San Juan del Cesar
It was founded on June 24, 1701 by Captain Salvador Felix Arias Pereira with the name of Villa of San Juan Bautista, over Mount Yiyirigak by the Cesar River.[3] The Villa of San Juan immediately became a pass for people traveling between Valledupar and the port of Riohacha, back then an important commercial route flowing with cattle and agricultural products.The municipality is part of the Upper Valley of the Cesar River (Spanish: Alto Valle del Río César), where the Cañaverales tributary is located.[5] The municipality seat of San Juan del Cesar had in 2003 some 35 neighborhoods; Villa Corelca, Gran Colombia, Manzanares, El Centro, La Floresta, San Rafael, Regional, La Victoria, Juan Bautista Forero, Loma Fresca, Manzanillo, Paraíso de Betel, La Esperanza, 16 de Julio, Norte Félix Arias, 20 de Julio, Buenos Aires, El Prado, Las Delicias, Alpes, Enrique Brito, El Carmen, San Francisco, Juan Antonio Araujo, Rafael de Armas, Las Tunas I y II, Chiquinquirá, Villa Hermosa, Manuel Antonio Dávila, San Juan Bautista, Chapinero, Los Ángeles and Los Olivos.The construction of this temple, which today is called the San Juan Bautista Parish, was carried out by the architect from Barranquilla, Carlos Makis Ordóñez, and lasted between 1944 and 1945.