Colombia has 32 departments - the equivalent to states in USA - the highest political and administrative subdivision of the territory, and one capital district.

Departments give rise to names or denominations for their inhabitants, providing a strong feeling for cultural identity. For example, el “antioqueño”  lives at the department of Antioquia, the “valluno” lives at the department of Valle del Cauca and the “boyacense” lives at the department of Boyacá.

But sometimes the identity is set by larger territories and cultures spreading over more than one department: the “llanero” is a person that lives at any department within the eastern planes of the large Orinoquian eco-region, the “paisa” lives at any department within the middle section on the Central cordillera, the “costeño” lives in the Caribbean eco-region covering several departments, and so on.

On other occasions, the department name sets the cultural identity of its people: the “santandereanos” belong to the department of Santander, the “tolimenses” live in the department of Tolima, the “guajiros” in the department of La Guajira and so on.

And frequently it is the city that sets off a name: “pastusos” live in the city of Pasto, “cartageneros” live in Cartagena, “bogotanos” in Bogotá, “caleños” in Cali, and so on.