Ibague is the capital of the Tolima Department. Located at 1285 m.s.n.m., it is situated on the Central Andes mountain range and in between the Combeima Cnayon and the Magdalena Valley.
It was founded the 14th of October of 1550 by the spanish captain Andrés López de Galarza after a brutal skirmish with the Pijaos that inhabited the region. During its first years, Ibagué served as a fort to ward off the constant attacks by natives. Once the colonial regime was settled, Ibagué lost importance in the region, as Mariquita becomes a important center for mining. The city experiences an important increase in its population due to refugees fleeing in because of the Violence Civil war that ravaged the country halfway through the XXth century.
Present day Ibagué is known as the Music Capital of Colombia due to its important events linked to this art and also due to the various monuments related to music.