Ibagué

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Ibagué
Panorama Ibague.JPG
Alcaldía de Ibagué.jpg
Ibagué en flor (7598441672).jpg
From the top: Panorama of Ibagué from the east, Ibagué's city hall and Ocobos flowered in front of the Cathedral of Ibague
Flag of Ibagué
Official seal of Ibagué
Nickname(s): 
Ciudad musical de Colombia (Musical city of Colombia)[1]
Location of the city of Ibagué in Tolima.
Location of the city of Ibagué in Tolima.
Ibagué is located in Colombia
Ibagué
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
RegionAndean Region
DepartmentDepartment of Tolima
FoundationOctober 14, 1550
Government
 • MayorAndrés Hurtado
Area
 • Municipio1,498 km2 (578 sq mi)
Elevation
1,285 m (4,216 ft)
Population
 (2018)[2]
 • Municipio529,635
 • Urban
492,554
 • Rural
37,081
Demonym(s)Ibaguereño, ibaguereña
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone)
Postal code
730001-730019
Area code(s)57 + 8
Websiteibague.gov.co (in Spanish)

Ibagué (Spanish pronunciation: [iβaˈɣe]) (referred to as San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas during the Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia.[3] The city is located in the center of the country, on the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, near Nevado del Tolima. It is one of the most populous cities in the country, with about 529,635 (according to the 2018 census) inhabitants, making it the seventh (7th) most populous in Colombia.[4] It was founded on October 14, 1550, by the Spanish captain Andrés López de Galarza. The city of Ibagué is divided into 13 communes and the rural area has 17 corregimientos.[5] As the capital of the department of Tolima the city hosts the Government of Tolima, the Departmental Assembly, and the Attorney General's Office. It is the main epicenter of political, economic, administrative, business, art, culture, and tourism activities in the area.

Ibagué maintains one of the major urban economies of Colombia and could grow in prominence within South America[6] with its development potential and competitive national and international business centers, industry, and infrastructure. It is one of three cities in the country chosen by the World Trade Center Association (WTCA) to build headquarters along with Cali,[7] adding to the one existing in Bogotá. The economy of Ibagué is based primarily on the industrial, tourism, and agricultural sectors, with its textile industry[8] being the third largest in Colombia.[9] According to "Doing Business" from the World Bank in Washington DC, Ibagué tops the ranking of the cities with greater ease of doing business and investment in the country after Manizales.[10] The city is also part of the Colombian coffee growing axis.

The city is known as "The Musical Capital of Colombia and America", thanks to the Conservatory of Tolima[11] (one of the most prestigious and important in Colombia),[12] folklore festivities,[13] and its many monuments referring to music. The city's main educational institutions are the University of Tolima, the University of Ibagué, the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD) and the Conservatory of Tolima.

History[edit]

Ibagué was founded by Andrés López de Galarza on October 14 of 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 a nearby location where now lies the urban area of the neighboring municipality of Cajamarca about 42 km (26 miles) to the west of Ibagué's current whereabouts. The indigenous Pijaos commanded by cacique Ibagué were not fond of Spaniards colonizing the area so the city was re-founded in its current location on February 7, 1551.[citation needed]

From April to December 1854, Ibagué was briefly the capital of the New Granada following a coup d'etat promoted by general José María Melo. In 1908, when the department of Tolima was created, Ibagué was designated as its capital. The 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[edit]

Ibagué is located in the Colombian Andean region, in the center of the department of Tolima, surrounded by mountains on all sides with the exception of a plateau which extends to the east.

Volcanism[edit]

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) west of the city center but still within the Municipality of Ibagué. The city is one access point to Los Nevados National Park, the other being Manizales.

Cerro Machín has been dormant for the last 800 years, but seismological activity has been registered recently causing several earthquakes. The volcano is classified as "III – Changes in behavior of volcanic activity" by Ingeominas, the Colombian Institute for Geology and Mining.[14] A map of menaced areas has been published indicating that in the event of an eruption the city of Ibagué would not be affected despite its proximity to the volcano.[15]

Demographics[edit]

Plaza de Bolívar, the city's main park.

The total population of the municipality of Ibagué (including urban and rural areas), according to the 2018 census, was 529,635 inhabitants, of which 492,554 resided in the urban area.[16]

Infrastructure[edit]

Transportation[edit]

Municipal transport is managed by several local bus companies that operate minibuses throughout the city and to neighboring 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[edit]

Ibagué features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification, albeit a relatively cooler version of the climate due to the high altitude. Although the city does experience noticeably drier conditions during and around the months of January and July, the city has no true dry season month, as all twelve months see on average more than 60 mm (2.4 in) of rain. As is commonplace in areas with this climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year in Ibagué, with average high temperatures of about 28 °C or 82.4 °F and average low temperatures of about 18 °C or 64.4 °F. On average Ibagué sees 1,700 mm (66.9 in) of rain annually.

Climate data for Ibagué, Colombia (Perales Airport) 1981-2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.4
(93.9)
35.4
(95.7)
34.4
(93.9)
34.2
(93.6)
33.2
(91.8)
33.6
(92.5)
35.0
(95.0)
36.4
(97.5)
36.0
(96.8)
34.8
(94.6)
31.9
(89.4)
34.2
(93.6)
36.4
(97.5)
Average high °C (°F) 28.8
(83.8)
29.1
(84.4)
28.8
(83.8)
28.2
(82.8)
28.2
(82.8)
28.9
(84.0)
29.8
(85.6)
30.8
(87.4)
29.9
(85.8)
28.2
(82.8)
27.5
(81.5)
28.0
(82.4)
28.8
(83.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 23.8
(74.8)
24.2
(75.6)
24.0
(75.2)
23.7
(74.7)
23.8
(74.8)
24.1
(75.4)
24.5
(76.1)
25.2
(77.4)
24.6
(76.3)
23.5
(74.3)
23.1
(73.6)
23.3
(73.9)
24.0
(75.2)
Average low °C (°F) 18.8
(65.8)
19.3
(66.7)
19.3
(66.7)
19.3
(66.7)
19.3
(66.7)
19.1
(66.4)
18.9
(66.0)
19.2
(66.6)
19.0
(66.2)
19.0
(66.2)
19.0
(66.2)
18.9
(66.0)
19.1
(66.4)
Record low °C (°F) 15.3
(59.5)
15.2
(59.4)
14.8
(58.6)
15.6
(60.1)
16.2
(61.2)
15.2
(59.4)
15.2
(59.4)
10.6
(51.1)
14.4
(57.9)
16.0
(60.8)
15.2
(59.4)
15.4
(59.7)
10.6
(51.1)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 86.5
(3.41)
109.1
(4.30)
138.2
(5.44)
227.1
(8.94)
228.2
(8.98)
110.6
(4.35)
75.9
(2.99)
78.2
(3.08)
149.9
(5.90)
205.6
(8.09)
173.7
(6.84)
108.6
(4.28)
1,691.6
(66.6)
Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) 12 13 16 20 19 12 10 10 14 19 19 14 178
Average relative humidity (%) 77 77 79 81 81 77 70 66 72 80 83 81 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 179.8 144.1 139.5 138.0 155.0 168.0 192.2 195.3 180.0 158.1 141.0 164.3 1,955.3
Mean daily sunshine hours 5.8 5.1 4.5 4.6 5.0 5.6 6.2 6.3 6.0 5.1 4.7 5.3 5.3
Source: Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[17][18][19]

Neighborhoods[edit]

Notable people[edit]

Sports[edit]

The Colombian Football Association announced that Ibagué will be one of the venue cities to host the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup,[21] although in the end it was not designated as the venue for the sporting event.[22]

Twin towns – sister cities[edit]

Ibagué is twinned with:[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ City of Ibagué (Tolima). Mycities.co. Retrieved June 2, 2014
  2. ^ https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacion-capital-DANE-2019.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ "What are the departments of Colombia". colombiainfo.org. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  4. ^ https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacion-capital-DANE-2019.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ "mapa de comunas de ibague" (PDF) (in Spanish). 2010.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "world trade center ibague" (in Spanish). 2010.
  7. ^ "world trade center Colombia" (in Spanish). 2010.
  8. ^ colombianparadise (2010). "economía de ibague" (in Spanish).
  9. ^ El tiempo (2010). "ibague,ciudad de la confeccion" (in Spanish).
  10. ^ ibague es la segunda ciudad negociante del país (2010). "ibague seuna ciudad finanicera y de negocios del pais/web2/joomla/documentos/mapa_comunas.pdf" (in Spanish).
  11. ^ conservatorio de ibague (2010). "conservatorio de ibague" (in Spanish).
  12. ^ conservatorio del tolima (2010). "conservatorio del tolima" (in Spanish).
  13. ^ reinado nacional del folclor (2010). "reinado nacional del folclor" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  14. ^ "Ingeominas" (in Spanish). Manizales, Colombia: Ingeominas. August 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  15. ^ "Mapa de amenaza del Cerro Machín" (in Spanish). Manizales, Colombia: Ingeominas. December 9, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  16. ^ https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacion-capital-DANE-2019.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  17. ^ "Promedios Climatológicos 1981–2010" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  18. ^ "Promedios Climatológicos 1971–2000" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  19. ^ "Tiempo y Clima" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  20. ^ "Darío Ortiz abrió su 'Ventana al Mundo'", El Espectador, September 29, 2008 (in Spanish).
  21. ^ "Copa Mundial de Futsal de la FIFA se jugará en Colombia en 2016". fcf.com.co/. May 28, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  22. ^ "Cali, Medellín y Bucaramanga, sedes del Mundial de Futsal". January 29, 2016.
  23. ^ "Menu: International cooperation". ibaguecreativa.gov.co. Ibagué Creativa. Retrieved December 22, 2021.

External links[edit]