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With the Chitareros Indians annihilated, the conditions for a true colonization in that part of the New Granada territory were in place.

Captain Alonso Esteban Rangel managed to get the cell of February 27, 1583, sent to him from the Royal Court to proceed in accordance, that is to say, ´´ to subscribe mention, to the foundation of a city´´, which carried out the November 4, 1583.

According to Fray Pedro Simón in his text ´´News of the conquest of the mainland´´, this new foundation was called Salazar de las Palmas because of the many that were in the place where it was populated. But the historian Luis Febres Cordero in his book ´´ From the old Cúcuta´´ says that: ´´The name of the town founded, third in antiquity among those that make up Norte de Santander is due to the fact that the founder wanted to synthesize his gratitude on famous Oidor Alonso Pérez de Salazar, unofficial protector and advisor who shortened the dispatch of his conqueror proceedings in Santafé´´.

A third theory about the origin of the name says that at that historical moment, today called Rio Salara, it was named Rio de las Palmas, a name that Captain Diego Montes had given it.



As for the founder, the historian Matos Hurtado, says: ´´ Captain Alonso Esteban Rangel, a native of Extremadura (Spain) and the brave conqueror Antón Esteban Rangel, one of the founders of Pamplona and San Cristóbal, and who was a victim of the cannibalism of the Indians. When his father died, he inherited the valuable encomiendas and later founded Salazar´´.

The founder of Salazar de las Palmas comes through his father's line, great-grandfather of the founder of San José de Cúcuta.





Full Name: Salazar de las Palmas

Foundation: November 4, 1853.

Founder: Alonso Esteban Rangel.

Population: DANE 2005 Census: 9,451 inhabitants

Altitude: 815 meters above sea level.

Extension: 1342 Km2

Climate: 24 degrees C.

Distance to Cúcuta: 56 Km

Geographic coordinates: Longitude west of Greenwich 72º 49´, North latitude 7º 47´

Limits: North: Gramalote and Villacaro,

South: Arboledas,

East: Santiago and Durania,

West: Cáchira and Villacaro.

Administrative Division: Composed of 13 townships and 80 villages

Rivers: Peralonso, Salazar and Sardinata and the Pringador, Leiva, Peralonso, San Miguel streams.

Center Region

Economy:

Agricultural production in lines such as coffee, citrus, cassava, sugar cane and sapote.

Livestock production such as cattle, pigs and poultry

Charcoal





Holidays:

January and September, Virgin Our Lady of Bethlehem

June 28, 29 and 30, San Pedro and San Pablo, Municipal festivities



Tourist sites:

Place where Our Lady of Bethlehem appeared

Chapel of the Virgin of Bethlehem

Parish church

Principal Park

Bronze statue of Cacique Ciñera

Different spas: Pozo Juana Naranja, Los Pamarrosas

The San Jacinto bridge

The Alps military base

Juana Naranja Hotel.

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