Pasto celebrates San Juan Bautista festivities amid historical mystery

The festivities of San Juan Bautista in Pasto, Colombia, are tied to the historical foundation of the city. During the 1500s, Spanish settlers established the ‘Villa de San Juan Bautista de Pasto’ in the fertile region near the Galeras volcano, which was known to indigenous people as ‘Urcunina’ or ‘mountain of fire.’

Because the original foundation page was stolen from the ‘Libro Verde de Quito’—the historical archive where the city's founding documents were kept—the exact date of the city's founding remains uncertain. Consequently, the community celebrates the feast day (onomastic) of its patron saint, San Juan Bautista, rather than a specific anniversary of the city's establishment. This tradition of naming settlements after saints is seen in other Colombian cities such as Santiago de Cali, Santafé de Bogotá, and San Andrés de Tumaco.