El Poblado

El Poblado is the 14th commune in the metropolitan area of the city of Medellín, Colombia. According to a 2005 census the population was 94,704, distributed among its land area of 23 km2, and by the year 2015, it had a population of 128,839. The comuna consists of 24 barrios, and is located in the south-east of the city. Its western boundary with the comuna of Guayabal runs along the Medellín River; to the south, it borders the city of Envigado, to the east, the township of Santa Elena, and to the north, the comunas of La Candelaria and Buenos Aires. El Poblado is also known as Las Manzanas de Oro (The Golden Apples) because it is the main center of the industrial and commercial life of the second largest economy of Colombia. The name El Poblado (The Village) derives from the first Spanish settlement of the Aburrá Valley in 1616 that was built in what is today its main square. In 1675, the Spanish administration founded another village in El Sitio de Aná (The Aná Place), today's Berrío Square, designed to become the center of the future Medellín; instead, El Poblado itself became the main economic center during the 20th century.