Leticia, Amazonas

Official name	Leticia
Image seal	EscudoLeticia.jpg
Map caption	Location map of the municipality and town of Leticia in the Department of Amazonas.
Pushpin map	Colombia
Pushpin mapsize	300
Pushpin map caption	Location in Colombia
Coordinates region	CO
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Department
Subdivision name1	Department of Amazonas
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	José Ricaurte Rojas Guerrero
Established title	Foundation
Established date	1867
Area total km2	5968
Population as of	2005
Population total	32450
Population density km2	auto
Population demonym	Leticianos
Utc offset	-5
Elevation m	96
Website

Leticia is a city in the Republic of Colombia, capital of the department of Amazonas, Colombia's southernmost town (4.09° south 69.57° west) and the only major port on the river. It has an elevation of 96 meters above sea level and an average temperature of 27 °C (80.6 °F). Leticia has long been Colombia's shipping point for tropical fishes for the aquarium trade. Leticia has approximately 33,000 inhabitants on the left bank of the Amazon river, and is located at the point where Colombia, Brazil and Peru come together in an area called Tres Fronteras.

A long standing border dispute involving Leticia, between Colombia and Peru, was decided in 1934 by the League of Nations after these two nations were engulfed in an armed conflict known as the Colombia-Peru War. This was the first instance of action by an international body using its powers covered by the Monroe Doctrine.

History

Early history and etymology

Early Leticia history mentions a Portuguese explorer who, after becoming lost on the Amazon, died of starvation at the present site of Leticia with the rest of his crew. The Peruvian captain Benigno Bustamante, then governor of the Peruvian department of Loreto, founded the city itself on April 25, 1867. Legend has it that when the Peruvian government decided to colonise the area (in order to prevent the Colombian government from claiming it first), they found a cross inscribed with the words "San Antonio", naming the new town after this cross.

A legend states that a Colombian soldier fell in love with an Amerindian woman named Leticia and decided to name the settlement after her. It could also be named after Saint Leticia. However, Peruvian records indicate that on the 15 December 1867, the port of "San Antonio" was renamed to "Leticia" by Peruvian engineer Manuel Charón. Charón named the port in honor of a young female resident of the Peruvian city of Iquitos named Leticia Smith.

Small border incidents between Peru and Colombia occurred in 1911, and in 1922 the two governments of those countries reached a controversial agreement awarding the Leticia area to Colombia in exchange for recognizing Peru's rights to the zone south of the Putumayo River, which was also claimed by Ecuador. This agreement proved to be unpopular among the Peruvian population, despite the treaty's ratification in 1928, because the treaty was signed in secret and it awarded Colombia a region that had been founded by Peruvians and that had a large Peruvian population living within its borders.

A small war between Colombia and Peru over the town began in September 1932 when two hundred Peruvians, followed later by military troops, occupied public buildings in Leticia. Hand-to-hand combat ensued between small Colombian and Peruvian forces in early 1933. The conflict lasted until May 1933, when a cease-fire negotiated by the League of Nations went into effect in order to settle the conflict. The League finally awarded the disputed area to Colombia in June 1934.

The population of Leticia

Though the League of Nations' intervention had officially ended the war, the Colombian government remained wary of the Peruvians, and decided to populate Leticia with people from Bogotá in order to ensure the town's loyalty to Colombia. Most of the people who came from Bogotá from the 1940s to 1965 still live in Leticia today. During that time Leticia expanded greatly, with a new main street being built. However, the city's industries have changed little since then, with agriculture and tourism still the prime sources of income.

1970s

In the 1970s, illegal drug trafficking became a new way to make money in this region. During the late 1960s and 1970s narcotic drugs were bought and sold in broad daylight.

For Leticia, this was a time for great growth. Several rich cartel leaders built large houses, such as the Casa Grande and contributed to the economy. Drugs were transported by truck to boats on the Putumayo River. This was to avoid shipping by air. The concept was to build a 70 km (~35 miles) highway to the small city of Tarapacá. The first 12 km were all that were ever finished before cartel members were arrested.

The drug business was eventually slowed down when new tough-hitting police were brought to Leticia. They stopped many drug cartel leaders in the city, seizing such famous places as the Casa Grande for the government.

Recent history

Little of note has occurred in the city in the last twenty years. In 2003, President Álvaro Uribe came to the region and listened to the issues of the townspeople for 12 hours. He promised to bring in help for Leticia's sagging economy, including building a branch of a famous Colombian resort chain, the Decameron Resort Company, to attract tourism and aid social problems. In late 2004, a hotel was rented to Decameron and has since brought more tourism to the area. Today there are three airlines going from Bogota to Leticia each day: Aero Republica, AIRES and SATENA.

Tourism in Leticia has boomed and the town is today the second tourism destination for foreigners after Cartagena de Indias. International students travel to Leticia to learn Spanish at The Amazon Spanish College.

Climate

Leticia features a tropical rainforest climate with minimal difference in average high and low temperatures throughout the course of the year. Leticia does have noticeably wetter and drier months, with its wettest month (May) seeing a little more than twice as much precipitation as its driest month (July). The average monthly rainfall in the city is above 100 mm.

Culture

People

The majority of Leticia's population have migrated from elsewhere. There is no obviously dominant segment, but migrants from Bogotá, Medellín, and Tolima are the majority. Few people from Cali live in Leticia. A significant proportion of Leticia's population comprises native Amerindians (as opposed to mestizos or caboclos). The prevailing trend is for people to move from the village of their birth in far-lying rural communities into the city to make a "better" living.

Food

Although the inhabitants commonly eat the same things each week, a wide variety of food is available in Leticia. Dishes specific to each of Colombia's regions are made here. For example, people make Sancocho, a hearty soup, with regional variations in different parts of Colombia. But even within regions, each family has its own recipe. Leticia's cuisine includes Brazilian and Peruvian influences. Common staples in Leticia include river fish, domestic (and occasionally wild) meat, rice, locally-grown vegetables and potatoes. Meals are usually cooked over a wood-fired stovetop in a pan. A typical Sunday meal might comprise grilled meats, cooked in makeshift charcoal grillers, served with rice and plantains.

Transportation

Vásquez Cobo International Airport

See also

Tabatinga, the Brazilian town and harbour that adjoins Leticia. The two cities cooperate closely, and altogether their urban area and adjacent suburbs along the Amazon river have a population of more than 100,000 people.

References

External links

Official website

Human mobility in the triple border of Peru, Colombia and Brazil, Márcia Maria de Oliveira, São Paulo May/August 2006 (abstract in English, text in Portuguese).

Territorial-Environmental Information System of Colombian Amazon SIAT-AC website

The Amazon Spanish College Spanish Language School

Visit Leticia Essential Travel Information to Leticia and its Surroundings

Category:Municipalities of Amazonas Category:Capitals of Colombian Departments Category:Populated places established in 1867 Category:Brazil–Colombia border crossings Category:Colombia–Peru border crossings Category:Tres Fronteras Category:Populated places in the Amazonas Department Category:Populated places on the Amazon