“From the bridge to there is Juanchito, from the bridge to here is Cali”, is intoned in the emblematic song by Grupo Niche, which has made many Colombians and foreigners sing and dance. And with this same today we can celebrate the 484 years that the capital of the Valley is celebrating.
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It has been four centuries of transformation, progress, construction of identity, creating a reputation for cordiality and a rumba city that has more than 2,300,000 inhabitants who pride themselves on belonging or having been born in this city.
Its gastronomy, its rivers, its music, its strategic location has made foreigners and Colombians born in other territories fall in love with the city with a temperate climate, with happy and supportive people, where they find opportunities to grow and, therefore, have decided to stay to live in Cali.
This July 25, the day it was founded by Sebastián de Belalcázar, we want to count the milestones that make it become the ‘Sky Branch’ … because “Cali is Cali ladies, gentlemen, the rest is loma”.
Friendliness of its people
The fame of cordiality of the people of Calero, explains Darío Henao, doctor in Latin American Literature, “has several reasons, Cali has always been a city of crossroads, people have always come from everywhere, that made the city a melting pot of many regional cultures and, therefore, makes Cali have built that imaginary of a friendly, open city … People therefore fall in love with Cali, come for a month and stay to live, “he highlights.
The journalist Mabel Lara is a witness to the quality of its people. “Cali has something that is its miscegenation, I am a woman from Cauca who made myself in Cali, here I found absolute generosity, I have never felt that Cali expelled me, on the contrary it has always clothed me. Our greatest capital is the people, we are clear and straightforward, I think that is fascinating, in our behavior we are very friendly but we are clear ”, he says.
A city of seven rivers
Cali, the city that is crossed by seven rivers: Pance, Cauca, Cali, Lili, Meléndez, Cañaveralejo and Aguacatal, has allowed its inhabitants to enjoy them.
The famous ‘pot walk’ where around the river you enjoyed sharing and the cold water of the watersheds, was a perfect plan with the family. At the time, it cannot be done and this has allowed rivers to breathe.
According to the historian Carlos Recio, “the city is characterized by seven rivers that come down from the mountain range, for example the Cali river is very close to the mountain range and these have been an element of identity, we have a wealth of water, but we are in debt to get it back and give it a better deal. “
Salsa capital of the world ‘
The electrifying musical rhythm of salsa enjoyed and enjoyed by Caleños “is part of a modern historical process of the city linked to the construction of a contemporary urban musical culture, and of an image of Calena identity that is manifested through dance, musical production, through a series of practices recognized as cognitive ”, explains the anthropologist and salsa singer Alejandro Ulloa.
And it is that in the 80s with the arrival of salsa groups, Cali became a mecca of this musical rhythm.
“Here all the airs of the Caribbean take root that with the arrival of the group Niche, Guayacán, Yuri Buenaventura mixed with the peaceful flavor, the sauce that Jairo Varela made has a Pacific imprint,” notes Darío Henao, doctor in Latin American Literature.
“We invented the brand that we are ‘the world capital of salsa’ has worked and we have sold it,” adds Henao.
In fact, Carlos Mario Recio, who is part of the heritage team of the Ministry of Culture, says that “today we are in a process of recognizing salsa as an immaterial manifestation of the city, what is called the dance music complex because it meets with the conditions of saying that it has patrimonial and identity elements and that is why we must protect it ”.
Events highlight culture
Cali, throughout the year, has various events that highlight the culture of the city, for example, in the second semester it becomes the epicenter of the largest music festival in the Pacific with the Petronio Álvarez, a unique musical and gastronomic event . “This is responding to an Afro culture, it is a way of identifying them, recognizing that knowledge from music,” highlights the historian Recio.
Other events that also mobilize the city, “the Dance Biennial, Folkloric Dances gatherings, or such as the Salsa Festival or the Cali Fair itself where salsa becomes a strong unifying element for artists, dancers, music lovers and collectors so that people enjoy it ”, adds Recio.
Also, Alejandro Ulloa, adds: “From salsa, modern dance, ballet, to hip hop, it is a strong expression in the city that has been sustained.”
The woman from Cali is unique
In the world, women from Cali, beyond being recognized for their joy and ‘tumbao’ for dancing salsa, have been highlighted for their strength and integrity to carry out what is proposed.
“There is a stereotype of women from Cali linked to dance, dance, and music, but there is a wealth beyond that, they are enterprising, strong, intelligent, and powerful women, who take leadership in each of their places in the that they are ”, emphasizes Carlos Recio.
Fertile land for business
The historian Carlos Recio recalls that when Cali became the capital of the Valley, “it was a process of the industrialists, businessmen who had that vision in which this space would become a capital, without them it would not have been possible. Large families, businessmen, landowners, landowners, are the ones who give it political impetus, there is a strong relationship between industry, politics and the growth of the city, ”he says.
Varied and rich gastronomy
An empanada with chili pepper, a pandebono, a aborrajado, a raspado with fruits, a shampoo and a chontaduro with salt and honey have filled the days of many citizens with flavor. The privilege of enjoying these traditional products is held in Cali.
Throughout history, the city has achieved a great variety in its cuisine. “During the 20th century, when it was established as the capital of Valle del Cauca, this crossroads and the migratory flow became a cultural wealth that is reflected in cuisine in flavors and knowledge, because behind the kitchen there is a knowledge and that knowledge has been received by Cali with the flavors of the Pacific, Andean, in sharing traditions, “says Carlos Mario Recio, historian of the Universidad del Valle, who is also part of the heritage team of the Ministry of Culture.
Cultural diversity is a reflection of gastronomic diversity, says Recio, and is that Cali as the capital is the recipient of many experiences and for these there is a variety, flavors that are enjoyed by all who visit the city.
Strategic location
The breeze of the Farallones de Cali that comes from the Pacific Sea and that is felt between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm anywhere in the city is what journalist and presenter Mabel Lara most enjoys.
The temperate climate that is felt in the morning and during the day, the sound of birds and wildlife arriving in the city is also a privilege for many in Cali.
And all this is precisely due to the strategic location of the city. “Cali was seen since the 16th century as a strategic city, located on the fringe of the Cauca River, always looking for a path to the sea (…) This strategic condition is what will give the conditions in the 20th century for it to become the capital department of Valle del Cauca, with the exploitation of a geographical valley from agriculture and also with a proximity and rivers that become a very important element, “says historian Carlos Mario Recio Blanco.
Likewise, the doctor in Latin American Literature Darío Henao Restrepo considers that the location of the city “is strategic, because after crossing the mountain range coming from the sea this was the break to enter a privileged valley, it is one of the most fertile valleys in the land, this was so that it would be Colombia’s agricultural pantry as it was until the 1950s ”, affirms the Univalle teacher.
Similarly, Mabel Lara says that the geographical location is a competitive advantage of this city, “if we want cold we go to kilometer 18, to the towns that are around Cali, if we want the sea it is also very close to us and that is an advantage that other cities do not have ”.
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