as one of the most important settlements of the Colombian East and Spanish America, receiving in 1792 the title of «Very Noble, Valiant and Loyal Village» by King Charles IV of Spain.

The city is the political, economic, industrial, artistic, cultural, sports and tourist epicenter of Norte de Santander and constitutes, in turn, the most important urban settlement of the Colombian-Venezuelan border along with the Venezuelan city of San Cristóbal,