Everything about Leticia Colombia totally explained
Leticia is a
city in the
Republic of Colombia. capital of the
department of
Amazonas, and Colombia's southernmost town (4.09° south 69.57° west) as well as its only major port on the river. It has an elevation of 96 meters above sea level and an average temperature of 27 °C (80.6 °F). Leticia has long been Colombia's shipping point for
tropical fishes for the
aquarium trade. Leticia has approximately 37,000 inhabitants on the left bank of the
Amazon river, and at the point where Colombia,
Brazil and
Peru come together in an area called
Tres Fronteras.
A long standing border dispute involving Leticia, between Colombia and Peru, was decided in
1934 by the
League of Nations after these two nations engulfed in an armed conflict known as the
Colombia-Peru War. This was the first instance of action by an international body in its powers covered by the
Monroe Doctrine.
Even though it's a city within the borders of Colombia and a capital of one of its departments, Leticia is very peaceful and isolated from the problems of the rest of the country;
FARC activity is limited in the deep south of Colombia.
History
Early history
Early rumors about Leticia's history lead back to when the
Spanish and
Portuguese first explored the
Amazon River. History speaks of a Portuguese explorer who, after becoming lost on the river, died of starvation at the present site of Leticia with the rest of his crew. Legend has it that when the Peruvian government decided to colonise the area (in order to prevent the Colombian government from claiming it first) they found a cross inscribed with the words "San Antonio", naming the new the town after this cross.
Just as mysterious are the origins of the name "Leticia". One legend states that a Colombian soldier fell in love with an
Amerindian woman named Leticia and decided to name the settlement after her. It could also be named after
Saint Leticia.
It is likely that these stories are largely fictional, albeit with kernels of truth in them. Leticia was originally named San Antonio by the Peruvians, but no evidence of the cross exists.
Small border incidents between Peru and Colombia occurred in
1911, and in
1922 a controversial agreement was reached between both governments, awarding the Leticia area to Colombia in exchange for recognizing Peru's rights to the zone south of the Putumayo River, which was also claimed by
Ecuador. This agreement proved to be unpopular among the Peruvian population, despite the treaty's ratification in
1928.
A small war between Colombia and Peru over the town began in September 1932 when two hundred Peruvians, followed later by military troops, occupied public buildings in Leticia. Hand-to-hand combat ensued between small Colombian and Peruvian forces in early 1933. The conflict lasted until May 1933, when a cease-fire negotiated by the League of Nations went into effect in order to settle the conflict, finally awarding Colombia the disputed area in June 1934.
The Population of Leticia
Though the League of Nations' intervention had officially ended the war, the Colombian government was still wary of the Peruvians, and decided to populate Leticia with people from
Bogotá in order to ensure the town's loyalty to Colombia. Most of the people who came from Bogotá from the
1940s to
1965 still live in Leticia today. During that time, Leticia was greatly expanded, with a new main street being built. However, the city's industries have changed little since then, with
agriculture and
tourism still being the prime sources of income.
The violent 1970s
In the
1970s,
illegal drug trafficking became a new way to make money in this region. During the late
1960s and 1970s
narcotic drugs were bought and sold in broad daylight.
For Leticia, this was a time for great growth. Several rich
cartel leaders built big houses such as the Casa Grande and contributed to the economy. Drugs were transported by truck to boats on the
Putumayo River. This was to avoid shipping by air. The concept was to build a 70 km (~35 miles) highway to the small city of
Tarapacá. The first 12 km were all that were ever finished before cartel members were arrested.
The drug business was eventually slowed down when new tough-hitting cops were brought in to Leticia. They stopped many drug cartel leaders in the city, seizing such famous places as the Casa Grande for the government.
Recent history
Little of note has occurred in the city in the last twenty years. In 2003 President
Alvaro Uribe came to the region and listened to the issues of the townspeople for 12 hours. He promised to bring in help for Leticia's sagging economy, including building a branch of a famous Colombian
resort chain, the
Decameron Resort Company, to attract
tourism and aid social problems. In late 2004 a hotel was rented to Decameron and has since brought more tourism to the area. They have also promised to bring in a new airline company to compete with
AeroRepública, which has monopolised flights to and from Bogotá, charging near 350 dollars for a round trip flight.
Geography and Climate
Culture
People
The majority of people who live in Leticia come from somewhere else. There is no obvious majority; even many of the people that came from
Bogotá had moved there from somewhere else. People from
Bogotá,
Medellín, and
Tolima are the majority; surprisingly few people from
Cali live in Leticia. A good amount of Natives live in Leticia most having moved from Indian villages around the area to make a "better" living.
Food
Leticia is a melting pot for food even though they commonly eat the same things each week; each region of Colombia's delicacies are made here. For example, many people make
Sancocho, a hearty soup, in different regions of Colombia. Each family will have its own variation. There are also Brazilian and Peruvian influences. Common staples in Leticia are river fishes, but also meats baked together with potatoes, and sometimes vegetables, usually cooked over a stovetop in a pan. A usual Sunday meal might consist of grilled meats, cooked in makeshift charcoal grillers, served with rice and
plantains.
Transportation
Further Information
Get more info on 'Leticia Colombia'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://leticia__colombia.totallyexplained.com">Leticia, Colombia Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
