Apía is a town and municipality in the Department

Departments of Colombia

Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...

 of Risaralda

Risaralda Department

Risaralda is a department of Colombia. It is located in the western central region of the country and part of the Paisa Region. Its capital is Pereira.It was divided from the department of Caldas in 1966...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. It is located about 60 km away from district capital Pereira

Pereira, Colombia

Pereira is the capital city of the Colombian department of Risaralda. It stands in the center of the western region of the country, located in a small valley that descends from a part of the western Andes mountain chain. Its strategic location in the coffee producing area makes the city an urban...

 in the valley of the Apia river. It has 17,000 inhabitants according to the 2005 census, 9,000 of which live in the urban areas of the municipality, the other 8,000 in the rural areas split into 42 corregimiento

Corregimiento

Corregimiento is a term used in Colombia to define a subdivision of Colombian departments. According to the Colombian Constitution of 1991 and Decree 2274 of October 4, 1991, Corregimiento is an internal part of a Department or province, which includes a population core...

s.

The town has excellent views over the Tatamá Hill which is part of the Tatamá Nature Park.

History

The area was colonised in 1872 but the town was founded on 15 August 1883 by settlers from Antioquia. Amongst these were José María Marín and his wife María Encarnación de Marín who were the first to build in the area. The settlement was initially called La Villa de las Cáscaras ("Town of the Husks") because the roofs were thatched with cumulú, a native plant.

Town plan

The urban area comprises the boroughs of Jaime Rendón, Bermeja, Centenario, Quince de Agosto, El Clavel, Santa Inés, Villa de las Cáscaras, Acozma I, Motoristas, San Juan, San Vicente, Asovice, Villaserrana and Antonio Nariño.

The rural area is made up of 45 corregimientos: Dos Quebradas, Guarne, San Andrés, San Agustín, La floresta, La Máquina, La sombra, El Manzano, Matecaña, Las Delicias, Bajo Manzanillo, Monte verde, El Jazmín, Alto Manzanillo, Miravalle, San Carlos, El Guanábano, El Quindío, La Equis, El Bosque, El Vergel, El Encanto, San Rafael, Alta Campana, Las Cumbres, Buena Vista, Baja Campana, La María, Valladolid, El Carmelo, El Jardín, Pavero, La Estrella, Alta Estrella, Jordania, La Línea, La Nubia, El Diamante, Agua Bonita, Candelaria, La Farallona, La Garrucha, Las Cabañas, Agualinda y Campo Alegre.

Economy

The economy's mainstay is agriculture, especially coffee. It is located in one of the world's prime coffee growing areas and is the home of the organic coffee movement.

Culture

The town is well known for its cultural contributions at a national level, especially its music bands and musicians such as Rubo Marín Pulgarín and Carlos Fernando López Naranjo.