page_title: Bucaramanga
section_title: Gastronomy
hierarchical_section_title: Bucaramanga / Culture / Gastronomy
caption_attribution_description: Arepa y Tamal Santandereano
context_page_description: Bucaramanga is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the highest GDP per capita in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 581,130 people. Bucaramanga has over 160 parks scattered throughout the city and has been given the nickname "La Ciudad de Los Parques" and "La Ciudad Bonita de Colombia".
  Bucaramanga has grown rapidly since the 1960s, mostly into neighboring locations within the metropolitan area. Floridablanca, Girón and Piedecuesta are inextricably linked geographically and commercially with Bucaramanga, and now all form together the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area with 1,141,671 inhabitants.
  The city is the base of the Colombian Petroleum Institute, the research branch of the state oil company Ecopetrol.
context_section_description: Typical dishes from Bucaramanga include Santander-mute (a soup made from various grains and accompanied by various types of meat), fricassee, a preparation of viscera and goat blood mixed with white rice, roasted meat, arepa de maize pelado, and tamales.
  Also popular are candied celery, lemon, citron, rice, caramel, and pineapple. Most are produced in the Floridablanca neighboring. The Oblea, a large, communion-like wafer and bocadillo veleño (a type of fudge made from puréed fruit or pressed caramel, or dulce de leche (milk caramel) are examples of treats found in great quantity in Bucaramanga. Nevertheless, one of the exotic foods in this Colombian city is undoubtedly the "Hormiga Culona" or big-butt ants, which have made Bucaramanga famous nationally and internationally, eventually being exported to Tokyo and London. These ants have high protein content, and their consumption among local people dates from the prehispanic era. This delicacy is only available during certain time of the year, due to the fact that they only come out during the months of may and June.
caption: Corn arepa (arepa de maiz pelado) and tamal are some of the typical dishes of Santander.
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