This municipality, capital of the Cesar Department, it is called the "City of the Sacred Kings of the Valley of Upar", and was founded on January 6 in 1550 by the spanish captain Hernando de Santana. It is situated in the valley of the river Cesar and the name "Upar" comes from Eupari, a chimila warchief that lived in the territory before the spaniards arrived. It began as a small populated center in the lands of the eupari indians and became a pit stop for the Santa Marta route. It's an important place for farming mango trees and also ranching, and also the birthplace of vallenato, a traditional musical genre of colombia.