University of Cauca

The University of Cauca was created in Popayán as the University of the Third District by decree of April 24, 1827. On April 5, 2013, the Ministry of National Education granted the High Quality Institutional Accreditation for a period of 6 years and through Resolution 6218 of June 13, 2019, it renewed its Institutional Accreditation for a period of eight years.

The University has its roots in the Major Seminary of Popayán founded between 1609 and 1617, a first-rate educational establishment in colonial times that operated in the Cloister of San José where the most innovative ideas of philosophical, political and scientific had a wide impact in the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment.

It was there that the generation that would later be protagonists of the struggles for independence from the Spanish empire was formed, with figures such as Francisco José de Caldas, Camilo Torres, Francisco Antonio Zea, José María Cabal, Joaquín de Caycedo y Cuero and Francisco Antonio Ulloa, men of politics, study and state. The thought on the republican and independent life of Colombia was generated in good proportion at the University of Cauca, in such a way that the history of the independence of Colombia and its beginnings as an independent republic converges with the history of the university.

In keeping with those times, the University of Cauca continues to be an institution of knowledge, progress and a forum for free analysis of the circumstances and alternatives of social life, a defender of the democratic process of Colombia, while it has incessantly promoted freedom of expression and citizen participation. In the last decade it has distinguished itself by the dynamism of its research structure.

Popayán

Popayan is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in the Pubenza Valley in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. The municipality has a population of 318,059, an area of 483 km2, is located 1760 meters above sea level, and has an average temperature of 18 °C.

The town is well known for its colonial architecture and its contributions to Colombian cultural and political life. It is also known as the «white city» due to the color of most of the colonial buildings in the city center, where several churches are located, such as San Francisco, San José, Belén, Santo Domingo, San Agustín, and the Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, known locally as «La Catedral». The city’s cathedral was home to the Crown of the Andes, a 16th-century Marianist devotional object featuring emeralds taken from the captured Inca Emperor Atahualpa. It was sold to finance local health care institutions.

Popayán has been home to seventeen Colombian presidents, as well as noted poets, painters, and composers. The University of Cauca (est. 1827), one of Colombia’s oldest and most distinguished institutions of higher education, is located here, so Popayán is also known as the «University City». Nearby is Puracé National Natural Park. The nearest large city is Cali, in the Valle del Cauca Department, north of Cauca.

Much of the city’s original splendor was destroyed on 31 March 1983, when an earthquake toppled many buildings. Though many were rebuilt and repaired, the heart of the city still has ruins and empty lots. In 2005, Popayán was declared by the UNESCO as the first city of gastronomy because of its variety and meaning to the intangible patrimony of Colombian culture. The culinary history of the Cauca Department was chosen because it maintains traditional food preparation methods that have been passed down orally for generations. In 2009, UNESCO also declared the Semana Santa processions during Easter Week a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Patrimony of Humanity.

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