Cúcuta

Cúcuta (Spanish: [ˈkukuta] ), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, beneath the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, on the border with Venezuela. Cúcuta comprises an area of approximately 1119 km2, with an urban area of 64 km2 (divided into 10 communes) and a rural area of 1055 km2 (divided into 10 townships). The city has a population of 777,106 inhabitants, which makes it the most populous municipality in the department and the sixth most populous municipality in the country. Similarly, its metropolitan area (made up of the municipalities of Villa del Rosario, Los Patios, El Zulia, San Cayetano and Puerto Santander) has an approximate population of 1,046,347. The city was founded as a parish on June 17, 1733, by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar, a resident of Pamplona, under the name San José de Guasimales, as part of an initiative of the white and mestizo locals to separate themselves from the "Indian Village of Cúcuta" (currently San Luis Quarter). The name was later changed to San José de Cúcuta, a Hispanicization of "Kuku-ta", in honor of the indigenous people of the region. From its foundation in the 18th century and throughout the Spanish viceroyalty, the parish was consolidated as one of the most important settlements of the Colombian East and Spanish America, receiving in 1792 the title of "Very Noble, Valiant and Loyal Village" from King Charles IV of Spain. The city is the political, economic, industrial, artistic, cultural, sports and tourist center of Norte de Santander. Together with the Venezuelan city of San Cristóbal, it is the most important urban settlement on the Colombian–Venezuelan border, owing to its trade and its role...