Sutamarchán

Sutamarchán
Sutamarchán
Municipality and town
	Central square and church of Sutamarchán
	Flag
	Location of the municipality and town of Sutamarchán in the Boyacá Department of Colombia
Country	Colombia
Department	Boyacá Department
Province	Ricaurte Province
Founded	14 December 1556
Founded by	Antonio de Santana
Government
• Mayor	Miguel Andrés Rodríguez Saavedra; (2020-2023)
Area
• Municipality and town	102 km2 (39 sq mi)
• Urban	8 km2 (3 sq mi)
Elevation	1,800 m (5,900 ft)
Population (2015)
• Municipality and town	5,916
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
• Urban	1,352
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)
Website	Official website

Sutamarchán is a town and municipality in the Ricaurte Province, part of the department of Boyacá of Colombia. Sutamarchán is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at 44 kilometres (27 mi) from the department capital Tunja. It borders Santa Sofía in the north, Sáchica and Villa de Leyva in the east, Saboyá in the west and Ráquira and Tinjacá in the south.^[1]

Etymology

The name Sutamarchán is derived from the Chibcha sovereign Suta and Spanish marchán: "Merchant of the sovereign Suta". Marchán refers to Pedro Merchan de Velasco, who was an 18th-century encomendero of Suta.^[1]^[2]

History

Sutamarchán in the times before the Spanish conquest was inhabited by the Muisca, organized in their loose Muisca Confederation. Sutamarchán was ruled by the zaque of Hunza.

Modern Sutamarchán was founded on December 14, 1556, by Antonio de Santana.^[1]

Economy

The main economical activities of Sutamarchán are agriculture, livestock farming and tourism. Among the agricultural products potatoes, onions, tomatoes, barley, maize, grapes and the Colombian fruit curuba are cultivated. The town is famous for its longaniza sausages. Tourism is mainly religious; tourists visit the Santo Ecce Homo Convent.^[1]