'Fusagasugá' (or 'Fusa') is a town and municipality in the
department of
Cundinamarca, in central
Colombia. It is located some forty miles from the capital,
Bogotá. With 122,000 inhabitants, Fusagasugá is one of the largest municipalities in the department. It was founded in
1562 by
Spanish priests.
It borders
Pasca,
Arbeláez, Tibacuy, Silvania and other municipalities of
Sumapaz. At its elevation of 5,669 feet above sea level, the town's average temperature ranges from 18-20°C.
Name origin
The interpretation of the name in Spanish varies from ''"Mujer que se hace invisible"'' (Woman who becomes invisible) to ''"Mujer que se esconde tras la montaña"'' (Woman who hides herself behind the mountain). However, many people shorten its name to ''"Fusa"''.
History
The
Sutagaos inhabited the region until the new town was founded by
Oídor Bernardino Albornoz between the 5th and 13th of February in
1562. Not much is known about the previous indigineous residents. During the visit of Oídor Ibarra, there were 759 indigenous people residing in Fusagasugá. When Oídor Aróstequi arrived in February 1760, the indigenous population had dwindled to 85, and there were 644 new settlers divided among 109 families. On
February 19,
1760, a small hospital was established near the church and Father Vicente of Fresneda was given charge of it.
During a visit, two officials, Moreno and Escandón, considering the decline in the indigenous population and the corresponding growth in the local settler population, issued a decree on
January 8,
1776 that the native villages in the Fusagasugá area, Pandi and Tibacuy, no longer existed, and consolidated them into the present-day city of
Pasca. In the wake of this decision, all streets and plazas in the cities were renamed.
In 1771, on the direction of the mayor of Fusagasugá, the
viceroy Messia de la Zerda ordered the construction of a new avenue, Santafé, which would go from Fusagasugá, passing through the nearby town of
Sibaté. On August 8, 1774, Father Francisco Escobar announced that Fusagasugá was on the road that passed over the mountains and led to the neighboring towns of Apicalá and
Melgar; such that travelers could not reach
Bermajal, located on the same mountain as Fusagasugá, without passing through Fusagasugá. This established the suburb's local importance.
In a directive issued August 7,
1846, the president of the Colombian republic nationally recognized the road from Fusagasugá to the southern provinces, which prompted the construction of a road over the
Sumapaz river in
Boquerón. In
1852, Fusagasugá became part of the province of
Tequendama.
On February 9,
1877, a battle took place in the hacienda El Novillero between government forces led by General Mogollón and the rebels led by Colonel Juan Ardila and Lucas Moreno. The first hospital was constructed in 1893 by the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with money donated by Don Manuel María Aya Caicedo and Lady Sagrado Cleofé Diaz, who also founded an adjoining nursing home. Following a directive issued on December 20,
1895, Fusagasugá was made capital of the province of
Sumapaz, which was created by National Directive 489 on November 7, 1895 and made into Law 162 in
1896.
On February 22,
1893, Doctor
José Manuel Goenaga, minister of obras of President
Miguel Antonio Caro, contracted the construction of a highway between Sibaté, Fusagasugá, and Boquerón. The project's engineer was Enrique Pabón Liévano, a native of Fusagasugá. The project was commenced in
1905 under the administration of President
Rafael Reyes but suspended on February 10,
1906 because of an attack by the Barro Colorado. It resumed in March of 1913. The highway reached Fusagasugá in
1930 and
Arbelaéz in
1934.
In
1907, an iron and wood bridge was finished over the river Sumapaz in Boquerón which was given the name "Puente Eliseo Medina" to honor the administration of the time. In
1930, the bridge was used by automobiles for the first time, and was replaced by the current bridge in
1953.
By article 12 of ordnance 21 in
1944, the construction of a highway between Fusagasugá and Boquerón by the river
Llano commenced.
The first cemetery, which was on the site of "Pekin" opened in
1822. It was replaced by a second one in
1852 which was located in front of the hospital. A third cemetery was opened by the Cura Sabogal on October 31,
1910.
In
1929, in the Quinta Coburgo, the candidacy of
Enrique Olaya Herrera was announced. In
1970, the Institute Técnico Universitario (Technical Institute University) was opened. It had been created by ordenance 45 issued on December 19,
1969 and established there by directive 537 on May 8, 1970 by Governor Joaquín Piñeros Corpas.
The city's main church has been rebuilt numerous times, and for a variety of reasons. The first church was built in June of
1658 by Father Andrés Méndez de Valdivieso. The second church was built by Father Poveda in
1707, and lasted until 1865. The third church was built soon after by Father Antionio Martínez. It was made of bricks, but collapsed on
September 19,
1908. The fourth church was begun in its place on
June 6,
1909, and was consecrated
August 15,
1926, soon after its completion. It was consecreated by the local
Archbishop,
Ismael Perdomo. However, there were other churches throughout the city's existence, including the Nuestra Señora de Belén (English: Our Lady of Belén), consecrated on
August 16,
1786.
Tourism
Due to its warm climate, Fusa includes a lot of vacational hotels and resorts, pool parks, cabin hotels. The
Pan-American highway goes through Fusa territory making it obligued pass to the colombian cities in the south-west such as
Ibague,
Neiva,
Cali and others.
Over the highway can be seen green houses, a lot of plant and flower stores, handcrafted rustic furniture stores and local food restaurants.
Sports
Fusagasugá is home to a football (soccer) team called
Expreso Rojo which plays in the Colombian second division.
Famous people from Fusagasugá
★
Lucho Herrera cyclist
Gallery
External links
★
Official Fusagasugá website
★
Unofficial Fusagasugá website
★
Historical information on Fusagasugá
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