Monteria is the capital of the Department of Córdoba, and is located at the shores of the Sinú River. The city was founded in 1777 by Antonio de la Torre y Miranda as San Jerónimo de Buenavista, although people still referred to the city as Montería. The city expanded since 1952, year when the Department of Córdoba was created and Monteía was designed as its capital.Nowadays the city is the ranching capital of Colombia. Monteria and the region are known for its cultural mixture, for being the birthplace of the vueltiao hat and for the Forro, a traditional folklóric music genre.