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There are several hypotheses around the origin of Neiva. Some maintain that it was given by the Spanish, given its resemblance to somewhere in Portugal or the Antilles.

However, the word Neiva seems to have a more universal origin: NEIVA OR NIEVA, is the name of a river in Western Russia. It is also the name of a village in Russia, it is the name of a village in Piedmont, the name of a river in Portugal NAYBE, it means snake in the cradle language, within the chronicles of the conquest it reads “There was a famous valley whose lord His name was Neiva and Juan de Castellanos, the great chronicler of the Huilense conquest, writes "at last they went to the NEIBA plains that they found well populated"

It is also claimed that the Spanish gave it this name because of its similarity to the Neyba valley in Santo Domingo, also in his book El Huila y sus Aspectos, the historian Joaquín García Borrero suggests that the name of Neiva could come from Haiti where the Spaniards found a river that the natives called NEYVE or NEYVA.

The city had an active participation in the Movement of the Communards, on June 19, 1789, the Commune chief Toribio Zapata entered Neiva, who killed the Governor of the Province of Neiva, Don Policarpo Sánchez, and in turn was killed by Captain Pedro López. of the Governor's Guard.

In 1810 at the Cry of Independence, the city took sides with freedom and that was how on February 8, 1814, the magistrate of justice Mayor Anastasio Ladrón de Guevara, revolted from the province of Neiva by means of the Act of the same date and the constitution of the Province was promulgated on August 31, 1815.

Neiva contributed with the blood of her children to the liberation feat, and among her heroes are among others BENITO V, FERNANDO SALAS, FRANCISCO LOPEZ, JOSE MARIA LOPEZ, LUIS JOSE GARCIA, MANUEL ASCENCIO TELLO, MARIANO VASQUEZ POSSE AND GALAVIS, the Poet Guerrero JOSE MARIA TELLO, JUAN ANTONIO SAMPER, ANTONIO PIEDRAHITA, HERMOGENES CÉSPEDES, AMBROSIO ORTIZ, HIPÓLITO PERDOMO, MIGUEL CUELLAR JOSE OLIVEROS, JUAN IGNACIO VANEGAS, JOSE IGNACIO LOPEZ, CARLOS AGUSTINERO, JOSE GUINTERIO PRESIDENT, CARLOS AGUSTÍNOSE QUINTERIO, and JUANCIA VINTERICENTE, JOSE GUINTERICRE JOSE JOAQUIN BUENDÍA, among the officers, out of the soldiers who joined the southern campaign.

The growth of the City was slow as it went from 3,085 people in 1,779 to 1,600 people in 1,810, according to the report prepared by the Parish priest of Neiva (early 19th century), reaching 1,912 with a population of 9,600 inhabitants. with a growth of 8,000 people during 102 years.

Since its foundation in 1612, the city adopted the Spanish technique corresponding to the American tropical dry, forming nuclei around a central square that grouped the main religious, civil and educational buildings. Then with the demarcation of a grid or quadrilateral scheme, based on the rigid system ordered by Carlos V for the layout of the cities in the Spanish colonies, the dwellings distributed in six neighborhoods were grouped: El Centro, San Pedro, Los Martires, Cantarranas , Quebraditas and La Toma; Its urbanism is limited to cobbled streets lined with flat houses with thick walls of beaten earth that resisted earthquakes and other physical phenomena, wide eaves, generally narrow windows, steep thatched roofs and clay tiles and large doors with heavy frames .

In this century from the 1930s (30), the city began an accelerated growth process, a phenomenon common to all the cities of the country where the economic process, population increase, increased culture, etc. , produced a change in urban models in which the rigid grid layout, applied without discrimination to lands of all topographic, environmental and technical conditions, yielded to urbanism that adapted to the topography, building roads that link important urban settlements, whose Crosses are valued by roundabouts, monuments, or buildings.

Having agreed with the conqueror Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada the jurisdiction of these territories, the advanced Sebastián de Belalcázar, ordered Captain Juan de Cabrera the foundation of the city, a fact that was carried out a few kilometers above the urban area of ​​Campoalegre, on the site Formerly known as “LAS TAPIAS”, on the eastern plain on the right bank of the same river, a place known today as NEIVA VIEJO, domain of the TAMAS Indians, in the year 1539.

Eleven years later in 1551, the city was destroyed by the Indians, being transferred by Captain Juan Alonso, in charge of its government, to the place that today occupies the city of Villavieja, the second foundation that was destroyed by the Pijao tribes. , forcing the Spanish to retreat to the City of TIMANA.

Finally, in the place it currently occupies, on May 24, 1612, the City of Neiva was founded for the third time by Don DIEGO DE OPINA Y MEDINILLA, Captain General and Bailiff.





Neiva, capital of the department of Huila, has an area of ​​1,533 km, its height is 442 meters above sea level and has an average temperature of 28ºC. Neiva was initially founded by Juan de Cabrera in 1539; however, it was destroyed due to confrontations between aborigines and conquerors. In 1551, the Spanish Juan Alonso founded it again on the site where Villavieja is today; in the same way, it was destroyed like its predecessor. Finally, Captain Diego de Ospina y Medinilla founded it in its current location, on May 24, 1612.

Neiva is located between the mouths of the Ceibas and the Loro River, in the center of an area rich in oil, gold, silver, copper, iron, coal and lime. Its history has been closely linked to Tolima and Ibagué, so much so that during the colony and the first years of the Republic, the three were part of the same territory. In 1814 the province of Mariquita declared itself independent and established its capital in Honda. In 1824 this province was organized with the cantons of Honda, Mariquita, Ibagué and La Palma, territories that today are part of Tolima and Huila. In 1857 departments were created instead of provinces and the territory, which since 1851 already had Ibagué as its capital, was redistributed. In 1861 the sovereign state of Tolima was created, with its capital in Purificación and later, in 1886, it was converted into a department, and by virtue of this, the department of Huila was created with its capital in Neiva.

The hydrographic system of the municipality includes the currents that descend by the slopes of the two mountain ranges to the Magdalena river; Among them, the rivers Baché, Cachichí, Cajones, Ceibas, Fortalecillas, Loro and Yaya stand out.

The main economic activities are agriculture, livestock and trade, the most important crops are cocoa, coffee, banana, rice, beans, sorghum. The cattle ranch has reached a remarkable development, especially the cattle. Gold, silver, limestone, marble and copper mines are exploited. Industrial activity is not very developed; there are factories of construction elements and soaps; The artisan production of textiles and clay figures is important. Commerce is very active, since Neiva has become the main city in southwestern Colombia and the axis of the economy of the departments of Huila, Caquetá and Putumayo.





Since colonial times, the Fiestas de San Juan and San Pedro constitute the proudest Cultural Tradition of Huila. Born of rural and small-town customs, this celebration remains a reminder of old traditions.

The National Bambuco Festival began in honor of San Juan Bautista. A saint from ancient Christian Europe, who the Spanish brought to America.

In 1790 the governor of this province, Don Lucas de Herazo ordered the celebration of a special festival as an act of obedience to the King of Spain. It was a merry-go-round that lasted for 10 days in June, ordering a series of activities in which the people intervened. One of these activities was bullfighting.

There was also the participation of mojigangas that come to correspond today to the comparsas that should have the participation of the people.

These parties were born in order to celebrate ´´The Jura´´. This is how the activity of obedience and respect to the King of Spain was called then. All the towns of the department governed by the parish of each participated. The tradition spread to the point that San Juan was a rural festival and San Pedro an urban festival; but the two were united by several days of continual rejoicing.

The festivities formerly lasted eight days, distributed as follows: June 24 San Juan, San Eloy 25, San Eloicito 26, San Churumbelo 27, San Pedro 29, San Pablo 30 and July 1, San Pablito, San Churumbelo and San Churumbelito.

On San Juan, June 24, the peasant women woke up wearing flowery olán petticoats, showy necklaces of peonies spaced with little jet beads, necklines with trimmings and lots of lace and perendines.

It was celebrated in the fields, generally in the form of family or group walks, on the banks of a river where a ´´ranchería´´ was established, after the walk, the traditional barbecue.

San Pedro June 29 was celebrated in the urban area of ​​the town and was characterized by the parade, the head of a rooster, the prize rod, gunpowder, brandy and music with the wind band.

The second stage of the sampedrinas festivities arises from 1952; It was celebrated in the old facilities of the social club with a lively party, where a group of rajaleñas was presented in society. However, the first signs of the festival date back to 1956, where the first typical parade was organized through the streets of the city.

All these antecedents gave rise to the approval of Ordinance 064 (December 27, 1960). Ordering the Tourism Directorate to organize the Reinado del Bambuco, open contests with prizes for the best musical ensembles, folk dances, floats, as well as authorizing the Liquor Store and the departmental treasury to cover the expenses of the organization of the party and the of the candidates participating in the Reign.

On December 7, 1959, the Departmental Assembly of Huila approved Ordinance No. 44. By which the Typical Festival of Huila is promoted and the Departmental Folk Board is created. As well as authorizing the Liquor Store and the departmental treasury to cover the expenses of the organization of the party and those of the candidates participating in the Reign.

The birth of the San Juan and San Pedro Festivities attest to its legalization to celebrate ´´the oath´´ or obedience to the King of Spain Carlos IV and the ordinance 064 of 1960 that ordered the organization ´´tourism direction del Reinado del Bambuco, open contests with prizes for the best musical ensembles, folk dances, floats.

The Festival has in its programming:

Departmental Dance Meeting

National and International Dance Meeting

Rajaleñas Departmental Meeting

Encounter of Traditional Bambuco

Departmental Meeting of Bands

National competition and musical interpretation

National Competition of Musical Composition

Popular Reign of Bambuco

Departmental Kingdom of Bambuco

National Reign of Bambuco

Departmental Meeting of Rural Music

Encounter of traditional Bambuco for children

Children's meeting of the Sanjuanero dance

Rajaleñas children's meeting

Chirimías meeting

Children's meeting of peasant music

Meeting of Master Craftsmen

Meeting of Huilenses Composers

Departmental Bands Meeting

Andean music groups meeting

Hall Dance Encounter

Alternative Music Bands Festival

Popular tablados

Three sampedrinas platforms

Return of colonies.

The Folk Festival, Reinado Nacional del Bambuco and International Festival of Folklore is considered by the National Network of Folklore Festivals of Colombia as one of the best organized, which can only be attended by groups with a recognized artistic career. For the Department of Huila and for Colombia, it is of vital importance to continue holding the Festival, which, in addition to showing our region as a creator of cultural manifestations, makes Huila people feel proud of their land and become increasingly committed to it.



Neiva has some buildings of historical interest such as the National Building, the Railway Station, the Hacienda Matamundo, the Colonial Temple and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. A large number of monuments adorn the city, among them the following stand out: The Monument to the Colts, the Monument to the Cacica Gaitana and the Monument to the Race.

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