The Unknown Colombia - Tundama Territory

In the previous post, we saw how the community radio from Sutatenza helped eradicate illiteracy amongst the peasant community. While we still have to explore Sutatenza and beyond, let us move a bit on the other side of the valley to a largely unknown town that rose to fame when it won the Guinness award for the world's largest flower petal carpet in 2014. The Guinness Plaque of Guayatá   Welcome to Guayatá - The town of the curd arepa. View of Guayatá from Guateque   Guayatá lies about 45 minutes away from Guateque and the road is mostly paved unlike the road to Tenza. The first time I heard about Guayatá was while having coffee in Guateque when I saw that the coffee they sold was cultivated in Guyatá.  Súnuba river marks the official boundary between Guateque and Guayatá   Guayatá means the domain of a lady cacique in the Chibcha language. It most likely derived from Súnuba, the lady Cacica.  As we walk through the main plaza, we come across monuments celebrati...

  The entrance to Machetá   Snapshot • Guateque is a significant town due to its location at the junction of highways connecting to the Colombian plains. • In the 1940s and 1950s, a priest named Monsignor José Joaquín Salcedo Guarín established a rudimentary radio station in Sutatenza, which evolved into the Escuelas Radiofónicas, a highly successful radio education program that combated illiteracy and improved the lives of peasants in various aspects. • The program's success led to its replication in 24 countries across four continents. • Today, Sutatenza is known for the community radio innovation and its street art dedicated to ACPO and Monsignor Salcedo Guarín, commemorating the town's role in this remarkable educational initiative. A map of Tenza valley showing its location and the principal municipalities. Follow the route from Machetá on the left Sutatenza - The home town of the community radio The road from Sisga to Machetá further towards Guateque is narrow and has a ...

Oh yes, a lot of changes since I last posted happened in life, which I will cover in another blog. Thank you for returning, it means a lot to me and the blog. Let us get straight into business, now. Tenza valley is a vast region in the eastern part of Boyacá department which is mostly covered by two provinces - Eastern Boyacá province with Guateque as the capital and Neira province with Garagoa as the capital. Looking back to the previous blog, not a lot has changed in my opinion - This region is one of the most beautiful regions of  Boyacá department. Tenza Valley formed part of an ancient trade route from the Andes to the plains, which it faithfully serves through this day.  During a recent trip to Meta department for end of year, we used this route to return, as you know, the route from Bogotá to Villao was off and on with a lot of traffic.  Guayatá - As visible from Guateque Eastern Boyacá (Provincia de Oriente) province is home to 8 municipalities namely - Guateque, ...