If you remember back when we had our video call in February, we talked about your class' visit to Explorer's Club! You told me about all the missions they have been on and the hundreds of flags they have to represent their missions. It got me thinking about the "mission of Bucaramanga," and what the story of their flag is.
Bucarmanga was "officially" founded on December 22, 1622, which makes it is almost 400 years old! The people who "founded" Bucaramanga were both from Spain. Their names are Andrés Páez and Miguel de Trujillo. They fought the indigenous people, who are the Guanes. The history of Bucaramanga is very complicated, and many historians tell the story differently. It was not technically registered until 1778. This is said to be because the Spanish leaders only wanted to clear out the Indigenous people and didn't feel like registering the city because it was complicated.
In the 1700s, the Bumangueses (people from Bucaramanga) fought for their freedom from Spain. They were tired of Spain stealing their gold and land. In the 1800s, Germans and the English moved to Bucarmanga for business. They continued to fight for freedom from Spain, and in 1857, Bucaramaga was named the capital of Santander (the state Bucaramanga is in). But it didn't become an "official" city until 1869 -- how confusing!
