Puente Nacional, Santander

Puente Nacional (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpwente nasjoˈnal]) is a town and municipality in the Saravita Valley, part of the Santander Department of northeastern Colombia.

The province of Vélez is found in the area shaded red, established as an independent segment of the confederation (neither Zipa nor Zaque).

Puente Nacional, Santander
Municipality and town
Flag
Location of the municipality and town of Puente Nacional, Santander in the Santander Department of Colombia.
Country	Colombia
Department	Santander Department
Founded	1556[1]
Founded by	Andrés Díaz Venero de Leiva[1]
Area [2]
• Total	315 km2 (122 sq mi)
Elevation	1,625 m (5,331 ft)
Population  (Census 2018[3])
• Total	12,586
• Density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Pontanalino -a
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)
Website	www.puentenacional-santander.gov.co

The area was originally inhabited by four Muisca tribes[4][5], three of which named the: Semisos, Irobaes y Popobas, their heritage now only surviving in the names of three surrounding veredas.

Annual parades celebrating local culture and music

The area between Puente and neighbouring Santa Sofía (or Guatoque) was inhabited by a major tribe called the Sorocotá [6], governing a major commercial centre possibly home to the region's largest agricultural market.[7][8][9]

Puente's local radio station is today called La Voz de Sorocotá (The Voice of Sorocotá).

The town still has a market every Monday which sees locally sourced produce brought to the town from the town's plethora of surrounding farms.

The town's Santa Barbara church, the local parish. In 1730 supposedly built over the former residence of the cacique of the Sorocotás [10] However as the former territory was recorded to have been based in Guatoque-Santa Sofía[11] the narrative is unconfirmed.

The Hoyo de La Romera on the side of Santa Sofía remains the only alleged historical vestige to the area's indigenous past, though the claim is yet to be supported by archeological evidence.[12]

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada travelled south through the area in 1537 [13][14][15] in the search for El Dorado.[16] Having followed the course of the Magdalena River[17], his expedition then travelled down the Saravita, which formed the main trajectory of the subsequent conquests. It was in this area that some sources report that Quesada's men made the first ever encounter with a "truffle" crop later identified as the potato. [18][19][20]

Following the Spanish conquests a new town was baptised Puente Real de Vélez, existing as a subsidiary to the town founded by Martin Galeano in 1539,[21] before eventually acquiring its current name during the period which followed the comunero rebellions of 1781.[22]

These local uprisings set in motion the first wave of Spanish American victories against the Spanish Empire, however an eventual liberation only arrived after 1819.

Every year on the 8th of May week, the town transforms with homage to the comuneros. On the day of the main celebration, townspeople dress in traditional late-18th century attire and have parades across the town.

The town's Cantarrana Street was the setting for a now-regularly commemorated massacre at the close of the bipartisan Colombian Civil War of the mid-twentieth. [23] On 29 September 1960, the decennial conflict antagonising liberals and conservatives culminated with a shooting involving local brigand Efrain Gonzalez killing 11 civilians and injuring 19.

In nearby Florían lie the Windows of Tisquizoque[24] waterfalls, associated with the former cacique of the same name.

Furthermore, interest in El Peñon has also risen prominently because of speleological research[25] and tourism.

The town has a tropical climate with significant precipitations even during the driest month.[26] The area's average monthly temperatures range the mid 20s [27][28].