SUAZA

(Orchid valley)
Suaza is a population and municipality of the Republic of Colombia in the
departament of Huila.
The municipality of Suaza is located on the western side of the eastern mountain
range of the Colombian Andes and southeast of the Department of Huila, in the
central region of the valley that forms the Suaza River and the Andes.
To the occident, the municipality borders the Serranía de La Ceja, on the oriental
by the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, also called the trans-Amazon
corridor that borders the Amazon region of Colombia.
The pre-Columbian habitants of the region were the Andaquíes. The Municipality
was founded in 1748 by Mrs. Helena de Valderrama. It was born with the name of
Casas Quemadas or Las Quemadas to the south of its current location. In 1842 it
was erected in the municipal district with the name of Santa Librada, a name that it
kept until 1934, when the Departmental Assembly named it Suaza.
The region is characterized by agricultural and livestock production; The main
crops are: coffee, passion fruit, ahuyama, citrus and wood. It is mainly developed
in the primary and tertiary sectors, and is based on agricultural, artisanal and
service activities.
Agriculture is very important in the life of the municipality, it occupies 73.1% of the
territory whose cultivations are smallholdings and in its great majority the
properties have less than 15 Has, which lack technology; coffee occupies the first
line of production, followed by cocoa, passion fruit, lulo, sugar cane, corn, plantain,
cassava and vegetables.
SUAZA HAT.
Each town, each region has its culture that makes it special. Cultures that
intermingle and share knowledge, techniques, customs and in many cases
products.
It is there in Suaza where the Suaceño Hat originates, a product that has many
similarities to the famous Toquilla Straw Hat (Panama Hat).
The name of Suaza Hat is due to the Suaza river that is born in the Cueva de los
Guácharos National Natural Park and crosses the municipalities of Acevedo,
Suaza, Guadalupe, Altamira and Garzón.
It is a hat made of straw and woven by hand by the craftsmen of Suaza. A product
that found its deserved recognition both nationally and internationally, in order to
remember and protect a trade that has been passed down from generation to
generation.
On June 3, 2015, the renowned Suaza Hat was protected with the Denomination of
Origin, granted by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce through
resolution N0 29488 of 2015, with the support of Handicrafts of Colombia, exalting
the great importance for economic development of the country, because they are
unique items that can be marketed abroad with a guarantee of originality and
quality.
ELABORATION.
This hat is traditionally woven from the top. The stages for its elaboration are: straw
preparation, weaving, stripping and finishing. The quality of the hat depends on the
fineness of the straw (smaller knots therefore longer to be finished).
The price of the hat depends on the style of its top, how thick it is and its model.
You already know, if you travel to Colombia you can not stop buying an authentic
suaceño hat, but do not be surprised at its price, certain models need more than
four weeks to make them.
SAN JUANERO
The traditional dance of Sanjuanero Huilense declared Cultural Heritage of Huila is
declared the most representative dance of Huila.
Dance that represents the strategies of conquest and the idyll that Colombian
peasants lived in remote times. It was composed in early 1936 and it was played
for the first time on a walk.
Esta Danza comienza con el coqueteo, pasa por el enamoramiento y termina con
el símbolo del matrimonio. Es una coreografía mestiza, en la que se combinan
pasos indígenas (movimientos suaves sobre el suelo) con la influencia española
(pasos fuertes, donde se levantan los cuerpos).
In other times, men used this dance to be close to the woman they loved and to
formalize the courtship in the middle of the party. History No one knows exactly
where, when, or how the ancient Sanjuanera celebration that called the people of
Huila began in June. We all know the modern history of the festival from 1959
when the conservative patriarch Andrino Tribuí Piedra hita decided to create the
Folk Festival, almost as an extension of the Alliance for Peace, an initiative he
proposed as a catalyst to achieve coexistence and reconciliation of the convulsed
regions of the country.
DRESS
The men wear a white shirt, a hat, a red "rabo e gallo" scarf for the neck and a
three-buckle belt. Women in exquisite skirts, handcrafted with intricate flower
designs that sparkle under the lights. Also, all women have a flower arrangement
on their heads.
Sanjuanero huilense is the largest Colombian folk dance in the world, and here in
Huila san pedro who lives it is who enjoys it.
ORCHID.
Suaza (valley of orchids)
In the municipality of Suaza known today also as the valley of orchids, we find
countless native species of Flora and Fauna; The Valley is very rich in Biodiversity
and water resources.
The Orchid, Catleya Trinae, national emblem, is very typical of the territory.
It belongs to the orquidaceas family. “Orrquidacea”, a common name for a family
that includes one of the most nourished groups of flowering plants (angiosperms).
The family is globally distributed and only absent in Antarctica and some of the
driest deserts in Eurasia. The greatest diversity of genera and species occurs in
tropical regions and is poorly studied.
SUAZA RIVER
The Suaza River, originally named the Cuacua River, borns in the Cueva de los
Guacharos National Park, passing through the caves of the same name, on the
limits of Huila and Caquetá. The river crosses from south to north through the
municipalities of Garzón, Altamira, Guadalupe, Suaza and Acevedo with a length
of 136 km through the Suaza Valley. It flows into the Magdalena River in the Jagua
district of Garzón.
The river, in the section explored, at the height of the municipality of Suaza, does
not present low temperatures, has a 13 degree inclination and an average speed of
3.5 km / h. It has two Ideam hydrological stations, located in the municipalities of
Acevedo and Guadalupe. It registers an average annual flow of 43.42 m3 / sec,
and an average level of 116 cm.
The Suaza, when he passed through Acevedo, served as an inspiration to the
maestro Jorge Villamil Cordovez, for the composition of the song “Los Guaduales”,
a theme that in the end became one of his best pieces.