Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area more than twice that of France. In Latin America, it is also the country with the third largest population after Brazil and Mexico. The country currently suffers from a low-intensity conflict involving rebel guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, drug trafficking and corruption inside minor towns and some cities. The conflict originated around 1964-1966, when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were founded and began their guerrilla insurgency campaigns against successive Colombian government administrations. The word "Colombia" comes from the name of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian). It was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was then adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819 formed by the union of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador. Spanish explorers made the first exploration of the Caribbean littoral in 1500 led by Rodrigo de Bastidas. Christopher Columbus navigated near the Caribbean in 1502. In 1508, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa started the conquest of the territory through the region of Urabá. In 1513, he was also the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean which he called Mar del Sur (or "Sea of the South") and which in fact would bring the Spaniards to Peru and Chile. The territory's main population was made up of hundreds of tribes of the Chibchan and Carib, currently known as the Caribbean people, whom the Spaniards conquered through warfare and alliances, while resulting disease and the conquest itself caused a demographic reduction among the indigenous. In the sixteenth century, Europeans began to bring slaves from Africa. Since the beginning of the periods of Conquest and Colonization, there were several rebel movements under Spanish rule, most of them either being crushed or remaining too weak to change the overall situation. The last one, which sought outright independence from Spain, sprang up around 1810, following the independence of St. Domingue in 1804 (present day Haiti), who provided a non-negligible degree of support to the eventual leaders of this rebellion: Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander. Simón Bolívar had become the first president of Colombia and Francisco de Paula Santander was Vice President; when Simón Bolívar stepped down, Santander became the second president of Colombia. The rebellion finally succeeded in 1819 when the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Greater Colombia organized as a Confederation along Ecuador and Venezuela (Panama was part of Colombia). Internal political and territorial divisions led to the secession of Venezuela and Quito (today's Ecuador) in 1830. At this time, the so-called "Department of Cundinamarca" adopted then the name "Nueva Granada", which it kept until 1856 when it became the "Confederación Granadina" (Grenadine Confederation). After a two year civil war in 1863, the "United States of Colombia" was created, lasting until 1886, when the country finally became known as the Republic of Colombia. Internal divisions remained between the bipartisan political forces, occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars, the most significant being the Thousand Days civil war (1899 - 1902) which together with the United States intentions to influence in the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of the Department of Panama in 1903 and the establishment of it as a nation. Colombia engulfed in a year long war with Peru over a territorial dispute involving the Amazonas Department and its capital Leticia. Soon after, Colombia achieved a relative degree of political stability, which was interrupted by a bloody conflict that took place between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, a period known as La Violencia ("The Violence"). Its cause was mainly because of mounting tensions between the two leading political parties, which subsequently ignited after the assassination of the Liberal Presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on April 9, 1948. This assassination caused riots in Bogotá and became known as El Bogotazo, the violence from these riots spread through out the country and claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians. From 1953 to 1964 the violence between the two political parties decreased first when Gustavo Rojas deposed the President of Colombia in a coup d'etat, and negotiated with the guerrillas, and then under the military junta of General Gabriel París Gordillo. After Rojas deposition the two political parties Colombian Conservative Party and Colombian Liberal Party agreed to the creation of a "National Front", whereby the Liberal and Conservative parties would govern jointly. The presidency would be determined by an alternating conservative and liberal president every 4 years for 16 years; the two parties would have parity in all other elective offices. The National Front ended "La Violencia", and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the Alliance for Progress. In the end, the contradictions between each successive Liberal and Conservative administration made the results decidedly mixed. Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political injustices continued and many guerrillas were formally created such as the FARC, ELN and M-19 to fight the government and political apparatus with influences from Cold War doctrines. Emerging in the late 1970s, powerful and violent drug cartels developed during the 1980s and 1990s. The Medellín Cartel under Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel, in particular, exerted political, economic and social influence in Colombia during this period. These cartels also financed and influenced different illegal armed groups throughout the political spectrum. Some enemies of these allied with the guerrillas and created or influenced paramilitary groups. The new Colombian Constitution of 1991 was ratified after being drafted by the Constituent Assembly of Colombia. The constitution included key provisions on political, ethnic, human and gender rights. The new constitution initially prohibited the extradition of Colombian nationals. There were accusations of lobbying by drug cartels in favor of this prohibition. The cartels had previously promoted a violent campaign against extradition, leading to many terrorist attack and mafia style executions. They also tried to influence the government and political structure of Colombia by means of corruption, as in the case of the 8000 Process scandal. In recent years, the country has continued to be plagued by the effects of the drug trade, guerrilla insurgencies like FARC and paramilitary groups such as the AUC (later demobilized, though paramilitarism remains active), which along with other minor factions have engaged in a bloody internal armed conflict. President Andrés Pastrana and the FARC attempted to negotiate a solution to the conflict between 1998 and 2002 but failed to do so. President Andrés Pastrana also began to implement the Plan Colombia initiative, with the dual goal of ending the armed conflict and promoting a strong anti-narcotic strategy. During the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, who was elected on the promise of applying military pressure on the FARC and other criminal groups, some security indicators have improved, showing a decrease in reported kidnappings (from 3700 in the year 2000 to 800 in 2005) and a decrease of more than 48% in homicides between July 2002 and May 2005 and of the terrorist guerrila itself reduced from 16.900 insurgents to 8.900 insurgents. It is argued that these improvements have favored economic growth and tourism.[9] The 2006–2007 Colombian parapolitics scandal emerged due to the revelations and judicial implications of past and present links between paramilitary groups, mainly the AUC, and some government officials and many politicians, most of them allied to the governing administration.[10] Geologically Colombia is formed by two great territorial zones, one submerged in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean sea covering a total area of 828,660 km² and the second is the emerged land which is formed by the Andes mountain range and the Llanos plains that are shared with Venezuela and cover an area of some 1'143,748 km². Colombian surface features form complicated land patterns. The western third of the country is the most complex, starting at the shore of the Pacific Ocean in the west and moving eastward at a latitude of 5 degrees north, a diverse sequence of features is encountered; In the extreme west are the very narrow and discontinuous Pacific coastal lowlands, which are backed by the Serranía de Baudó, one of the lowest and narrowest of Colombia's mountain ranges. Next is the broad region of the Río Atrato/Río San Juan lowland. The western mountain range, the Cordillera Occidental, is a moderately high range with peaks reaching up to about 13,000�ft (4,000�m). The Cauca River Valley, an important agricultural region with several large cities on its borders, separates the Cordillera Occidental from the massive Cordillera Central. Several snow-clad volcanoes in the Cordillera Central have summits that rise above 18,000�ft (5,500�m). The valley of the Magdalena River, a major transportation artery, separates the Cordillera Central from the main eastern range, the Cordillera Oriental. The peaks of the Cordillera Oriental are moderately high. This range differs from Colombia's other mountain ranges in that it contains several large basins. To the east of the country, the sparsely populated, flat to gently rolling eastern lowlands called Llanos orientales part of the Orinoco river basin and the jungle covered Amazon region part of the Amazon river basin (both basins called eastern plains) cover almost 60 percent of the country's total land area. The northern plains are mostly part of the Caribbean natural region which includes the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, the highest mountain by the sea and the Guajira Peninsula, mostly arid with another separate formation from the Andes mountain range, the Serranía de Macuira to form the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub. The climate of Colombia is determined by its proximity to the Earth's Equator predominating a tropical and isothermal climate, presenting variations within five natural regions and depending on the altitude; determined by mountain climate, temperature, humidity, winds; influenced by the trade winds and precipitation which is influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Colombia is also affected by the effects of the El Niño and La Niña. Depending on the altitude temperatures decrease about 3.5 °F (2 °C) for every 1,000-foot (300-m) increase in altitude above sea level, presenting perpetual snowy peaks to lower hot lands. Rainfall varies by location and is present in two seasons (two dry and two rainy) in Colombia presenting one of the highest rainfalls in the world in the Pacific region. Rainfall in parts of the Guajira Peninsula seldom exceeds 30�in (75�cm) per year. Colombia's rainy southeast, however, is often drenched by more than 200�in (500�cm) of rain per year. Rainfall in most of the rest of the country runs between these two extremes. Altitude affects not only temperature, but also vegetation. In fact, altitude is one of the most important influences on vegetation patterns in Colombia. The mountainous parts of the country can be divided into several vegetation zones according to altitude, although the altitude limits of each zone may vary somewhat depending on the latitude. The "tierra caliente" (hot land), below 3,300�ft (1,000�m), is the zone of tropical crops. The tierra templada (temperate land), extending from an altitude of 3,300 to 6,600�ft (1,000 to 2,000�m). Wheat and potatoes dominate in the "tierra fría" (cold land), at altitudes from 6,600 to 10,500�ft (2,000 to 3,200�m). In the "zona forestada" (forested zone), which is located between 10,500 and 12,800�ft (3,200 and 3,900�m). Treeless pastures table lands dominate the páramos, or alpine grasslands, at altitudes of 12,800 to 15,100�ft (3,900 to 4,600�m). Above 15,100�ft (4,600�m), where temperatures are below freezing, is the "tierra helada", a zone of permanent snow and ice. Colombian Flora and Fauna also interact with climate zone patterns. A scrub woodland of scattered trees and bushes dominates the semiarid northeastern steppe and tropical desert. To the south, savannah (tropical grassland) vegetation covers the eastern plains; Colombian portion of the llanos. The rainy areas in the southeast are blanketed by tropical rain forest. In the mountains, the spotty patterns of precipitation in alpine areas complicate vegetation patterns. The rainy side of a mountain may be lush and green, while the other side, in the rain shadow, may be parched. As a result Colombia is considered to be among 17 of the most megadiverse countries in the world.[14] The environment issues in Colombia are caused by both natural hazards and human effects on the environment. Natural hazards are determined by the global positioning of Colombia by the Pacific ring of fire causing geological instability. Colombia has some 15 major volcanoes which have caused tragedies like Armero and geological faults that have caused numerous devastating earthquakes like the 1999 Armenia earthquake. Human induced deforestation have also added to the problems of geological instability and inundations during the rainy seasons, two regions are very susceptible to these mainly in the Caribbean region of Colombia; La Mojana Region and the Magdalena river basin. The population increase and the burning of fossil fuels and industry, among other human produced waste has contaminated the environment of major cities and nearby water sources. Participants in the Colombian armed conflict have also contributed to the pollution of the environment in Colombia. The illegally armed groups have deforested large portions of land to plant illegal crops (mostly on government designated protected areas) while the government fumigated these crops using hazardous chemicals. The guerrillas also destroyed oil pipelines creating major ecological disasters. The Government of Colombia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic as established in the Colombian Constitution of 1991. The Colombian government is divided into three branches of power; the executive, legislative and judicial with special control institutions and electoral institutions. The President of Colombia is the maximum representative of executive branch of government in Colombia and is also the head of state and head of government with supreme administrative authority, followed by the Vice President and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia. At a provincial level the executive is managed by department governors, municipal mayors at municipal level and local administrators for smaller administrative subdivisions such as corregidor for corregimientos. The legislative branch of government in Colombia is represented by the National Congress of Colombia which is formed by an upper house the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. At a provincial level the legislative branch is represented by department assemblies and a municipal level with municipal councils. Both the legislative and executive branches share most of the government power while the judicial branch of Colombia functions as an independent body from the other two branches which are vested with a shared power. The judicial branch under a adversarial system is represented by the Supreme Court of Justice which is the highest entity in this branch but shared in responsibility with the Council of State, Constitutional Court and the Superior Council of the Judicature which also have jurisdictional and regional courts. Colombia is divided into 32 departments and one capital district which is treated as a department. There are in total 10 districts assigned to cities in Colombia including Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Tunja, Cúcuta, Popayán, Buenaventura, Tumaco and Turbo. Colombia is also subdivided into some municipalities which form departments, each with a municipal seat capital city assigned. Colombia is also subdivided into corregimientos which form municipalities. Each department has a local government which is headed by a department governor and its own department assembly elected for a period of four years in a regional election. Each municipality also headed by a municipal mayor and a municipal council. And for corregimientos there will be an elected corregidor or local leader. 18 La Guajira 19 Magdalena 20 Meta 21 Nariño 22 Norte de Santander 23 Putumayo 24 Quindío 25 Risaralda 26 San Andrés and Providencia 27 Santander 28 Sucre 29 Tolima 30 Valle del Cauca 31 Vaupes 32 Vichada 33 Bogotá* (Distrito Capital) Some department have also local administrative regional subdivisions such as the departments of Antioquia and Cundinamarca, where towns have a large concentration of population and municipalities are near each other. In the case of some department where the population is still scarce and there are security problems such as in eastern Colombian departments of Amazonas, Vaupés and Vichada there special administrative definitions for territories, some are considered Department corregimientos, which are a hybrid between a corregimiento and a municipality. The difference besides the population is also subject to a cut in the assigned budget. The executive branch of government is in charge of managing the defense affairs of Colombia with the President of Colombia being the supreme chief of the armed forces, followed by the Minister of Defense, which controls the Military of Colombia and the Colombian National Police among other institutions. The Colombian military is divided into three branches with their respective chains of command; the Colombian National Army, the Colombian Air Force and the Colombian National Armada. The national police functions as a gendarmerie independently from the Military as a the law enforcement agency for the entire country. Each of these operating with their own intelligence apparatus and also separately form the national intelligence agency Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad. The National Police has a presence in all municipality seats of Colombia, while the National Army is formed by divisions, regiments and special units, the Colombian National Armada is formed by the Colombian Marine Corps, Naval Force of the Pacific, Naval Force of the Caribbean, Naval Force of the South, Colombia Coast Guards, Naval Aviation and the Specific Command of San Andres y Providencia, the Colombian Air Force is formed by combat air commands units supported by other air support units. The Foreign affairs of Colombia are headed by the President of Colombia and managed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Colombia has diplomatic missions in all the continents, but not in all countries, and also multilateral relations with Brussels (Mission to the European Union) Geneva (Permanent Mission to the United Nations and other International Organizations) Montevideo (Permanent Missions to ALADI and MERCOSUR) Nairobi (Permanent Missions to the United Nations and other International Organizations) New York City (Permanent Mission to the United Nations) Paris (Permanent Mission to UNESCO) Rome (Permanent Mission to FAO) Washington DC (Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States). The foreign relations of Colombia are mostly concentrated on combating illegal drug trade, improving Colombian image in the international community, fight against terrorism, expanding the Colombian products in the global market and environmental issues. Colombia receives special military and commercial cooperation and support from the United States mainly through Plan Colombia to fight against the internal armed groups as well as special financial preferences from the European Union in certain products. The Politics of Colombia take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic as established in the Colombian Constitution of 1991. The constitution vested the National Electoral Council along with the National Registry of the Civil State with the function of organizing and controlling the electoral process in Colombia. Since the 2005 reform the electoral process abides by the Law 974 of 2005 which modified the way political parties organize and interact in the government. Colombia goes through three electoral processes to elect candidates for a period of four years; a Presidential election, for president and vice president candidates (authorized to serve one reelection, 8 years), a legislative election for congress; senate and chamber of representatives (authorized many terms through reelection) and a regional election to elect department governors, department assemblies, municipal mayors and municipal councils and Local administrative juntas (executive regional leaders are only authorized one term in office). The last presidential and legislative elections were on May 28, 2006, in which president Álvaro Uribe was reelected by a vote of 62%, with 22% going to Carlos Gaviria of the Democratic Pole, and 12% to Horacio Serpa of the Liberal Party. Colombia's bicameral parliament is the Congress of Colombia consists of a 166-seat Chamber of Representatives of Colombia and a 102-seat Senate of Colombia. Members of both houses are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. With congressmen, Colombia also elects the president. Department deputies, city councils and mayors are elected one year and five months after the president's and congressmen's election. The latest regional election was on October 28, 2007 with some 27 million Colombians apt to vote to elect between some 86 thousand candidates to represent 1,098 Colombian municipalities and 32 governors of Colombian Departments. Colombian authorities mobilized 167,559 soldiers and policemen in order to vigil the 9,950 voting sites.[15] The election process in the judicial system is headed by the Constitutional Court and members are appointed by the Congress of Colombia out of nominations made by the President and other high ranking tribunals, presidents of courts in the other hand are elected in internal elections. In Electoral Institutions and Control Institutions of Colombia officials are also appointed by the president and approved by congress like the Inspector General of Colombia. Colombia's economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a highly literate population and relatively high-valued currency. After experiencing decades of steady growth (average GDP growth exceeded 4% in the 1970-1998 period), Colombia experienced a recession in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since 1929), and the recovery from that recession was long and painful. Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflicts. Colombia is also the largest exporter of plantains to the United States. Within Latin America, Colombia is known as a provider of fine lingerie, with the industry being centered in Medellín. All imports, exports, and the general trade balance are in record levels, and the inflow of export dollars has resulted in substantial revaluation of the Colombian Peso. The problems facing the country range from pension system problems to drug dealing to moderately high unemployment (12%). Several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by current President Álvaro Uribe, which include measures designed to bring the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). The government's economic policy and its controversial democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America. On May 28, 2007, the American magazine BusinessWeek published an article naming Colombia the most Extreme Emerging Market on Earth.[18] Bogotá D.C is one of the oldest cities in Colombia and Latin America. It is the capital city of the Republic of Colombia, Cundinamarca's province and the most important city in the country in the economic, social and administrative aspects. The capital is in the center of the country and is the most inhabited city in the nation, since an average of 8.1 million people live in its metropolitan area. It hosts the all the main government offices, since the country's way of government is centralized. Bogotá is one of the most important financial centers in South America, being the fourth largest city in Latin America, after Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. Bogotá maintains its economy at a high level, since it produces more than 50% of the country's revenue, especially after Álvaro Uribe Vélez presidential government (President from 2002-2010). Bogotá is located on a great plateau. The city has become a great potential site at an international level for business. Bogotá's internal gross product is around 50 trillion pesos, that which represents 23% of the national GDP. Besides this, Bogotá also has stood out as a tourism attraction in recent years. The local government's next project for the city is a brand-new metro system, which will be built with the contribution of great part of the national economy and will complete the current bus and platform system "Transmilenio". Besides, the new El Dorado Airport is currently being planned, which will be the biggest and most technologically advanced in the nation, and one of the largest in Latin America. It is this the third more important city of Colombia, Santiago of Cali the capital of the department of the Valley of Cauca is in the suroccidente of the Country, this, is to 484 Km of the capital of the country (Bogotá), Cali is one of the financial big centers of Colombia, like it is of general knowledge it is also Cali one of the big and powerful cities of Colombia, it is the second more inhabited city if we speak of the civic area because he/she has 2.1 million inhabitants, and it is surpassed by the civic perimeter of Santa faith of Bogotá with an average of 6.8 million inhabitants if one speaks of metropolitan area it is third o'clock more populated then it possesses 2.9 million inhabitants, given to this it is surpassed by metropolitan areas as, the metropolitan area of Bogotá D.C with an average of 8.1 million inhabitants as well as the raisin the metropolitan area of Medellín with an average of 3.1 million inhabitants. This city possesses a great potential that is reflected at international level, it is center of some Colombian events without a lot of importance, although it doesn't overcome in events to the capital of the country "Bogotá D.C" and to Cartagena of Indies D.T and C. The most grateful events in Cali are; (The fair of the cane of sugar in Cali which is the most grateful fair in Latin America, another event of importance is Cali Exposhow which is the event that prevails the Fashion, health and the beauty in Colombia). Something that really has relevance in Cali, is that it possesses an area big and successful financial bastantemente, this city he/she is recognized, because it is also one of the oldest from Colombia and Latin America, it has been developed practically alone, because it is very far from the capital of the nation, it is the only city that has been developed at so high alone level before the Economic situation that succeeds in giving in Colombia. It is expressed like an intermediate city and without relevance in Latin America, the metropolitan area stands out in general for; the society, the economy, the culture and the history, Cali possesses an administrative and financial vigorous area where you/they are several series of majestically big and intelligent constructions, among those that it is like one of the good known constructions of the metropolises "The tower of Cali" with 48 floors \ 180 meters high are the highest building in the city, and also classified by architects of sharp discernment, like one of the best constructions of Latin America. Given to this type of attitudes that the city has taken in the last years it is expressed that Cali is D.C. one of the metropolises that have had bigger development in the last century in Colombia together with Medellín and Bogotá The economy of Cali is centralized in the cane of sugar, the textile area, the tourism, in the city starts the 3 economic sectors, in which prevail the construction, with an increase of 28,27%; the industry that 14,59% grew; the trade, with 11,15%, and the transport, with 9,76% in the beginning of the 2008, according to statistical of the DANE; the acquisitive growth has decreased starting from the year 1994 where Cali was in a contribution pick to the National GDP of 9.6%, from here the metropolitan economy has gone falling gradually until arriving in the year from the 2000 to 5.7% of the National GDP, starting from here the economy again elevates its progress until arriving in the 2007 with 7.2% of the National GDP, the goal that is considered for this first trimester for the Chamber of Commerce of Cali was even of a catkin of 12.5% of the metropolitan GDP deciphered in the 2007 by the DANE, to arrive this way to 8.3% of the National GDP. The financial area in general that the metropolises take place as the sugar, company more grateful vallecaucana for this utility "Of Christopher Columbus", the paper, the company more grateful vallecaucana for this utility is "Carvajal", Construction, the most grateful company for this utility "Cements Argus", which is the union of (the company Paisa "Argus" and the company Vallecaucana "Cements of the Valley"), cements conqueror (Cali)", between a big group and manufacturers' fluyente, among other utilities that it possesses the city like the real estate, financial services and services in general as "hotels, restaurants and other", The city of Cali and the Valley of Cauca conform one of the economic main axes of Colombia. The city is a point of economic national and international exchange. It is forced step from / toward the south of the country and the frontier with Ecuador, and it is connected with the world through the marine port of Good fortune. For tradition, the city and the department they have been space of the country property, the same one that was during the time of the Colony, with the mines, is the axis of more important production of the suroccidente of the country and the third more important of Colombia. In education, the university with more prestige in the city, the department and the region is the University of Valle, this Metropolitan and departmental university, is one from the most noted to national and international level, with its main headquarters in Santiago of Cali, this, stands out in several environments like they are; Mathematics, Medicine, Literature among other more... Another University that the one that prevails, but Deprived Character is the" University Santiago from Cali which is another of the universities that the soaks us they possess. This city is considered by several writers, painters of international size, call him/her the branch of the sky, the capital of the sauce among other nicknames more than they fill from pride to Caleño... Cali is also one of the cities that in Colombia with potential in tourism, The places that one takes as image of Cali are; their squares and museums, parks, libraries, the san hill Antonio, The tower of Cali, The river Cali, The monument to Christ King in Cali, The monument to Sebastian of Belalcazar, The administrative towers of Emcali, besides their current projects and futures. The projects that are carrying out at the moment in the metropolitan area of Cali are; The center of Conventions Valley of Pacific is in the freeway Cali-Yumbo metropolitan "area of Cali" is the second bigger center of conventions of the nation, and the third at South American level, another project is the stadium of sport Cali in the straight line Cali-Palmira metropolitan "area of Cali" is the biggest Stadium in Colombia and with more technology and one of those that give the size at international level as to receive an average of 58.000 spectators, which is also foreseen for a possible world future of Soccer in Colombia; a very important project is also Ilabama, which is the cultural biggest center in the nation is in the central area of the city, another project is MIO, transport massive for the city of Cali which also possesses its stations buses of great size and "MIO cable" to arrive to the high area of Cali. Cali, although it is not brought near Bogotá D.C in many environments, it is a competition for other cities like Barranquilla in mutual importance, of which is already doubted since both they are administrative and financial big and powerful areas "Cali and barranquilla", until recently there was dispute, but given to the millionaire losses that he/she took place the city and to the socio-economic problems, but the importance between Cali and Medellín is mutual although at the moment Cali continues being the third city of the country, because the projects of those which nowadays are carried out in Cali they give place to an improvement and appraisement to the metropolises. Being the capital of the department of Antioquia, it is the second more important city of the country, Medellín it is one of the big metropolises of Colombia, it is here a financial and economic quite big nucleus for the Colombians he/she has their house the biggest bank in Colombia (Bancolombia), The urban area of the city is divided in 6 areas, these in turn are divided in communes adding a total of 16 in fact The areas they lack territorial, alone value they are used to contain to the communes according to its location inside the city. And finally the communes are divided in neighborhoods and in institutional areas. The city has 249 official neighborhoods and 20 institutional areas. The institutional areas are big sectors with some neighborhood characteristics, but their population is not permanent and you/he/she lacks housings, example the campus university students. The urban area of the city is divided in 6 areas, these in turn are divided in communes adding a total of 16 in fact The areas they lack territorial, alone value they are used to contain to the communes according to its location inside the city. And finally the communes are divided in neighborhoods and in institutional areas. The city has 249 official neighborhoods and 20 institutional areas. The institutional areas are big sectors with some neighborhood characteristics, but their population is not permanent and you/he/she lacks housings, example the campus university students. corregimientos, these in turn sidewalks are divided, The corregimientos San Antonio of Grassland and San Cristóbal, they are the corregimientos more towns of Colombia, with more than thirty thousand inhabitants each one. Medellín is structured following the flow of the river that crosses it, "the river Medellín", which travels her from south to north of the metropolises. The city of Medellín is the third more inhabited city of Colombia if we speak of the civic area, because this bill with an average 2.0 million inhabitants, and Bogotá overcomes it with an average 6.8 million inhabitants in the civic area, as well as Cali overcomes it with an average 2.2 million inhabitants, but if we speak of the metropolitan area it is second o'clock more inhabited of the nation, because it possesses 3.1 million inhabitants, and it is overcome by the metropolitan area of Bogotá D.C with an average 8.1 million inhabitants, Medellín he/she stands out for the social, economic and historical, it possesses a financial very dense area which is a complex of sophisticated constructions, among those that he/she is the I build more high of the city "The tower coltejer" with 38 floors \ 230 meters high this tower is particularized because its culmination is in tip form that extends horizontally in entirety of the culmination of the tower. The biggest advance that the metropolises possess it is the only meter that the country has until the present time, although for this, the city is quite indebted (although Álvaro Uribe already you responsibility of energizing the debt) for what you/they have been able to carry out more projects like their parks and libraries, the extension of the meter dares of meter cables (there are already two concluded and another in construction starting from the 2009, also has already the system of buses of meter bonus, articulate with the envigado cities, Itagüí and beautiful), also several projects like double several roads and the exit to the sea dare of the port of I upset and the tunnel but I release of Suramérica (5km), that which makes that Medellín is one of the most advanced cities in Colombia. The economy of the metropolises is centered a lot in the area of financial, textile services and in fashion that the city possesses, Medellín also possesses the highest rates of tourism after Cartagena of Indies D.T and C, San Andrés and providence Islands, Santa Marta, Manizales and Cali, the events of more relevance in Medellín are; (Colombia tex carried out in the metropolitan area of Medellín, Colombia Fashion is the exclusively textile most important event in the nation which gives place in Medellín, and the fair of the flowers that is also given to end in Medellín). In the education, the university that prevails in Medellín is the University of Antioquia, this Metropolitan and departmental university with main headquarters in Medellín, this it is one of the state most renowned universities, it is in turn, it is among the best and grateful in the Colombian Republic, he/she stands out in Literature, Medicine and Dentistry, among other more... Another university that is known enough and it prevails in the region in the environment of the education, it is the headquarters in Medellín of the National University of Colombia the University of Medellín it is also one of the most noted universities that the paisas possesses. Medellín or also call the capital of the mountain, he/she has always stood out to stay vigorously high in their since economy in the year 1996 where Medellín was in its point summit of 9.4% of the National GDP, starting from here its economic acquisition stayed until arriving a year 2002 where the economy paisa 1.2% of the National GDP that the city contributed fell, it stops this way to be in 8.1% of here the economy stays in constant high and low where in the first trimester of the 2007, Medellín was contributing 8.2% of the National GDP, but in the last study carried out by the DANE Medellín represents 7.94% of the National GDP at the moment, the perspective that the Chamber of Commerce of Medellín has for this first trimester is an increase considered excellently by many experts high, because it is an increase of 16.7% of the metropolitan GDP so that the economy is this way for the first trimester in a contribution of 9.2% of the National GDP, but at the present time Medellín like it was named previously it represents 7.94% of the National GDP that in turn together with the Valley of it Bores they contribute near 10.8%, you calculate revealed by the DANE in the last trimester of the 2007. Being one of the most productive regions in the country. He/she has a GDP per capita (with PPA) from US $ 3.794 superior to the main other cities of Colombia and a managerial density is of 25 companies for each 1.000 inhabitants that it is third o'clock more high of Colombia. The economy of Medellín is centered a lot in the textile area, the fashion in dressing in the one that the metropolises intrude in an exorbitant way, is also Medellín center of many events that support the society, metropolitan economy, hence it is a tourist center of big satisfaction to the society paisa, these they are some of the companies paisas that have been successful firm in the last decade, EPM, UNITES, among other many companies of all type of character, especially textile, since Medellín is the national most important center in the Textile area and financier you dare of Bancolombia. Medellín like it has been named previously it is so much a very dense area administrative and financial, a great dispute of the second place existed between Medellín and Cali, in fact Medellín you overcomes much more than Cali during long time, for its good economy its socioeconomic and ecological good state, also given to the descrecencia of the economy caleña and the quantity of constant embezzlements that gave place in the city of Cali, besides the great quantity of factors that you/they helped Medellín become the great metropolises of now, the Meter of Medellín you intervening with three kilometers is at the moment but and with the meter cables and meter bonus that feed him, but even this way Medellín and Cali not defendant bigger results to give an I diagnose accustomed to of which is more you care you, reason why the importance is mutual. Being the capital of the department of the Atlantic one, Barranquilla it is the fourth more important city for Colombia, it is the Colombian marine more important port of the Atlantic one and the most important second in the since country the most important it is the port of Good fortune, Barranquilla it is the fourth city in all the aspects, Economic, social, Urban, this city is inhabited by an average of 1.2 million inhabitants. The economy of Barranquilla is based on its marine area, although it is also known to be tourist place, it lacks a financial very big area it is a medium area compared with the previous cities, Barranquilla passed to the category of Special, Industrial and Port District of Barranquilla in 1993 because it highlights its importance in the sector of the national economy. In the same way, the city is in the tourist first region of Colombia, North Costa, between the main poles of attraction like Cartagena of Indies to the suroccidente, besides San Andrés and Providence Islands, and Santa Marta to the nororiente. In Barranquilla he/she takes place the most important Carnival in Colombia and the third in Latin America, which is the "Carnival of Barranquilla" carried out in the metropolitan area of Barranquilla. In education the good known university for this area of Colombia is the University of Atlantic, this Municipal and regional University is the most noted for these sides of Colombia, he/she stands out in; Biology, Microbiology, Biology Marina, Physics among other more... Barranquilla or also call the Sandy one, is an industrial center of first order. The economic activity is dynamic and he/she concentrates mainly on the industry, the trade, services and he/she fishes. Among the industrial products the vegetable fats and oils are had, pharmaceutical, chemical, industrial products, footwear, chassis for buses, drinks, soaps, bricks, garments of dressing and crafts. The city has the best infrastructure in Frank Area in the Region Caribbean and of the best in the country. Branquilla produces an average of 5.8% GDP. Being the capital of Bolívar's department, Cartagena of Indies D.T, is the most important city at historical level in the nation the same as at Latin American level, although this alone city possesses 0.9 million inhabitants and although it is not vastly big, it is where the Colonists began to face the native South Americans, it was the city more hit by the European colonists, its history is demonstrated by their old walls, canyons and castles of the old city of Cartagena, Cartagena is at the moment the city with more tourism in Colombia and one of those that possess a lot of tourism at international level, in Cartagena is the city in the one that more they are carried out events at National level but national and international character, the most outstanding are; (The National reign of Beauty, which is carried out as a rule in the hotel HILTON Cartagena of Indies, another event is the fair of the book that gives place in Cartagena, which is the second literary more important fair of the paí, because the most important is the Fair of the book in Bogotá D.C), Cartagena like you already names previously it is the good known center for many events of national and international size, it is also a fundamental great port of Colombian Atlantic, Car [[Imagen:Cartegena102 .jpg |thumb |left |300px |Night Pánoramica of the old city of Cartagena.]] Cartagena is also one of the oldest cities in America, The history of Cartagena of Indies is divided in several periods that are placed starting point the arrival from Christopher Columbus to the American continent. It begins with the period before the arrival of the Spanish or before Columbus empire and it continues with the discovery and Spanish conquest, the colonization process, the movements independentistas, the republican era, the civil conflicts, until covering the recent history. Cartagena or also call the walled city, the old city, among other more... it is one of the big treasures that Colombia possesses. The Tourism industry in Colombia developed in the 1940s and has maintained a steady growth since then. The main touristic destinations are Bogotá, Cartagena, Eje cafetero, Santa Marta, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, San Andrés Island among others, each presenting different tourist attractions. There are different tourist season in Colombia, the two most busy are related to religious celebrations; the holy week and Christmas among other numerous public holidays, including the celebrations surrounding the Independence of Colombia.[19] The most notable festivities are the Cali's Fair, the Barranquilla's Carnival, the Bogotá summer festival, the Iberoamerican Theater Festival, the Festival of the Flowers, the Vallenato Legend Festival, Carnival of Blacks and Whites and the Fiestas del Mar. Despite Travel advisories warning not to travel to Colombia due to Colombian armed conflict, the country continues to attract more tourists in recent years. The apparent cause appears to be the current hardline approach of President Álvaro Uribe called democratic security to push rebels groups farther away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites that may attract international visitors. Since President Uribe took office in 2002, he has notably increased Colombia's stability and security by significantly boosting its military strength and police presence throughout the country. The varied and rich geography, flora and fauna of Colombia has also developed an eco-touristic industry, mostly developed in the National Natural Parks of Colombia which include the areas of Amacayacu Park in the Department of Amazonas, Colombian National Coffee Park in the town of Montenegro, Quindío, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Los Nevados National Park (near the city of Manizales), Cocora valley in Salento, Quindío, PANACA theme Park, PANACA Savanna Park, Tayrona Park in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range (near the city of Santa Marta), the Tatacoa Desert, the Chicamocha Canyon National Park, Gorgona and Malpelo islands, as well as Cabo de la Vela in the Guajira Peninsula. Colombia has a network of national highways maintained by the Instituto Nacional de Vías or INVIAS (National Institute of Roadways) government agency under the Ministry of Transport. The Pan-American Highway travels through Colombia, connecting the country with Venezuela to the east and Ecuador to the south. Colombia's principal airport is El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. Several national airlines (Avianca, AeroRepública, AIRES , SATENA and Easy Fly, ), and international airlines (such as Iberia, American Airlines, Varig, Copa, Continental, Delta, Air Canada, Air France, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aerogal, TAME, TACA) operate from El Dorado. Bogotá's airport is one of the largest and most expensive in Latin America. Because of its central location in Colombia and America, it is preferred by national land transportation providers, as well as national and international air transportation providers. The country has a diverse population that reflects its colourful history and the peoples that have populated here from ancient times to the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups forms the basics of Colombia's current demographics: European immigrants, Indigenous Natives, Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners and other recent immigrants. Many of the indigenous peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population, but the remaining 700,000 currently represent over eighty-five distinct cultures. The European immigrants were primarily Spanish colonists, but a good number of other Europeans (Dutch, German, French, Swiss, Belgian, also many North Americans migrated to the Caribbean region in the late XIX early XX century, in smaller numbers Polish, Lithuanian, English and Croatian communities) immigrated during the Second World War and the Cold War. For example, former Bogotá mayor Antanas Mockus is the son of Lithuanian immigrants. Africans were brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the sixteenth century, and continuing into the nineteenth century. Other immigrant populations include Asians and Middle Easterners, particularly Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrians, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. Before the Spanish colonization of the region that would become the country of Colombia, the territory was the home of many different indigenous peoples. Today more than fifty different indigenous ethnic groups exist in Colombia. Most of them speak languages belonging to the Chibchan and Cariban linguistic families. The Colombian government has established 567 reserves for indigenous peoples and they are inhabitated by more than 800,000 persons. Some of the largest indigenous groups are the Arhuacos, the Muisca, the Kuna people, the Witoto, the Páez, the Tucano, the Wayuu and the Guahibo. Because of its strategic location Colombia has received several immigration waves during its history. Most of these immigrants have settled in the Caribbean Coast; Barranquilla (the largest city in the Colombian Caribbean Coast) has the largest population of Arab Lebanese, Jewish, Italian, German, American, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Gypsy descendants. There are also important communities of German and Chinese descendants in the Caribbean Coast. The census data in Colombia does not take into account ethnicity, so percentages are basically estimates from other sources and can vary from one another. Statistics reveal that Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and overwhelmingly speakers of Spanish, and that a majority of them are the result of the a mixture of Europeans, Africans, Amerindians. More than two-thirds of all Colombians live in urban areas—a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (94 percent) in Colombia is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Colombians are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 33 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older. The Colombian constitution guarantees religious freedom, but also states that the State "is not atheist or agnostic, nor indifferent to Colombians' religious sentiment." Religious groups are readily able to obtain recognition as organized associations, but some smaller ones face difficulty in obtaining recognition as religious entities, which is required to offer chaplaincy services in public facilities.[27] For some time Colombia also had the highest murder rate in the world at 62 murders per 100,000 people.[28] However, it has descended in recent years to 39 murders per 100,000 people, bringing it down in the List of countries by murder rate below the levels of South Africa. Over 90 percent of the murdered are males. Regions like Putumayo, Guaviare and Arauca remain at 100 or more murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005. In the year of 2006 the Colombian government had destroyed around 180,387�acres (730�km²) beating all records in coca plant destruction. The Colombian government now plans to destroy around 123,553�acres (500�km²) of coca plants in 2007 and they claim there will be only around 49,421�acres (200�km²) left, which they claim will be destroyed in 2008.[31] While Colombian efforts to eradicate the coca plant have displaced production, they have not diminished the area on which the crop is harvested.[32]This disputes the Colombian claim that coca will be eradicated in 2008. According to Amnesty International's Annual Report 2006, "Although the number of killings and kidnappings in some parts of the country fell, serious human rights abuses committed by all parties to the conflict remained at critical levels. Of particular concern were reports of extrajudicial executions carried out by the security forces, killings of civilians by armed opposition groups and paramilitaries, and the forced displacement of civilian communities."[33] More than 3.5 million civilians out of the country’s 40 million people have been displaced during the last two decades, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.[34] According to Amnesty International, "Paramilitaries who had supposedly demobilized under the terms of a controversial law ratified in July continued to commit human rights violations, while armed opposition groups continued to commit serious and widespread breaches of international humanitarian law. Individuals who may have been responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity were not brought to justice."[37] The Justice and Peace law, together with other legal mechanisms such as Decree 128, provides legal and economic benefits to demobilized paramilitaries. More than 25,000 paramilitary members are taking advantage of the demobilization process. Amnesty International believes that some have concealed their paramilitary activities by using different names or acting as civilian informers and civic guards.[38] The culture of Colombia lies at the crossroads of Latin America characterized for having one of the most multicultural societies; a complex mixing of European, African, Native American and to a lesser extend Middle Eastern traditions that was later influenced by American culture and other Latin American cultures such as the Mexican culture, Argentine culture and Caribbean culture. Due to Colombia's geography and years of social and political instability, Colombian culture has been heavily fragmented into five major cultural regions which are also natural regions. Rural to urban migration, industrialisation, globalization and internal political, social and economic issues have changed Colombians' way of living throughout the years. Inherited from the Spanish colonization, Colombia in general maintains a large base of Roman Catholic traditions which largely influences its culture and multicultural society despite the presence of other beliefs. The Constitution of 1991 made possible the protections and freedom of religious beliefs. The mixture a variety of the different ethnic traditions developed unique hybrids of musical, dancing and rites expressions being Cumbia and Vallenato the most renown and strongly influenced by world pop culture. Colombia also has multiple celebrations and festivals through out the year, most of these being celebrations related to religious traditions, human expressions such as musical and theater, freedom celebration; as the case of the Ibero-American Theater Festival, Barranquilla's Carnival, Carnival of Blacks and Whites, the Independence day every July 20th, the holy week and Christmas. One of the most important aspects in Colombia is television with telenovelas playing a key role in the Colombian culture and lately the growing local film industry. Colombians have developed a special passion for the Football (soccer) sport, the Colombia national football team is seen as a symbol of unity and national pride. Colombia has been an "exporter" of many famous players, such as Jonatan Estrada, Freddy Rincon, Carlos Valderrama, Ruben Dario Bustos and Faustino Asprilla. Colombia also celebrated and shows their unity and pride by the triumphs of many athletes in different sport disciplines who are Colombian, more notably Juan Pablo Montoya in NASCAR, Edgar Rentería in MLB and Camillo Villegas on the PGA Tour. Other Colombians of pride are those who are successful in different disciplines, such as literature like the Nobel Prize winner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Art like master Fernando Botero, and Shakira, Juanes and Carlos Vives in music. Colombia also has a vivid reputation for theater, such as El Zorro, and Betty La Fea, which different versions were produced in the United States, Croatia, Mexico and more. Many famous actors such as Rafael Novoa, Sofia Vergara, and Wilmer Valderrama
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