| Cali Santiago de Cali | ||
 | ||
Coat of arms and flag   | ||
| State | Colombia | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Cauca Valley | |
| Altitude | 995 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 564 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 2.420.013 (2017 estimate) | |
| Prefix tel | 57 2 | |
| Time zone | UTC -5 | |
Position
| ||
| Institutional website | ||
Calì it's a city Colombian in the region of Pacific, capital of Department of Valle del Cauca.
To know
Cali is nicknamed the capital of sauce, a musical genre born in Cuba but adopted by its citizens in a maniacal way. It is therefore a suitable destination for those who love gestures (sensual according to common opinion), that this type of dance Caribbean leads.
Cali is a very different city from those of the Cauca valley and the Colombia in general: unlike its bitter enemy, Medellín, perched on conservative positions, Cali has been, since the early republican period, a city pervaded by a liberal spirit taken to extremes and this difference immediately catches the eye as soon as you set foot on it.
Cali is also one of those places where loitering on the street with your ear attached to your smartphone can be extremely dangerous.
Background
The territory where Cali stands today was inhabited by the Calima, a people who came from the Caribbean islands as their language demonstrates. Their artifacts are exhibited at the Museo del Oro Calima. Other peoples settled in the region were the Gorrones in commercial relations with the Quimbaya who lived in the north of the Valle del Cauca.
In 1534, the Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar under the orders of Francesco Pizarro, founded the city of Quito. Obsessed with the search for the mythical El Dorado, he went north where he founded the city of Popayán. Unlike the Incas, the Calima opposed a fierce resistance as well as the Jamundi Indians settled on the Pance River with whom the Spaniards had to engage in real battles.
Difficult was also the subjugation of the Petecuy peoples who put up a Confederate army to oppose the advance of the invaders. The Amerindian peoples were immediately sent to forced labor through the institute ofcommendation and once decimated by smallpox, they were quickly replaced by slaves imported from Africa,.
The city of Cali was founded on 25 July 1536 by Sebastián de Belalcázar during his campaigns in the Cauca valley. The first mass was celebrated in the place where the church of la Merced stands today.
In the colonial period, Santiago de Cali was part of the Governorate of Popayán and it remained a city of secondary importance. In 1580 a rebellion of black slaves broke out which spread throughout the territory of the governorate.
On July 3, 1810, Santiago de Cali proclaimed its independence from the Governorate of Popayán. The revolt took place 17 days before that of Santa Fe de Bogotá. A year later, independence was sanctioned with the defeat of the Spanish royalist forces in the battle of Bajo Palacé. However in 1815 the king Ferdinand VII of Spain he sent a large army which restored power to the Spanish crown.
In 1819 the Spaniards had to leave permanently following the defeat suffered in the battle of Boyacá by the libertador Simón Bolívar. The Creoles became the ruling elite in the new state of Great Colombia, ruled by Francisco de Paula Santander, a progressive who immediately implemented the separation of the State from the Church.
In 1832 Santander, president of the Republic of New Granada dismembered the ancient Governorate of Popayán in the three provinces of Buenaventura, Cauca and Popayán, endowed with ample autonomy. Cali, whose economy was based on farms (haciendas) and on the forced labor of negroes, it was annexed to the province of Buenaventura. In 1841 the slaves rebelled and took control of the city, spreading terror for a couple of years.
In 1849, slavery was abolished resulting in the end of the haciendas. The beginning of the phenomenon of banditry dates back to that time which brought instability and chaos throughout the Cauca valley.
The economic recovery took place in 1850 thanks to the opening of the road from Cali to the port of Buenaventura which allowed large-scale exports of tobacco, quinine, gold and coffee. The following year, the disagreements between liberals and conservatives resulted in the first of a series of civil conflicts that undermined the country's economic progress throughout the second half of the nineteenth century.
The works for the construction of the Cali aqueduct began in 1870 and ended 30 years later. In 1876, Cali was taken and sacked by a group of bandits made up mostly of African Americans. Later, swarms of locusts ruined the crops, and a drought followed by a cold winter resulted in famine.
Even in the early 20th century, Cali was a small city that was politically and economically dependent on Popayán. On October 26, 1910, the city saw electric light for the first time, with the illumination of the Plaza de Cayzedo. In 1911 it had 28,000 inhabitants. There were no roads that connected the Valle del Cauca to the rest of the country, which contributed to the isolation of the city.
The railway arrived in 1915 and only in the 30s of the twentieth century was the carriage road opened for Bogotá that passed through the Central CordilleraThanks to these infrastructures there was a boom in sugar and coffee exports.
Even in 1930 there was no drinking water in homes and women had to go to public fountains for their daily supplies.
Industrialization dates back to the 1950s, thanks to the influx of foreign capital, especially from the United States. The working conditions were bad. A black page was the tragedy of 7 August 1956 when about 1100 people died following the explosion of 7 trucks loaded with bombs and other material for the army, stationed in the center.
An important event was the 1971 edition of the Pan American Games in 1971. To accommodate the competitions, Cali equipped itself with numerous sports facilities.
The mafia war that opposed the Cali cartel to that of Medellín. In 1990 Cali entered a period of economic crisis due to the dissolution of the mafia organizations by the central government.
As for Medellín, the central government has invested heavily in improving the social and economic conditions of Cali. A wide-ranging plan was launched Ciudad Paraíso, aimed at the rehabilitation of the old barrios Calvario, San Pascual and Sucre. Futuristic structures were built to worthily welcome the 9th edition of the world games which took place from 27 July to 4 August 2013.
How to orient yourself
Districts
Neighborhoods
- Old Town hinges on 1 Plaza de Cayzedo, the central square of Calì from which the city developed. In colonial times it was called Plaza Mayor and after independence Plaza de la Constitución. The current name was adopted in 1913 in honor of a local patriot, Joaquín de Cayzedo, whose statue dominates the center of the square. The cathedral of San Pietro overlooks the square (Catedral de San Pedro) and a short distance away are other historic buildings such as the Palacio Nacional and the Otero Building.
- Modern center located north of the Cayzedo square and beyond the river and the La Retreta park, its main axis is theAvenida Sexta or simply Sixth, possibly the most famous avenue in Cali surrounded by various shopping centers and clubs of various kinds in the stretch between Avenida Colombia (Carrera 1) and the Puente Chipichape sector.
- Area of the Rio Cali, the course of the tributary of the Cauca from the short course, separates the modern center from the ancient. It is one of the quietest areas of the city and is all a succession of parks. Here is "La Tertulia", the small museum of modern art.
In addition to the historic center and the modern one, Cali districts of possible tourist interest are:
- 2 Barrio San Antonio. One of the most traditional neighborhoods in Cali and also one of the oldest. It is located on a hill largely occupied by the park of the same name. The Parque Artesanal Loma de la Cruz, where you can buy items produced by local artisans and the colonial-style church of San Antonio, a famous viewpoint over the city. Many North Americans who live in Cali and teach English live in this area.
- 3 El Peñón. Adjacent to the San Antonio barrio, El Peñón is full of clubs of various kinds where young and old meet in the evening.
- Barrio Granada. Another traditional neighborhood where the Plaza hotel is located.
- 4 Parque del perro. An area of the barrio San Fernando, with long-standing and classic night bars and restaurants as well as various private clubs. The park owes its name to the statue of a dog erected in memory of a little dog Teddy, playmate of the park's visitors.
- 5 Juanchito. an out-of-the-way area to the east of the center where there are large and renowned popular discos. Generally the representatives of the upper middle class of Cali do not set foot there because the area does not guarantee their physical safety.
- 6 Carrera 66. The street in the southern sector of the city has some famous restaurants, bars and discotecas fashionable.
- 7 Menga. Located in the northern sector, the Menga district is renowned for its clubs where you dance to the rhythm of rumba, salsa and many other musical rhythms. On the stage of the sophisticated clubs in Menga, equipped with the latest technology, top-notch artists perform.
- 8 Avenida San Joaquín (Carrera 105) (Between the parque de la Babilla and the German language institute). Another popular area in the neighborhood Ciudad Jardín, south of the center.
How to get
By plane
- 9 Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (IATA: CLO). Also known as Palmaseca International Airport.
- Avianca operates on both domestic and international destinations of Madrid, You love me is New York.
- The low-cost company VivaColombia operates domestic flights from Bogotá, Cartagena de Indias, Medellín-Córdova, Santa Marta plus an international flight for Panama city.
By bus
- 10 Terminal de transportes, Calle 30N 2an, ☎ 57 2 668 3655.
How to get around
What see
There is not much to see in Calì. A few churches, a few small museums. However, the city boasts a renowned zoological garden and magnificent viewpoints.
- 1 Torre de Cali.
- 2 Zoo (Zoológico de Cali), Carrera 2 oeste, calle 14 esquina, ☎ 57 2 488 0888. One of the most admired zoos in the entire South American continent. It covers 11 hectares and is home to more than 2,000 animals. It is located at the point where the Rio Cali enters the valley. The botanical garden is also nearby.
- 3 Cristo Rey. Located on the Cerro los Cristales, the Cristo Rey is a colossal statue of 31 m in height including the five of the base. It is also the most famous viewpoint in Cali.
- Sebastián de Belalcázar Monument. One of the most famous monuments located on the top of a hill west of the center. It is also an excellent point of reference and helps you to stay on track.
- 4 El gato del rio (Gato de Tejada) (barrio El Peñon). Together with the statue of Belalcazar and Cristo Rey, El gato del rio is a symbol of Cali. It is a statue of a giant cat, the work of the painter and sculptor Hernando Tejada who gave it to the city in 1996. Over time, the cat has acquired several girlfriends. In 2006 the local Chamber of Commerce launched a competition with the title 'las novias del gato' to create statues that depict the alleged girlfriends of the Gato de Tejada. Famous sculptors such as Maripaz Jaramillo and Omar Rayo participated in the competition.
- 5 Orquideorama Enrique Pérez Arbelaer, Avenida 2 Norte # 48-10. A beautiful park with a great variety of orchids maintained by a local association (Vallecaucana de Orquideology Association).
Religious buildings
- 6 San Francisco religious complejo.
- 7 Catedral Metropolitana de Cali.
- 8 Iglesia la Ermita.
Museums
- 9 La Tertulia Museum, Avenida Colombia with Calle 5.ª Oeste. A modern art museum founded in 1956 by Maritza Uribe de Urdinola and inaugurated six years later in its current location. There are 300 works by Colombian artists on display.
- 10 Museo de Ciencias Naturales Federico Carlos Lehmann.
- 11 La Merced Arqueological Museum, Carrera 4.ª # 6-59.
- 12 Museo de Oro Calima, calle 7 between carrera 4 and 5..
Free admission. Set up in the headquarters of the Banco de la República, it exhibits collections of pre-Columbian objects in ceramics above all but also in gold. They were produced by the people of Calima who lived in the Cauca valley.
Free admission. Set up in the headquarters of the Banco de la República, it exhibits collections of pre-Columbian objects in ceramics above all but also in gold. They were produced by the people of Calima who lived in the Cauca valley.Events and parties
- Feria de Cali.
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Shows
- 1 Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium. The football stadium where local team matches take place Deportivo Cali is América de Cali. The stadium also hosted the 2001 Copa América and 2008 Juegos Deportivos Nacionales matches.
- 2 Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacífico, Cl. 15 # 26-120, Arroyo Hondo, Br. Trinidad Etap 1, Yumbo (In the municipality of Yumbo, 12 km north of the center), ☎ 57 2 641 1000. The spaces where the major artistic and cultural events of Cali take place including its famous one feria
- 3 Plaza de toros Cañaveralejo. Where bullfights take place. The season culminates in December coinciding with the "Feria de Cali".
- 4 , : Carrera 5 # 6-64, ☎ 57 2 8839106. Inaugurated on November 30, 1927, it is today the most popular of the city's theaters
- 5 Jorge Isaacs Theater, Carretera 3 # 12-28, ☎ 57 2 880 9027. Opened in 1931, the theater is dedicated to the writer Jorge Isaacs. It was reopened in 1989, after a long period of neglect and four years after being declared a national monument.
Night clubs
- Blues Brothers Bar, Av. 6AN No. 21-40 (Barrio Santa Mónica), ☎ 57 2 661 3412, @[email protected].
- Casa del Arte, ☎ 57 3 665 2365.
- 6 El Faro Pizzeria Limonar, Carrera 66 # 11-18, ☎ 57 315 7936742.
- 7 [link not working]Eliptica Club, Carrera 38 # 9a7, ☎ 57 301 3290273.
Mon-Fri: open 24 hours a day. - 8 Fanaticos Sport Bar.
- 9 London Tavern.
- 10 MARTYN'S, Avenida 6A # 24N-22, ☎ 57 318 3987398.
Mon-Fri: open 24 hours a day.Dance Clubs
- Zaperoco Salsa Bar, Av 5 Norte # 16 Norte4-6, ☎ 57 320 3094567. .
- 11 Chango Disco Club (Juanchito), ☎ 57 312 8510508.
- Kukaramakara, Avenida 2 Bis Norte, ☎ 57 314 8905122.
Where to eat
Where stay
