Tolima Department

For other uses, see Tolima.

Department of Tolima
Departamento del Tolima

Department of Colombia


Flag of the Department of Tolima	Coat of arms of the Department of Tolima

Motto: Tolima Solidario

Anthem: Bunde Tolimense

Tolima shown in red

Established

Region

Capital

Largest city

Number of Provinces

Number of Municipalities

Governor
- Governor's Political Party

Fernando Osorio Cuenca
Colombian Liberal Party

Area
Total
- Land
- Water (% of total)

Ranked 19
23,562 km²
km²
km² (%)

Population
- Total (2005)
- Density

Ranked 10
1,335,177^[1]
56.66/km²

ISO_Code

CO-TOL

Government's Website:
www.tolima.gov.co

Tolima is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the Andean region, in the center-west of the country. It is bordered on the north and the east by the department of Caldas; on the east by the department of Cundinamarca; on the south by the department of Huila, and on the West by the departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Quindío and Risaralda. Tolima has a surface area of 23,562 km², and its capital is Ibagué. The department of Tolima was created in 1861 from a part of what was previously Cundinamarca.

History

Indigenous civilization

The Pijaos lived in Tolima during pre-Columbian times. Their descendants live in 70 small. The name of the department comes from the Pijao word for "snowed".

Spanish colonization

Spanish colonization of the region began in 1537 with Sebastián de Belalcázar travelling from the city of Cali to be with his colleague, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, in Bogota. On its way, Belarcázar founds the first establishment that would become the present Ibagué. Belarcázar traveled until he reached the site of Flandes in Tolima before arriving at Bogota. The definitive foundation began with Captain Andrés Lopez de Galarza who founded the city of Ibagué and site on which the municipality of Cajamarca would be based, in the west of the department. These two cities would become an important part of the "coffee axis".

Demographics

Mestizos & Whites (94.46%) * majority are racially mixed but there is a high percentage of whites
Amerindian or Indigenous (4.32%)
Black(1.22%)
Gypsys (0.00%)

Geography

Physiography

In the Tolima region, three great regions can be distinguished: a mountainous region, occupied by the Cordillera Central, a plain, that corresponds to the valleys of the rivers Magdalena and Saldaña; and another region to the southeast which forms the western slope of the Cordillera Oriental, which contains the source of the Cabrera river.

Hydrography

The territory of Tolima is traversed from the south to north by the Magdalena River, of which the main rivers of the Tolima are tributary. Other rivers are the Saldaña river, the Cabrera, Coello, the Tetuán, the Gualí, the Rio Recio, and the Rio Prado. In this one last one is the dam of the same name, the largest fresh water lake of the center of the country and an important Colombian tourist center.

Economy

Plantation of rice in Saldaña

The economy of the Tolima is based on agriculture.

Industry in Tolima, as has been happening to the whole country, has been declining in its proportion of GDP, while services gain more importance, a phenomenon known as deindustrialization. Within the sector services Tolima excels in commerce, public administration, other services to the community and "reparaciones", which contribute respectively 11.2% and 9.1% of the GIP.

The GDP per inhabitant in Tolima, registered during 2002 a reduction of 0.4% in constant prices.

According to the results of the DANE census, the department of Tolima registered between the years of 2001 and 2002 a diminution, to constant prices, of 0.1% in its GDP, falling from Col$2.05 trillion in 2001 to Col$2.04 trillion in 2002. The result is explained by the fact that traditional sectors within the economic structure of the department such as the coffee registered a reduction of 22.4%, reducing 2 percentage points to the total variation, and others did not have important growth or presented/displayed diminutions in its added values. So it is the case of the activity branches: transport, commerce and repairs, industry and electricity gas and water, which jointly reduced 1.7 percentage points to the variation, whereas other services, rights and taxes, construction and farming rest, forestry and 3.6 percentage points fish were the branches with greater positive contribution to the variation of the GDP when contributing.

Culture

Music and the Arts

Music is the distinguishing cultural expression of Tolima. Its capital, Ibagué, is well-known as "the musical city of Colombia", and is home to one of the nation's classic conservatoriums. The department also is famous for the Fiestas of San Pedro in Espinal, San Juan in Natagaima and in Ibagué, the Colombian Folkloric Festival and the "Concurso de duetos garzón Y Collazos".

Tolima has produced many poets: Arturo Camacho Ramíez, Juan Lozano y Lozano, Diego Fallon, William Ospina, Martín Pomala, Luz Stella; painters: Darío Jiménez, Jorge Elías Triana, Darío Ortiz Robledo, Carlos Granada, Julio Fajardo; historians Eduardo Santa, Gonzalo Sanchez, Hermes Tovar Pinzón, Hernán Clavijo, Darío Ortiz Vidales.

Gastronomy

The department is also widely recognised for its autoctonous cuisine. Famous regional dishes include the Tamal Tolimense, a corn-and-yellow pea-based paste with pork, egg, chicken and vegetable filling, wrapped around a plantain leaf; the Lechona, a yellow pea-and-meat-stuffed pork; Empanadas, small potato, rice and meat stuffed pastries, made with corn dough; Achiras (although not exclusively from this deparmnent) and Bizcocho calentano, smaller flour pastries; and Quesillo, a type of cheese wrapped in a plantain leaf. Drinks include the Avena, a cold oatmea-based drink.