---

Tocaima was founded in the epicenter of the nation of the Panches from the dominions of the Guacaná tribe. Tocaima is the name of an ancient warrior who was worshiped there. The Cacique Guacaná commanded in this region, to whom the neighbors were subject, who with the name of Acaymas constituted a kind of Tribal council.

The foundation was on March 20, 1544 by Hernán Vanegas Carrillo, the site was a little lower than where it exists today. Tocaima is the only city in Cundinamarca that has a title and coat of arms given by the King of Spain. His fame and wealth deserved that award by Carlos V by Royal Decree of Valladolid of February 7, 1549. The city suffered frequent floods due to the overflowing of the Pati River, which little by little were ruining it until its consummation in 1581. Captain Martín de Ocampo moved to Tocaima commissioned by President Juan de Borja, he declared the city founded, on the site where it stands on March 18, 1621. Among the first constructions in the city is the Convent of San Jacinto and its attached chapel.

The Alarife Cristóbal Serrano made the plan of the church, its cost estimated by Serrano and the carpenter Francisco Velásquez was 3,103 pesos of 312 maravedis each. The construction was approved by the Royal Court on August 19, 1625 and must be paid for by the neighbors. Tocaima was on the royal road from Santafé to Neiva and Ibagué, which gave it prime importance; however the privileged position was a simple intermediate city. At the age of ten, Mariquita and Ibagué had already been founded and were more important than Tocaima.

On December 16, 1649, the Guayabal de la Mesa or Santa Bárbara population had been founded by Spaniards. On June 14, 1777, the ordinary mayor Luis Benito Prieto asked the Santafé government for permission to reside in La Mesa for the remaining time of that year. The proclamation of Independence of 1810 was at the same time a stimulus for the rebirth of the towns and cities. Tocaima was represented in the Electoral and Constituent College by the jurist Miguel de Tobar y Zerrato, the first poet of Cundinamarca and Don Juan Salvador Rodríguez de Lago.

Having reestablished his council since 1810, he faced La Mesa, ignoring its authority. The Constitution of Cundinamarca of 1815 divided the State into Cantons, one of them that of Tocaima, which was later suppressed in 1816 by the Government of the Reconquest.

The Government of General Santander by Decree of March 23, 1822 created the Canton of Tocaima. The first convent was established by the Dominican friars Antonio de la Peña and Lope de Acuña who attended the founding of the city. The new convent of the city moved in 1621 should have started in the years 1625 to 1630. The priest Cristóbal de Velasco said in 1630 that the church was ordered to be built in 1625, 1,000 pesos were given on behalf of the Royal Treasury and by the neighbors 2,500 pesos, in the work the bricklayer Francisco García and the carpenter Fernando Pérez intervened. This church that still exists next to the ruins of the convent was consecrated to San Jacinto. The current Parish Church dates from the end of the last century, until 1931 it had a small tower and years later two of great height were built.

In Tocaima the Spaniards of Quesada discovered the curate that the Indians had as a natural adornment of the cure and before them the Cacica Guacaná stood out. In its jurisdiction is the site and Hacienda de ´´Portillo´´ founded by the encomendero Antonio Portillo, introducer of the date palm and grower of the first pastures, where he had the first cattle in the region, bought from a high price to Captain Melchor de Valdez. In 1555 the Conqueror Pedro Colmenares, on behalf of the city, requested a license to create a foundry and marking house.

On December 3, 1776 Juan Félix Ramírez de Arellano was appointed director of the work on the road from Tocaima to Flanders and it was opened on July 7, 1777. The first public school was established on October 22, 1844. The old cemetery was established It ended on February 19, 1844. On December 30, 1849, General Antonio Obando, the hero of Independence, died in Tocaima. The bridge over the Bogotá river, called ´´Los Suspiros´´ on the Agua de Dios road was built in 1872 by Timoteo Gutiérrez by contract with the concessionaire José María Saravia and Francisco Asis Mogollón and given to public service in 1875. declared of public utility in 1888; It is 156 meters long by 1 1/2 of a nacho. In this place the final farewell was given to the lepers who entered Agua de Dios.

On May 25, 1883, the priest from Boyacá Antonio María Amézquita died. Marón, author of the first travel books in Cundinamarca. On March 8, 1884, Dr. José Eusebio Otálora, President of the Republic, died. On September 17, 1904, the notary's office caught fire, completely destroying its files. On the 20th, new ones were opened, which are the existing ones. On December 17, 1930, an obelisk was inaugurated in the main square in homage to the Liberator in which the dates on which he passed are recorded. On March 20, 1968, the House of Culture was founded. On November 11, 1826, Vice President Santander received General Bolívar from Tocaima and in the Mayor's Office they signed the Bolívar-Santander Agreement.





Tocaima is a municipality of Cundinamarca (Colombia), located in the Alto Magdalena Province, it is located 102 km from Bogotá to the west of the latter and is called ´´Ciudad Salud de Colombia´´.

It was founded in the center of the nation of the Panches from the dominions of the Guacaná tribe by Marshal Hernán Venegas Carrillo on March 20, 1544. Tocaima is the name of an ancient Panche warrior.

Inhabitants: 17,118



Altitude: 400msnm



Climate: 26 C °

The municipal seat is located on a plateau, under the protection of Cerro Guacaná.

It has three valleys: that of the Bogotá River and those of the Acuatá and Cachimbulo streams.

The main river is the Bogotá that divides the territory in two.

ECONOMY

The economic life of the municipality revolves around three main axes: Tourist, agricultural and commercial:

TOURIST SECTOR: Tocaima is reached by an excellent highway that starts from Bogotá and in Mosquera deviates to the left, with a journey by car of two to two and a half hours. If you come from the west, when you get to Girardot, it will take you half an hour by car. If you want to travel by bus, you can take any of the different companies that cover these routes.

Since colonial times, Tocaima has been a place of arrival for people who seek health in its sulfur sources, a tradition that continues and to serve visitors, the city has numerous resorts, hotels, pensions, restaurants with varied rates that satisfy the different requirements.

It also has discos, bars, parks, sports fields and other places of tourist entertainment.

Because Tocaima has a reserve area where numerous fossils of mastodons, megaterians and others have been found, it offers tourists interested in this field a special interest. A paleontological museum will soon be inaugurated in Pubenza, a path located ten minutes from the town center, along an excellent road.

Another possibility for those who prefer hiking is to travel the routes that lead to the adjacent mountains where you will be able to see the ideograms that the indigenous people recorded on rocks from different places in the rural sector.

Others may practice paragliding. Well, there is Cerro Guacaná, from where the daring practitioners of this extreme sport launch their kites.

Those who wish to enjoy agricultural tourism, can visit the Interactive Agricultural Center and learn how a farm works where there are horses, sheep, goats, and other minor species, and can also buy the products offered by farmers.

Today the municipality is the commercial center of several neighboring municipalities. The trade is wide and varied, with supermarkets, hardware stores, drug stores, stores of various kinds, bars, restaurants that cover the basic needs of the municipality and the region. There are branches of the Bogotá and Popular banks.

COMMERCE

The trade includes the different establishments that serve both the inhabitants of the municipality and some neighboring towns and tourism.

AGRICULTURAL SECTOR. The agricultural sector mainly exploits corn, sorghum, fruit trees, bananas and sugar cane to make panela. They eventually grow cotton.

The livestock sector has numerous beef cattle farms, poultry farms, pig farms and a large production of sheep and goats. There are also small fish farms.

COMMERCIAL SECTION. Several small supermarkets, 5 drug stores, grain warehouses, agricultural, livestock, restaurants, hotels, spas, among others, operate in the municipality.





Culture

There is a House of Culture, with a library and a small theater. Also a group of dances by Ricardo Bernal that has successfully competed in numerous dance encounters. Both lack official support.

There are three public libraries: the Casa de la Cultura, the Colegio Departamental and the Colsubsidio.

For public recreation, there are four parks: El Central, Tres Esquinas, Kennedy and El Limonar, which has a public swimming pool and a soccer field.

tourism

Handicrafts: Assorted fabrics.

Spas, thermal wells and recreational centers.

Hotels.

---