During your administration, what public policies have you implemented to promote cultural tourism in Boyacá, and how have you linked the preservation of cultural heritage with economic and community development initiatives?

We have made the largest investment in culture in the department’s history. One of the achievements we are most proud of is that we transformed what used to be the International Culture Festival into the International Peasant Culture Festival.

With this annual event, we aim to preserve—and act as guardians of—campesino culture. We are working for this festival to be internationally recognized as the world’s epicenter of peasant culture.

This initiative is helping the department become a focal point for cultural tourism during the days it takes place. In just one weekend of the 2025 festival, for example, Tunja’s economy—the capital of Boyacá—generated more than 17 billion pesos thanks to the festival.

Within the framework of the Festival, we created the CosechArte fair, where producers, artisans, and artists showcase Boyacá’s products to visitors, generating a highly valuable productive linkage—both for them as producers and for visitors.

In addition, we have strengthened the Provincial Tourism Councils as an innovative governance model, promoted community-based cultural tourism, achieved tourism quality certification, and advanced formalization processes and business training.

Boyacá has ancestral traditions, festivals, and cultural expressions. What programs or events has your government supported to strengthen these expressions and position them as internationally attractive tourism offerings?

In addition to our flagship initiative, the International Peasant Culture Festival, we promote festivals throughout the department to position Boyacá as the leading destination for culture and rural (campesino) tourism.

Festivals such as Cuna Carranguera in Tinjacá; the Band Festival in Paipa; Bolívar Week and the Tunas Festival in Duitama; and Frailejón de Oro in Güicán—among many others—are supported by the departmental government.

The strategy has been clear: to decentralize the cultural offering and turn each cultural expression into an opportunity for local economic dynamization, strengthening the tourism value chain, hotel occupancy, and regional commerce.

In terms of sustainable tourism, what actions has your administration promoted to balance visitor flows with the conservation of Boyacá’s natural and cultural heritage, especially in rural areas?

Boyacá is one of the departments with the highest number of municipalities certified in tourism quality by the Vice Ministry of Tourism, which demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, continuous improvement, and best practices.

We have promoted:

• Responsible tourism in rural areas.

• Protection of natural and cultural heritage.

• Territorial tourism planning.

• Training in environmental sustainability.

• Proper management of visitor flows during peak seasons.

Tourism growth must be balanced and respectful of our ecosystems and communities.

Religious tourism, with expressions such as Chiquinquirá as Colombia’s religious capital with its Basilica, and Tunja with its historic colonial churches, forms part of the cultural identity of many municipalities in Boyacá. How do you view these religious tourism experiences in Boyacá, and how are they linked to the local community?

Religious tourism is a strategic pillar strengthened by the Department’s Tourism Secretariat through promotional plans and intermunicipal coordination.

Destinations such as:

• Chiquinquirá, with the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá

• Tunja

• Monguí

Register high visitor flows, especially during Holy Week, a period in which the department exceeds one million tourist movements, supported by major nationwide promotional strategies.

These religious experiences, integrated into the territorial brand, allow visitors not only to participate in a spiritual celebration but also to experience local tradition and culture. In addition, they enable a comprehensive integration of the tourism value chain.

The International Festival of Culture of Boyacá has had memorable editions. What importance do initiatives like this have for social cohesion and attracting visitors, and what results have you observed?

The International Peasant Culture Festival has consolidated itself as a platform to dignify and showcase Boyacá’s rural world, recognizing our campesinos as protagonists of the department’s cultural, productive, and tourism development.

Through institutional coordination—especially with the Tourism Secretariat—the festival not only celebrates traditions, gastronomy, music, and ancestral knowledge, but also stimulates the local economy, strengthens rural tourism, and positions Boyacá as an authentic territory with a distinct identity.

This event is part of the Boyacá is to be lived initiative because it allows both residents and visitors to connect with our roots, appreciate the work of the countryside, and experience cultural expressions that reflect the pride and essence of our land.

In the context of decentralization and regional strengthening, how do you believe cultural tourism can contribute to territorial equity and the creation of economic opportunities in Boyacá’s municipalities?

Within the framework of decentralization, cultural tourism is understood as a real tool for closing gaps between the departmental capital and the municipalities. Boyacá possesses a historical, heritage, and rural wealth distributed throughout its territory, and when this wealth is organized, promoted, and technically supported, it becomes direct economic opportunities for communities.

Through the Tourism Secretariat, efforts have focused on strengthening routes, festivals, training processes, and the formalization of service providers, enabling smaller municipalities to integrate into the departmental tourism offering and receive visitors year-round. This stimulates sectors such as gastronomy, rural accommodation, transportation, and local commerce, generating income that remains within the territory.

Cultural tourism not only promotes identity and pride in what is local, but also balances regional development by bringing investment, promotion, and institutional support to different provinces. This is the vision promoted under the Boyacá is to be lived brand: a department where each municipality has the opportunity to showcase its history, culture, and people as engines of growth and well-being.

Looking ahead, what strategies does your administration envision to position Boyacá as a leading cultural tourism destination in Colombia and Latin America?

Boyacá is focused on consolidating a competitive, sustainable, and decentralized model in which each province plays a leading role. The objective is to move from seasonal tourism to year-round tourism by diversifying the offering with cultural, rural, nature, and wellness experiences that generate income throughout the year.

Through the Tourism Secretariat, plans include strengthening service quality, formalizing providers, promoting digital innovation in marketing and commercialization, and consolidating thematic routes that integrate multiple municipalities. We will also continue fostering talent development and providing technical support to local enterprises so that growth is organized and sustainable.

The vision is clear: to position the department as a national benchmark in cultural and rural tourism, based on identity, quality, and sustainability. Because Boyacá is to be lived not only today, but as a long-term project that guarantees economic development, territorial pride, and well-being for future generations.

How do you assess the role that promoting cultural identity through tourism can play in the social well-being of Boyacá’s communities and in the territory’s comprehensive development?

Promoting cultural identity through tourism is a powerful tool for social well-being, because when a community values and projects its history, traditions, and knowledge, it strengthens its collective self-esteem and sense of belonging. In Boyacá, historical heritage, campesino culture, music, gastronomy, and festivities are not only cultural symbols, but assets that generate real opportunities.

Through the Tourism Secretariat, efforts have been made to organize and promote these cultural processes so they become local economic drivers, benefiting artisans, traditional cooks, guides, hoteliers, and entrepreneurs. When tourism is planned with a territorial approach, income is distributed within the community, the economy is energized, and social and productive networks are strengthened.

Moreover, cultural tourism contributes to comprehensive development because it integrates economic, social, and cultural dimensions into a single strategy. It is not only about attracting visitors, but also about protecting identity, generating decent employment, and improving quality of life. That is the essence of Boyacá is to be lived: a model in which culture is not lost, but becomes the driving force of progress and collective well-being.

To conclude, as a citizen born in the beautiful city of Socha, “Land of the Sun and Clear Moon,” in the Department of Boyacá, why should we visit Boyacá?

Visiting Boyacá is to encounter the very essence of Colombia. It is to travel through a territory where each municipality has a story to tell, a tradition to share, and an authentic experience to offer.

Boyacá is the cradle of freedom, of campesino culture, of colonial architecture, of breathtaking landscapes, and of a gastronomy born from the honest work of the countryside. From our páramos and lagoons to our heritage towns and cultural festivals, visitors do not simply see destinations—they live experiences that connect them with identity and roots.

Today, the department is advancing with organization, quality, and sustainability thanks to the coordinated work led by the Tourism Secretariat, strengthening routes, events, and processes that ensure a safe and memorable experience.

Governor, we extend our most sincere gratitude for granting us this valuable interview and for sharing, with such clarity, depth, and commitment, your vision for the present and future of cultural tourism in Boyacá. Your reflections stand as a testament to public leadership oriented toward sustainable development, territorial identity, and community well-being.

We especially appreciate your willingness, openness, and precision in addressing each question, as well as the detailed information you have kindly provided for our readers. We are confident that your words will contribute to strengthening knowledge, international projection, and recognition of Boyacá’s extraordinary cultural heritage.

Please accept our appreciation for your time, your generosity, and your steadfast commitment to the progress of the department.