Input tags: Bogota,, History

Bogota is a huge city. With a metropolitan area of more than 12 million inhabitants, the capital of Colombia is currently positioned as the fourth largest city in Latin America, only behind metropolises such as São Paulo, Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

It is also said that Bogotá is "everyone's city", and with good reason: being the political and economic center of the country, Bogotá receives people from all regions of Colombia and the world, who come to it thanks to the multiplicity of job and educational opportunities offered to nationals and foreigners. Undoubtedly, migration has become one of the productive and cultural engines of this city, to such an extent that, today, 1 out of every 3 inhabitants of Bogotá is a migrant.

In any case, the majority of the population continues to be made up of natives, and although the official name of the people of Bogotá is "Bogotanos", the truth is that you will rarely hear someone call them this way. Therefore, so that you are not disoriented when you come to the city, here we tell you some things about the main ways to refer to Bogotanos.

Santafereños

The capital of Colombia is one of the oldest cities on the continent. It was founded on August 6, 1538 by the Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, during his exploration of the central mountain range, in the then territory of the Muisca indigenous people.
Jiménez de Quesada, an Andalusian, wanted to pay homage to his land of origin during his time in America, so he decided to name the conquered territory New Granada, and named its administrative center Santafé, after the town where he was born.

For this reason, the first title given to the Bogotanos was that of santafereños, from which are derived, among other things, the names of many of the flagship dishes of the capital, such as the Santa Fe tamale, the Santa Fe ajiaco, the Santa Fe chocolate and the onces Santa Fe.

The name of Santafé (also written as Santa Fe) was very common throughout the colonial era: a province in Argentina, a town in Chile, several towns in the southern United States and many others in Mexico shared a name with our city. For this reason, so that it would not be confused with its namesakes, the inhabitants of the city began to call it Santa Fe de Bacatá, a name given by the indigenous Muiscas to this territory before the arrival of the Spanish.

From Bacatá the name evolved to the current Bogotá, and thus the people of Santa Fe became Bogotanos. But then, why are they called "rolos" or "cachacos"?

Rollers

The oldest of these terms is that of “rolls”. At first, it was used by the Spaniards who arrived in Bogotá to mock the natives and mestizos, due to their particular way of pronouncing the letter 'r'. It was said that they did not vibrate the tongue, but rolled it backwards, producing a sound very similar to what you would hear today in a Costa Rican.

cachacos

Like "rolo", the word "cachaco" began as a pejorative term. This was what the youth of Bogotá was called to make fun of their way of dressing, which was seen by the elders as dirty and scruffy. However, for them this word became a source of pride and they adopted it with affection.

So, rolls or cachacos?

Over the years, "rolo" and "cachaco" acquired their own meanings: the first to refer to Bogotanos children of foreign or foreign parents, while the second for those born in Bogotá whose parents and grandparents were also natives of the city. .

Today, however, the terms "rolo" and "cachaco" are already used as interchangeable synonyms. If you are in the interior of the country (Bogotá, the Paisa region, the Coffee Region, the Llanos, and others) you will hear about rolos; On the other hand, if you are on the Caribbean Coast, the most likely thing is that they are called cachacos. In both cases, the important thing is that you know that they are talking about someone from Bogotá.

Study Spanish in Bogota

Rolos… Santafereños… Cachacos… No matter what you call them, the people of Bogotá will always be with open arms and happy to receive visitors from all over Colombia and the world. This is the great city of the country, and it offers all kinds of opportunities and challenges for anyone who dares to discover the wonders it hides from its more than 2.600 meters high.

If you want to learn Spanish while exploring one of the economic, political and cultural hubs of Latin America, don't hesitate to come to Nueva Lengua so that you can participate in our courses and immersive cultural activities.

Check the plans that we have for you in Bogotá, or write to us at info@nuevalengua.com for more information on how to learn Spanish in context with us.