Mythical Stories
Cemetery Free Of Circasia
In the 1930s, the Catholic Church influenced almost all areas of civil, political and military life, so the priests were in charge of making the decision whether to allow the dead to be indulged or forgiven, that is why to die in that time being a freethinker, homosexual, a prostitute, an atheist or whatever else was against the church, it meant that you could not have access to a worthy burial.
The Free Cemetery of Circasia Quindío, was founded on August 28 of 1932, the idea of the cemetery was that any citizen could be buried there, regardless of their political ideology, religion or skin color, it is unique in Latin America and it is listed as a monument to freedom, tolerance and love, at the entrance you can see a monument in honor of its founder, Braulio Botero Londoño.
In 1950 this cemetery was destroyed because of the bipartisan war in Colombia, but in 1970 its reconstruction began and today this cemetery is the main tourist attraction of the municipality due to its archaeological beauty where you will find a monument of freedom.
The Curve Of The Witches
Pijao is a municipality in the department of Quindío, located on the central mountain range at 1,700 meters above sea level, its culture is rich in terms of architecture, dance, music, and its traditions that are still a local pride. Pijao has been characterized for being a quiet town, of friendly people willing to help others, that is why legend has it that the people who would say in their cars towards the bridge table, experienced a series of strange events, their drivers tell that on the way to this path there is a curve called the curve of the witches, it is a cold and dark mountain where at dawn a beautiful women appears who asks them to take her in their cars, several stories have come out of this mysterious fact. Local people say that there are drivers who have never returned and that others appear days later without remembering anything about what happened. Many people fear going through this place, as others pass through there daily without any fear or mystery, would you dare to visit this mysterious place?The Curve Of The Witches
The Dance Of The Mouse
When you visit the department of Quindío you find a variety of things you can do, from visiting the most beautiful towns in Colombia to knowing the exotic nature.
If you visit the capital of Quindío, you should not miss the opportunity to know the Dance of the Mouse, it is a curious group of older adults made up of five men who play different instruments and the protagonist of this group “EL RATON” a man of short stature, cheerful and with a lot of flavor, who together with his wife dance to the music of this region.
They are located in one of the busiest areas of Armenia, on Carrera 14 in its pedestrian part, there you can find them at any time of the day, with their hats, ponchos and that big smile that brighten the lives of their public.
Las Guacas
Guacas is an indigenous word known in the Castilian word for many years, it refers to the tombs of the Indians, in which objects of great value such as pieces of gold are found.
The inhabitants of regions such as Quindío have the habit of looking for this type of treasure, so today it is still said that they have found or are looking for guacas.
Legend has it that one of the best times to go in search of guacas is the time of Holy Week since it is a special date where treasures or burials can be released and come to light to be found.
The locals say that if you look towards the mountains on those dates, you can see flashes of lights that are the sign that there is a buried guaca, in turn they say that it is not as easy as it seems, since that flash can be observed to what distance, but at the moment of approaching it disappears.
Very few people have been lucky enough to find one of those treasures and those who have succeeded know how important they are to the history of Colombia, so they cannot conserve them because they are considered cultural heritage.
Road Of The Indians
In the surroundings of the road there are vestiges of indigenous settlements, in the middle of a natural forest that serves as a habitat for several species of birds, animals and fish.
The forest is mainly made up of guaduales, heliconias, bromeliads, platanillas, samanes, coffee walnut trees, horsetail palms, African tulips and araceae plants. In the foliage of the vegetation, bluebirds, swamp blackbirds and cardinals, among other birds, have their nests, and on the eastern shore of the La Florida ravine, groups of barranqueros birds are usually seen, which take flight when sunset arrives towards the places where they spend the night with their chicks.
On the floor of fertile land slip the snakes; next to the stream frogs and toads croak, and above them you can see clouds of butterflies of different colours that give splendour and beauty to the place, while common agouti and tatou animal come out of their burrows to feed on guavas and other fruits of the trees around it. In relation to this project, steps are being taken before the environmental authorities so that this territory is declared an area of biological importance, as well as other rural areas owned by the Armenia municipality.
The Quimbayas
The Quimbayas were a Colombian indigenous ethnic group famous for their production of high quality and beautiful gold pieces.
When the Spanish arrived, the Quimbaya culture was located, as it remains still today, in and around what is now known in Colombia as the Coffee Axis (Spanish: Eje Cafetero), in the departments of Caldas (South: Chinchina, Palestina, Villamaria, Manizales), Risaralda (South: Pereira, Marsella, Santa Rosa) and Quindío (North: Armenia, Quimbaya, Montenegro, La Tebaida, Salento, Circasia) and in the municipalities of Cartago and Obando, North of Valle del Cauca.
The oldest occupants of the Quimbaya region disappeared around the 10th century and little is known about them. The finely developed goldsmithing that has been found from the Quimbayas indicates that from very ancient times they had a high cultural development.
It is debated whether the Quimbayas practiced ritual cannibalism with their war enemies, in special festivities or celebrations. This cannibalism had symbolic meanings related to the defeat and revenge of their enemies or the appropriation of the spirit of the person. However, in the case of the Quimbaya, the chronicles that refer to cannibalism are based on a single testimony of two alleged cases. They displayed human heads as trophies hung from reeds in the plaza. During the conquest they intensified this practice to instil fear in the conquerors.
The Cacique Of Calarca
The Maravelez Valley borders the department of Valle del Cauca, it is marked by the Barragan and Quindío rivers that form La Vieja River, this beautiful valley is compared for its majestic landscapes with the Cocora Valley, surrounded by exuberant guaduales and trees that adorn its paths with various types of exotic birds, howler monkeys native to the region, cows, coati and ocelots. The Maravelez Valley is an ideal place for hiking, horseback riding, nature walks, canoeing, rafting, in addition to this it is a place chosen by the locals to walk and make the famous Sancocho de Olla on the banks of the river.
Regarding the Valle de Maravélez, a Quindian paradise that is located in the municipality of La Tebaida, about which it is said there are hidden treasures of the Cacique Calarcá, there is a similarity compared to the legend of El Dorado and the treasures of the Cacique Guatavita. It is said that Guatavita immersed himself in the waters of the sacred lagoon to leave in them the gold dust that covered his body and an offering of emeralds during certain Chibcha festivities. The people, meanwhile, turned their backs on the king as he threw rich gold jewels, amid aromas and the beat of the drums.
The cacique of Calarcá hid his treasures in the lagoon of the Valle de Maravélez through an inhospitable route full of beasts and swamps known only to him. They say that, to fulfill his task, 12 Pijao warriors helped him transport his wealth, but they were killed with their own hands.
In a rock there is a cavern 10 meters deep in which legend has it that an Indian chief, a cacique, warrior, indomitable and implacable, enraged with the Spaniards, hid all his treasure in the depths of the mountain, through impenetrable caverns. and cursed, so that the Spanish would never find it.
The legend ran generation after generation so many people tried to find that wonderful treasure, which contains life-size gold Indians, but no one has had great luck, on the contrary, its inhabitants say that those people never returned, that they disappeared in the darkness of the rock.
The inhabitants of it also tell that there are times when it is possible to see the great chief at the top of the mountains, taking care of his treasure for eternity, from people who want to find it.
The Hidden Treasure Of The Quimbayas
For thousands of years, home to indigenous tribes such as the Pijaos and the Quimbayas, the Hoya del Quindío, a vast territory that extends to municipalities such as Caicedonia in the Cauca Valley (Spanish: Valle del Cauca), keeps not only the traces of these civilizations that disappeared with the arrival of the Spanish, but their treasures, pieces of jewellery and ceramics that are hidden under the earth.
Dedicated to the exercise of finding these relics, the treasure hunters emerged, historical figures determined to obtain great finds and with the passage of time turned into true experts in these searches.
The stories surrounding this practice contain both fiction and reality. The expertise of these empiricists is based on the signs offered by the burial, the place that contains the treasure, often through lights that appear in the dark, stones that come and go and the spirits of the natives that take over the individuals to take them to the exact site.
Various pieces have been found that come mostly from the Quimbaya culture. There is more accuracy with respect to the goldsmith traditions than to the ceramics. Funerary masks, massive nose rings, tiaras, earrings, necklaces, anthropomorphic figures, poporos and countless spindles have sprouted from Aboriginal graves.
The Quimbaya treasure, found by a treasure hunter at the end of the 18th century in Finlandia and made up of 122 pieces of gold, represents the greatest conquest extracted from the land.
Playful Elves In The Coffee Trees
In the southern area of Quindío, more precisely on the western slope of the central mountain range, there is a municipality that bears the name of the indigenous tribe that stayed there: Pijao.
The goblins are known in Pijao, as evil little creatures that seek to do mischief to the peasants. For this population, the existence of these beings is not a myth and is part of the mysterious beings that inhabit the coffee plantations.
It is said that the Goblins walk through coffee plantations or roads that are always lonely, day or night to wander. When they visit people’s houses, they enter making themselves invisible and seek to make mischief or annoyance to the inhabitants by throwing things they find or hiding them.
His greatest fascination is chasing young children, tricking them with sweets or toys in order to take them away from their homes and thus get lost. If they do not want to go with him, the Goblin will use force, even if he cries or screams. Many workers tell and speak with confidence about these little men, they affirm that they really exist and that they make people get lost and last for hours or days lost, they hide things, throw stones, tie up dogs, etc. These people also say that they have seen them and that the more they deny that they are there, the more followed and stronger the annoyances.
Something curious that is heard among its inhabitants or people who have experienced this type of thing, is that, so that you can let go of them, you must make a circle with a branch, a vine, or something that is in those lands and pass it to you from the head to toe and then throw it, roll it so they have something to play with.
The coffee pickers say that on many occasions they got lost in the middle of the immense coffee plantations, or on the way to the farm before nightfall. The culprits were little men who in a strange and malicious way scared with their squeaks to the point of confusing them so much that they were suddenly lost.
Can you imagine getting lost in a forest, or in a coffee plantation just at sunset? It does not sound very funny! Or if?
Do not worry! Eventually everyone arrived safe and sound, but late for dinner.