Pasto

Pasto

Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish pronunciation: [saŋ ˈxwan de ˈpasto]; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the municipality had a population of 392,930. Pasto is located in the Atriz Valley on the Andes cordillera, at the foot of the Galeras volcano. The etymology of the word Pasto can be traced to the indigenous people who inhabited the region at the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the Pastos. However, the Atriz Valley itself was inhabited by the Quillacingas. In the 2018 Colombian census, 163,873 people self-identified as Pasto, and in the 2010 Ecuadorian census, 1,409 people self-identified as Pasto. Pasto was founded in 1537 by the Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar. In 1539 Lorenzo de Aldana, also a Spanish conquistador, moved the city to its current location, and established it under the name "San Juan de Pasto". A major contributor to the economy and expansion of Pasto was a man of Italian origin named Guido Bucheli.[citation needed]