country_of_citizenship juan carlos galindo
The ___MASK48___ was one of the largest empires in history . It reached the peak of its military , political and economic power under the Spanish Habsburgs , through most of the 16th and 17th centuries , and its greatest territorial extent under the House of Bourbon in the 18th century , when it was the largest empire in the world . The ___MASK48___ became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called " the empire on which the sun never sets ". South America is a continent located in the western hemisphere , mostly in the southern hemisphere , with a relatively small portion in the northern hemisphere . It is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas , which is the model used in nations that speak Romance languages . The reference to South America instead of other regions ( like Latin America or the Southern Cone ) has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics ( in particular , the rise of ___MASK40___ ). The Bogotá savanna is a high plateau located in the center of ___MASK4___ in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes . It is the southern part of a larger plateau called Altiplano Cundiboyacense that rises to an average altitude of above sea level . The ___MASK54___ , or Kingdom of the New Granada , was the name given to a group of 16th - century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Audiencia of Bogotá , an area corresponding mainly to modern - day ___MASK4___ , Panama and Venezuela . The conquistadors originally organized it as a captaincy general within the Viceroyalty of Peru . The crown established the " audiencia " in 1549 . Ultimately the kingdom became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada first in 1717 and permanently in 1739 . After several attempts to set up independent states in the 1810s , the kingdom and the viceroyalty ceased to exist altogether in 1819 with the establishment of Gran ___MASK4___ . Latin America is a group of countries and dependencies in the Americas where Romance languages are predominant . The term originated in 19th century ___MASK51___ as " Amérique latine " to consider French - speaking territories in the Americas ( Haiti , French Guiana , Martinique , Guadeloupe , Saint Martin , Saint Barthélemy ) along with the larger group of countries where Spanish and Portuguese languages prevailed . It is therefore broader than the terms Ibero - America or Hispanic America  though it usually excludes French ___MASK70___ and modern French Louisiana . ___MASK4___ ( or ), officially the Republic of ___MASK4___ , is a transcontinental country largely situated in the northwest of South America , with territories in Central America . ___MASK4___ shares a border to the northwest with Panama , to the east with Venezuela and Brazil and to the south with Ecuador and Peru . It shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica , Nicaragua , Honduras , Jamaica , the Dominican Republic and Haiti . It is a unitary , constitutional republic comprising thirty - two departments . The territory of what is now ___MASK4___ was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Muisca , the Quimbaya and the Tairona . El Dorado International Airport is an international airport located in Bogotá , ___MASK4___ . It is ranked among the world ' s 50 busiest airports in terms of : passenger traffic ( ranked third in Latin America with 25 , 009 , 483 passengers in 2013 ), cargo traffic ( ranked first in Latin America ( 33rd worldwide ) with 622 , 145 metric tons in 2013 ) and traffic movements ( ranked second in Latin America ( 45th worldwide ) with 304 , 330 aircraft movements in 2011 ). As such , it is the largest airport in ___MASK4___ and the main international and domestic air gateway in the country , serving as the main and largest hub for Avianca ( the national flag carrier of ___MASK4___ ), Copa Airlines ___MASK4___ , LATAM , Satena , EasyFly and other cargo companies . It is managed by Operadora Aeroportuaria Internacional ( OPAIN ), a consortium composed of Colombian construction and engineering firms and the Swiss company Flughafen Zürich AG . The Congress of the Republic of ___MASK4___ is the name given to ___MASK4___ ' s bicameral national legislature . The Battle of Boyacá was the decisive battle which would ensure the success of the liberation campaign of New Granada . The battle of Boyaca is considered the beginning of the independence of the North of South America , and is considered important because it led to the victories of the battle of Carabobo in ___MASK76___ , Pichincha in Ecuador and Junín Ayacucho in the ___MASK27___ . Conquistadors ( from Portuguese or Spanish " conquistadores " " conquerors " ) is a term used to refer to the soldiers and explorers of the ___MASK48___ or the Portuguese Empire in a general sense . During the Age of Discovery , conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas , Oceania , Africa and Asia , conquering territory and opening trade routes . They colonized much of the world for ___MASK62___ and Portugal in the 16th , 17th and 18th centuries . Quito , formally San Francisco de Quito , is the capital city of ___MASK7___ , and at an elevation of above sea level , it is the highest official capital city in the world and the one which is closest to the equator . It is located in the Guayllabamba river basin , on the eastern slopes of Pichincha , an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains . With a population of 2 , 671 , 191 according to the last census ( 2014 ), Quito is the second most populous city in ___MASK7___ , after Guayaquil . It is also the capital of the Pichincha province and the seat of the Metropolitan District of Quito . The canton recorded a population of 2 , 239 , 191 residents in the 2010 national census . In 2008 , the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South ___MASK25___ Nations . Gran ___MASK4___ (" Great ___MASK4___ ") is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831 . It included the territories of present - day ___MASK4___ , Venezuela , Ecuador , Panama , northern Peru , western Guyana and northwest Brazil . The Andes or Andean Mountains are the longest continental mountain range in the world . They are a continuous range of highlands along the western edge of South America . This range is about long , about wide ( widest between 18 ° south and 20 ° south latitude ), and of an average height of about . The Andes extend from north to south through seven South ___MASK25___ countries : ___MASK76___ , ___MASK4___ , Ecuador , Peru , Bolivia , Argentina and Chile . Juan Carlos Galindo Vacha ( Bogotá ) is the current head of Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil , replacing Alma Rengifo in 2006 . He was in charge of presidential elections in 2006 and is the most important figure in the national organization . The Andes mountains form the most populated region of ___MASK4___ and contain the majority of the country ' s urban centers . They were also the location of the most significant pre - Columbian indigenous settlements . Beyond the Colombian Massif in the south - western departments of Cauca and Nariño , the Colombian Andes divide into three branches known as " cordilleras " ( from the Spanish for " mountain range "): the West Andes run adjacent to the Pacific coast and is home to the city of Cali . The Central Andes run up the center of the country between the Cauca and Magdalena river valleys ( to the west and east respectively ) and includes the cities of Medellín , Manizales and Pereira . The East Andes extend northeast towards the Guajira Peninsula , and includes the cities of Bogotá , Bucaramanga and Cúcuta . El Dorado (; Spanish for " the golden one "), originally " El Hombre Dorado " ( the golden man ), or " El Rey Dorado " ( the golden king ), was the term used by the ___MASK48___ to describe a mythical tribal chief (" zipa ") of the Muisca native people of ___MASK4___ , who , as an initiation rite , covered himself with gold dust and submerged in Lake Guatavita . The legends surrounding El Dorado changed over time , as it went from being a man , to a city , to a kingdom , and then finally an empire . Bogotá , officially Bogotá , Distrito Capital , abbreviated Bogotá , D . C . ( during the time of Spanish rule , and also from 1991 to 2000 , called Santa Fé de Bogotá ) is the capital and largest city of ___MASK4___ administered as the Capital District , although often thought of as part of Cundinamarca . Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order , with the same administrative status as the departments of ___MASK4___ . It is the political , economic , administrative , industrial , artistic , cultural , and sports center of the country . The city is located in the centre of ___MASK4___ , on a high plateau known as the Bogotá savanna , part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes . It is the third - highest capital in South America ( after Quito and Sucre ), at an average of above sea level . Subdivided into 20 localities , Bogotá has an area of and a relatively fresh climate that is constant over the year . Bogotá was founded as the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada on August 6 , 1538 , by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada after a harsh expedition into the Andes conquering the Muisca . The Muisca were the indigenous inhabitants of the region and called the settlement where Bogotá was founded " Bacatá ". After the Battle of Boyacá on August 7 , 1819 , Bogotá became the capital of the independent nation of Gran ___MASK4___ . Since the Viceroyalty of New Granada ' s independence from the Spanish Empire and during the formation of the present ___MASK4___ , Bogotá remained the capital of this territory . The city is home to senior agencies of the executive branch ( Office of the President ), the legislative branch ( Congress of ___MASK4___ ) and the judicial branch ( Supreme Court of Justice , Constitutional Court , Council of State and the Superior Council of Judicature ). Bogotá stands out for its economic strength and associated financial maturity , its attractiveness to global companies and the quality of human capital ; it is the largest business platform of ___MASK4___ where most high - impact ventures occur . The capital hosts the main market of ___MASK4___ and the Andean natural region , and the leading destination for new projects of foreign direct investment coming into Latin America and ___MASK4___ . It has the highest nominal GDP in the country , contributing most to the national total ( 24 . 7 %), and it is the seventh - largest city by size of GDP in Latin America ( about USD 159 , 850 million ); The airport of the city , El Dorado International Airport , named after the mythical " El Dorado ", has the largest volume of cargo transported in Latin America , and is third in number of people . It is the city of ___MASK4___ with the largest number of universities and research centers , and has an important cultural offer , which is represented in many museums , of which the Museo del Oro is the most important , theaters and libraries . Bogotá ranks 52nd on the Global Cities Index 2014 , and is considered a global city type " Beta " by GaWC . Superior Council of Judicature is Colombian institution part of the judicial branch of ___MASK4___ in charge of adopting a yearly report which is presented to the Congress of ___MASK4___ with a detailed report on justice handling in ___MASK4___ . The council also adopts the Development plan for the judicial branch of ___MASK4___ and presents it to the President of ___MASK4___ so that it be included in the Colombian National Plan of Development . The Superior Council of Judicature also establishes rules for an efficient administration of justice and can adopt and propose Law projects related to the administration of justice and procedure codes . Members of the council are entitled to elect the new president of the council . The functions of the Superior Council of Judicature are stipulated in Article 79 , Law 270 of 1996 in the Colombian Constitution of 1991 . The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717 , to the jurisdiction of the ___MASK48___ in northern South America , corresponding to modern ___MASK4___ , Ecuador , Panama , and Venezuela . The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739 , and the provinces of Venezuela were separated from the Viceroyalty and assigned to the Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777 . In addition to these core areas , the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada included Guyana , southwestern Suriname , parts of northwestern Brazil , and northern Peru . Sucre is the constitutional capital of ___MASK53___ , the capital of the Chuquisaca Department , and the 6th most populated city in ___MASK53___ . Located in the south - central part of the country , Sucre lies at an elevation of 2 , 810 meters ( 9 , 214 feet ). This relative high altitude gives the city a cool temperate climate year - round and much thinner air . Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera , also spelled as De Quezada and Ximénez , ( 1496 - other sources state 1506 or 1509Suesca , 16 February 1579 ) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America , territories currently known as ___MASK4___ . He explored the northern part of South America . As a well - educated lawyer he was one of the few intellectuals of the Spanish conquest . He was an effective organizer and leader , designed the first legislation for the government of the area , and was its historian . After 1569 he undertook explorations toward the east , searching for the elusive " El Dorado ", but returned to New Granada in 1573 . He has been suggested as a possible model for Cervantes ' " Don Quixote ".