History of Puerto Nariño

By Lorraine Caputo

The first permanent settlement at the mouth of the Loretoyacü River was a product of love. After marrying, Luis Eco Vargas of the Huitoto nation and his Tikuna bride Cándida Cuelto arrived here to set up a homestead. In 1954 Franciscan Capuchin monks opened the Internado Indígena San Francisco, a boarding school teaching sustainable agriculture to children from villages all along the river. The official founding date is August 18, 1961, when Puerto Nariño was recogized as a corregimiento (settlement). It became a municipio in 1984. The Resguardo Indígena Ticoya was established as a conservation area in 1990, incorporating 32 indigenous settlements of Tikuna, Cocoma and Yagua, with Puerto Nariño as the principal seat.