San José de Fragua
San José de Fragua is a very young municipality. It was founded in 1959 as a small settlement of people who came fleeing from the violence of the landowners of Huila, Tolima and Viejo Caldas. In 1961, it became a police precinct* of the municipality of Belén de los Andaquíes, and only until 1985 it became a municipality. Despite being a very young municipality, this territory has been inhabited by the indigenous people of the Inga culture since pre-Columbian times, which is why there are currently many mestizos and direct descendants. Those descendants settled on the banks of the Fragua Grande and Yurayaco Rivers and are currently working to maintain their culture and protect their territory.
In the effort to protect the great diversity that exists in this region, some leaders of the Inga community, together with National Natural Parks, contributed to single out the region, making an agreement to declare the Alto Fragua Indi Wasi a Natural National Park. The objective is one of preserving the extremely high natural diversity and traditional cultural patterns of the ingano people, descendants of various ethnic groups belonging to the so called "Yajé culture". The park area is considered highly important for its diversity, due to the high amount of species encountered and various other biological aspects that have been studied. Since 2013, the C&G Program has supported several projects for the protection of this territory in alliance with the communities.
Nowadays, the municipality of San José del Fragua has a beautiful esplanade that runs through it next to the Fragua Chorroso River. In the rural area, the iconic Portales de Fraguita is one of the most visited places in the region.
Visiting this municipality from a listening perspective is a diverse journey that begins with the dawn and the wakening of the birds, continues with the soundscape of the magical portal of La Fraguita, and ends with the sounds of a Maloka and the words of its knowledge keeper.
*In Colombia, a police precinct is a territory comprising a vereda and its surroundings, and smaller than a corregimiento.
Soundscapes
Stop and deeply listen to what nature has to say.
The Voices of the People
Stories and experiences of the communities.
The Chapter Caquetá from the VozTerra platform has been possible thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Conservation and Governance Program in the Amazonian Piedmont, launched by the Patrimonio Natural Fund, in partnership with VozTerra. Its content is responsibility of VozTerra and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the United States government or the Natural Heritage Fund.
