colombia's struggle for independence and the 1886 constitution was written in the city.
History
The territory was first mentioned in 1541 by the Spanish Lieutenant Alvaro de Mendoza. When the Field Marshal Jorge Robledo took possession of the Valley of Aburrá, he was commissioned by Alvaro de Mendoza. According to Fray Pedro Simón, Robledo was the first IberianIberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
man who discovered the Valley of (San Nicolás) on September 2 of 1541.
Don Juan Daza, a Spaniard of illustrious lineage, took possession of the lands sometime later, and on the 8th of November of 1581, in agreement with the rituals of the laws of Indias, nailed his sword in the ground marking it as an inhabited place and began constructing a farm.
Immigration to Rionegro came from numerous regions of the country, including from the same provincial capital of the time, Santa Fe de Antioquia and the original ranch grew into a village and then a town in the first half of the 17th century. The chapel, Concatedral de San Nicolás el Magno
Concatedral de San Nicolás el Magno
The Catedral San Nicolás el Magno is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral, located in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia. The church, under the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro is dedicated to Saint Nicholas and was elevated to the title of cathedral on 20 April of 1968 by Pope Paul I.- History...
, consecrated to Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
was built as early as 1642, another reason why the territory reached a greater degree of independence for religious reasons. In 1783, Rionegro had become like a municipality, resulting in becoming the City of Santiago de Arma de Rionegro in 1786, with administrative powers under certification of King Carlos III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
, issued in the Palace of San Idelfonso on the 25th of September 1786.
Rionegro grew in the 19th century and was an important center during the time it was a Spanish colony, and in the early years of Independence. The city then rivaled Santa Fé de Antioquia to compete for the capital of Antioquia, until the city of Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
grew prominently and far exceeded the growth of these cities.
Geography and climate
The municipality of Rionegro is located in the central mountain range of the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in eastern Antioquia. With a total area of 196 km², is part of the sub-region of Eastern Antioquia
Eastern Antioquia
Eastern Antioquia is subregion of the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is conformed by 23 municipalities.-Geography:...
. The city is surrounded in the north by the municipalities of Guarne
Guarne
Guarne is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Part of the subregion of Eastern Antioquia.-History:The first settlers of Guarne were Tahamíes Indians who came from the Nare River. In 1541, Alvaro Mendoza encountered the Guarne area, but finding no gold, returned to the...
and San Vicente
San Vicente
San Vicente can refer to:*Argentina**San Vicente, Buenos Aires**San Vicente Partido*Bolivia**San Vicente Canton, Bolivia and its seat San Vicente*Chile**San Vicente, Chile*Colombia**San Vicente del Caguán** San Vicente, Antioquia...
, in the east by the municipalities of Marinilla
Marinilla
Marinilla is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Part of the subregion of Eastern Antioquia....
and El Carmen de Viboral, in the south by the municipality of La Ceja
La Ceja
La Ceja is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. Part of the subregion of Eastern Antioquia.-External links:...
, and in the west by the municipalities of El Retiro and Medellin
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
.
The city of Rionegro is located at 6°9′18"N 75°22′48"W, at an average elevation of 2,125 metres above sea level. The average annual precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
varies between 1,800 and 2,500 millimeters with an average temperature of 17°C. Much of the land consists of volcanic ashes and soils with a high resistance to the erosion.
The altitude of the rest of the territory varies between the 2,100 and the 2,600 metres, and the topography is characterised by a number of small hills, some of which may rise to a greater height and slope like Cerro del Capiro, located in limits with the municipality of La Ceja. A sharper mountainous system emerges towards the West of the municipality, which becomes a physical barrier between the Valley of the Aburrá and the Plateau of Rionegro, from where the main affluents of the Negro River are born. The main hills of the mountainous chain that surround the Valley by Rionegro are: Alto Gordo, Alto de Amariles, Alto de Salazar o La Pilastra, Cerro Verde, Alto de Careperro, Alto de Pantanillo, Cerro Corcovado and Cerro del Capiro.
Part of the city is an alluvial plain
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
of the Negro River and its tributaries, which also include the Pantanillo River and the gorges such as Las Palmas and Espíritu Santo y Fizebad.
Historically the Negro River divided the valley in two, with the Valley of Llanogrande and the Valley of San Nicholas. Hydroelectric companies operate in the area, and have constructed a Hydroelectric Power station at Guatapé with the Santa Rita Dam. Today the hydroelectric complex of Eastern Antioquia consists of five power stations, two of which are public companies of Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
city.
Demographics
According to the figures presented by the National Administrative Department of StatisticsNational Administrative Department of Statistics
The National Administrative Department of Statistics , commonly referred to as DANE, is the Colombian Administrative Department responsible for the planning, implementation, analysis and diffusion of the official statistics of Colombia. DANE is also in charge of carrying out the National census...
(DANE) in the 2005 census, the municipality of Rionegro had a total population of 101,046 inhabitants, the sixth largest populated area in Antioquia.
The municipality had a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of approximately 466 inhabitants per square kilometer.
The ethnicity of the population is almost entirely of Mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
and White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
persons (98.9%) with 1.1% Afro Colombian. 48.6% of the population are men and 51.4% women and city had a rate of 5.7% who were illiterate, but most of these were under 5 years of age and not yet eligible or mature enough for an education. Public services in Rionegro are of a relatively high standard with 98.7% of houses supplied with electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, 95.6% with a water supply
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
and 87.1% with a telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
connection.
Administration
Rionegro is governed by a democraticDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
system based on the processes of administrative decentralization generated by the proclamation of Political constitution of Colombia in 1991. For the city there is a mayor with executive authority and a Municipal Council with legislative rights. The Mayor of Rionegro is naturally the head of the local government and the municipal administration, representing legal, judicial authority in the municipality. The position of mayor is chosen by popular vote for a period of four years, that at present is a position held by Alcides Tobón Echeverri. Amongst his main functions are the administration of the resources of the municipality including responsibility of health, housing, education and road infrastructure, to guard the well-being and respond to the interests of his fellow citizens and to represent them before the National Government, besides being impelled to implement local policies to improve quality of life within the municipality.
The Municipal council of Rionegro, is also subject to election, composed by 17 politicians of varying political parties, chosen for a period of four years. The council is the associated executive organization of the municipality with obligation to take responsibility for Rionegro's territorial jurisdiction. Amongst its functions are approving the proposals and projects of the mayor, and with financial obligation to draw up the budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
and to take responsibility of collecting rent
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
s and tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
es. Administratively the Mayorship of Rionegro is divided in two main groups, the chief central administration and the decentralized organizations. These organizations are denominated Secretaries, whose main objective is the benefit of services to the community.
Economy
From many years ago, Rionegro has become the most important trade center in eastern Antioquia, due to its strategical position in the subregion. The city's dramatic growth has situated it as one of the richest cities in Colombia; its economy is mainly based on industries of all kinds, food industries, fabric industries, paper industries, chemical industries, and trade which brings Rionegro's people one of the highest standards of living in the country.Transport
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
and the other surrounding municipalities. Taxis are also well used in the urban area. located within Rionegro city is José María Córdova International Airport
José María Córdova International Airport
José María Córdova International Airport is the main airport serving the Colombian city of Medellín and its surrounding metropolitan area. The airport is located about 30 minutes from the urban area by the new Las Palmas express way, in the municipality of Rionegro...
that serves Medellín. Domestic flights, international flights and connections with other aerial terminal of the world are made possible via this airport.
Sites of interest
- Concatedral de San Nicolás el Magno -built in the 1790s and opened in 1804.
- Parque principal La Libertad
- Museo de Arte Religioso
- Calle de la Madera
- Tutucán
- Parque Los Osos Comfama de Rionegro
- Casa de La Convención
- Puente Mejía
- Palacio de la Cultura Ricardo Rendón
- Corregimiento San Antonio de Pereira
- Casa de La Maestranza
- Parque de San Antonio de Pereira
- Casa de citas "el chispero"
- Iglesia de San Antonio de Pereira
- Antiguo Colegio de Rionegro
- Iglesia de San Francisco
- Iglesia de Jesus Nazareno
- Archivo Historico de Rionegro
- Estatua Ecuestre del General José María Cordova
- Cementerio Principal
Sports
The town is home to the Deportivo RionegroDeportivo Rionegro
Deportivo Rionegro is a Colombian football team, based in Rionegro. It was founded in 1939. Famous former players include Iván Córdoba, who started his career at Deportivo Rionegro and went on to play for Internazionale and captain his nation, as well as the Goalkeeper Rene Higuita.Dueño:...
football soccer team. Founded in 1939, they play their home games at the Estadio Alberto Grisales.