The aqueduct, energy and market. It was the second town in the country to have aqueduct service to private homes. Its price was forty cents per home. At the beginning of the century electricity arrived, three cents per bulb. The industrial consortium, the spinning mills, cement, Coltabaco, Fedecafe, Telecommunications, Television, San Gil Bank precursor of Santander Bank.

In the beginning, the population of San Gil, as others during Colonial times had a system of a fountain located in the main plaza. From there, the precious liquid was carried to the jail and the Guanent College. In 1893, the Aqueduct Company was established with galvanized iron tubes. San Gil became the second city of the country to have such service. Many Sangilentildes remember that twenty-ve years ago, the main irrigation ditch came from the tall area of town, the San Juan de Dios Barrio. The fountain was eliminated thirty years ago with the construction of Libertad Park, where there is an efgy of a great Sangilentilde of this century. At the beginning of this century, the Edison tungsten bulbs arrived to San Gil before many Colombian cities. The day of the inauguration of the electric light, somebody said: “Now, it has to light the towns”. The public deed which constituted the Aqueduct Society was done on February 20, 1893, by Timoleon Rueda, Eleuterio Rueda, Domingo Silva, Ricardo Martinez Silva, Jose Dolores Silva, Jose Melendez, Manuel Silva Uribe, Jose Dolores Plata, Gregorio Muntildez, Juan Gonzlez, Arcadio Cancino, Marco Antonio Parra, Hilario Fernndez, Javier and Santiago Galvis, Jose Leon, Pablo Gomez, Salvador Melendez, Ramiro Toledo, Gil Cubillos, General Moises Garcia, Jacinto Leon and Jacinto Barrera. The capital was $13,400 gold pesos. The Municipal Council gave them the right to exploit water for sixty years. Its first executive ofcer was Don Domingo Silva Otero. In 1896, it joined the electric light company and changed its name to “Hydroelectric Company” . It was constituted, by public deed, on January 8, 1896, with a capital of $50,000 gold pesos. Domingo and Pedro Silva Otero became owners of the company in 1906. Before, in 1904, the Municipal Council had authorized a price of forty cents, gold, per home and three cents for each electric bulb. These prices remained until 1940 because the water could be obstructed at its beginning by peasants who used to bathe on their way to the Sunday mass or cattle. The primitive electric plant was mounted in the center of town at a price of $42,000 gold pesos. In 1940 the company contracted the German engineer Franz Tutzer, for the construction of a new electric plant over the Fonce River, two kilometers from the city at a cost of $100,000 which generates 2,000 kilowatts giving electric energy to Barichara, Valle, Pinchote, Curiti, Cabrera, Pramo, Villanueva and Socorro. In 1950, the Cascade Electric Company, named after the cascade of origin, formed by the Curiti Brook had a capital of 1.5 million pesos among the 280 stock holders. Its executive ofcer was Don Juan Francisco Gomez Rueda who took the company to its present prosperity. The Aqueduct was enhanced and modernized, with ltration and sterilization tanks, by the National Corporation of Public Services. There was a recent plan by the National Institute of Water and Electric Progress, published in 1967, to study the Fonce River to establish a hydroelectric plant, which would supply electricity to the entire Southern Santander and produce an accelerated economic development. The executive ofcers of this company have been: Santiago Ordontildeez, Vicente Parra, Narciso Torres Melendez, Marco Parra, Samuel Ordontildeez, Jorge Rueda Gomez, engineer Germn Rueda Amorocho and Juan Pacho Gomez Rueda. About the covered market, the people who lived in the Plaza Mayor were not individuals who had a small business selling groceries or trinkets, nor of having a store on the first floor. They had their main income from farms and other order of economical societies. They got tired of seeing and smelling in front of their homes, the mules, cattle, meat sales, and the pertaining sweeping dust. Such people became founding partners of a commercial society, the second of its class in the Department. They were: The physician Manuel Maria Rueda, attorney Alfredo Garcia Rueda, Ernesto Rueda Silva, attorney Raimundo Rueda Rueda, physician Marco Eustasio Latorre, General Moises Garcia, attorney Julio Cancino, Jorge Melendez Rueda, David Ordontildeez, Eliseo Mrquez, Alejandro Ordontildeez, Ernesto Rovira, Francisco del Rio, Vicente Parra, brothers Bonilla, Tito Ordontildeez, Enrique Garcia Rueda, Pedro Leon Amaya, Guillermo Galvis Gomez, Samuel Francisco and Manasas Galvis. On June 15, 1920, they all went to the First Notary of the Circuit of San Gil and subscribed the deed correspondent to the “Company of the Covered Market of San Gil”. The first executive ofcer Alejandro Ordontildeez, bought and replaced older houses with the modern building of the covered market., one block from the main plaza. The society started with $20,000 pesos and with a stock valued at $100. It opened numerous commercial locales for the public. It is one of the best markets of the Department. In the internal compartments or “Chuchos”, there are, permanently, fruits, vegetables and all the food products of a modern supermarket. Its major day of business is Saturday. That day the peasants arrive with their oxen loaded with all the products of the warm and red land. The San Juan de Dios Hospital is the owner of most of the stock of the company. Its Executive Ofcers have been: Alejandro Ordontildeez, Severo Forero, Gregorio Muntildez Otero, Jorge Melendez Rueda, Luis Arturo Gomez Silva, Raimundo Rueda, Luis Arguumlello, David Gomez, Tito Ordontildeez, Ramon Alvarez, Alfredo Alarcon, Marco Parra, Carlos Villamizar Rodolfo Rueda Pinilla, Honorio Carrentilde, Eduardo Gomez Jaimes, Germn Gomez, Luis Vesga Navarro, Juan Francisco Gomez Rueda and others. The Industrial Consortium of Santander was established in 1943. It is a semi-ofcial entity in charge of fomenting the industry of sisal and its derivatives. It has a modern factory of cords and packages in San Gil. It has modern machinery which treats the ber for extraction of table oil. Hilanderias del Fonce, (Fonce Spinning Mill),fabricates sisal cords, cables and packages, at grand scale, for the Western Colombian Markets. The region’s coffee is packed in bags fabricated in Curiti, Aratoca, San Joaquin and Onzaga.
Thousands of pages have been written about the Santander economy and the redemption of the sisal and tobacco growing far from the technical assistance of Bogot, and the tragedy of the grower with the fusion of the industrial consortium with the “Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario”, (Colombian Agriculture and Cattle Institute), to unite plans of increase of credit and market, to redeem the Santandereana population from the vice of those cultivations which have produced misery and degeneration of the race.
In 1949, a group of Sangilentildes Industrialists interested in the exploitation of the calcareous resources of San Gil and Curiti formed the ”Compantildeia de Cementos Hercules Limitada” (The Hercules Company of Cement, Limited). This company has a capital of several million pesos and numerous stock holders. It has a production of one hundred and fty tons of first quality cement a day.It is the only one in the Department and provides for the regions of Santander. Its Executive Ofcer has been Jorge Rueda Gomez. The factory which produces special cement for the construction of oil wells is merged with the powerful company of cement Samper. The “Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros”, (The National Federation of Coffee Growers), established offices and storage of regulation and distribution of the region’s coffee, in San Gil, in 1950. It offers loans to growers and exporters guaranteed on their harvests, machinery and insurance. The entity has offices in Bucaramanga, Rionegro, San Vicente and other coffee centers in Santander. The ”Compantildeia Colombiana de Tabaco”, (The Colombian Company of Tobacco), established offices and storage in San Gil, in July, 1943. It constructed magnicent installations on the heights of the south of the city and the left bank of the Fonce River, taking advantage of the foundations built for the Guanent College. The modern and well ventilated brick buildings store the tobacco crops of the neighboring regions and towns. Then, the leaves are sent to Bogot for the fabrication of the famous cigarettes “Pielroja” and “Nacional”. In September of 1953, the public deed of the “Telefonos Automticos” was constituted. It initiated operations with a capital of $250,000. The German Company Siemens installed the telephone network which soon covered all the barrios and neighboring haciendas, approximately, 3,000 apparatuses. The Minister of Justice, Pedro Manuel Arenas, attended the inauguration. His initiative was recognized and he was decorated with the Citizen Medal of Merit, given by the Municipality of San Gil. The television
arrived in 1967, when the transmitting towers were inaugurated on top of the surrounding most elevated peak. This tower covers an area of the Guanent Province and the South of the Department of Santander where the programs of the Bogotano Channels can be clearly seen and heard. At the inauguration act attended the Ministers of Communication and Labor, Douglas Botero Boshell and Carlos Augusto Noriega, respectively. The towers serve about 3,000 apparatuses in the region. It has lled a long awaiting space, because Sangilentildes are not resigned to see material progress at a distance. In 1908, Sangilentildes not wanting to be left behind, as usual, got together to constitute a general junta of stockholders for the foundation of a bank. Thus, the ” Bank of San GiI”, was born. The act was celebrated on October 13, 1908 by the following founders of the entity: Juan Francisco Mantilla, Ricardo Martinez Silva, Luis Rueda, Ricardo Rueda, Antonio Maria Gomez, Juan de la Cruz Duarte, Manuel Maria Rueda, Timoleon Rueda, Constantino Rueda, Santiago and Alejandro Ordontildeez, Ignacio Martinez, Manuel Silva Uribe, Ismael Reyes, Juan Bautista Gonzlez, Tito Silva, Manuel Carrentilde, Guillermo Martinez, Pedro Elias Toledo, Octaviano Barrera, Carlos Parra, Juan de Dios Silva, Julio Ignacio Gomez, Gomez Melendez, Mrquez Prieto, Miguel Durn, Julio Laurens, Gumersinda de Rivero, Ana Rosa and Emilia Silva. The Board of Directors was formed by Juan de la Cruz Duarte, Jose Dolores Silva, Carlos Parra, Santiago Ordontildeez and Timoleon Rueda.The Executive Ofcers were: Manuel Maria Rueda, Ricardo Martinez Silva, Santiago Ordontildeez Durn and the Secretary Rafael Rivero. The constitution of the statutes of the Bank is very interesting. It is the model of several prestigious and powerful ones. The stock was one hundred gold pesos each. The Deed of Constitution was subscribed on December 22, 1906. The institution soon had a capital of half a million pesos. In 1943, it merged with the Comercial Antioquentilde Bank. The following have been managers of the San Gil Bank: Ricardo Martinez Silva, Elias Jaimes, Ernesto Rueda Silva, Santiago Ordontildeez, Calixto Camacho, Manuel Rivero and Juan de Dios Silva Quevedo.
On December 21, 1938, an ofce of the BANK OF COLOMBIA was founded in San Gil. Since then, it has served important services to commerce and industry in the country. It has other offices in Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja and Socorro. On July 16, 1954, an ofce of the POPULAR BANK was inaugurated in the city. Since then it has given valuable services to small industry and society in general in San Gil and the cities mentioned above.
On January 16, 1952 the CAJA DE CREDITO INDUSTRIAL Y MINERO, (The Mine and Industrial Credit Bank), was inaugurated, with a first class ofce in San Gil. This entity offers loans to farmers, cattle ranchers and industrialists. It sells tools and agricultural implements, at a low price, in a store next to the bank. The savings bank has offices in Bucaramanga, Zapatoca, Barrancabermeja, Socorro, San Vicente de Chucuri, Charal, Barichara, Mlaga, Piedecuesta and Velez among others.

SANTANDER BANK
In San Gil, as it has not occurred in other Colombian cities of greater economic potential, two banking entities have emerged.The bank of San Gil merged with the respectable Comercial Antioquentilde Bank and the second one was Santander Bank. This important credit entity was the idea of a group of important Sangilentildes impresarios to foster development not only of the department but of the whole country. The March 12, 1960 edition of the newspaper Antena of San Gil had a special edition this same day of the signing of the constitution act of Santander Bank. It read:
“An idea, which flustered a long time ago among Santander businessmen, came to a nal realization when the act which constitutes the Bank Santander was signed today in the rooms of the Campestre Club of this city. It is important to know that this idea was originated by Sangilentildes impresarios. The Act was signed by forty-three businessmen from San Gil and Bucaramanga. The bank’s capital is 5 million pesos. According to bank rules, 1 million or 20% of the total, were subscribed. The stock has a nominal value of $10 pesos each. Pedro Manuel Arenas, Illustrious Santander son who was General Manager of Central Hipotecario Bank and Minister of State in several positions of the Executive, was named General Manager. The first Board of Directors of the bank was formed by: Pedro Maria Buitrago, Guillermo Ronderos, Gustavo Lievano, Saul Diaz and Zoilo Guarin Plata. The San Gil Ofce was formed by Olegario Crdenas, Luis Santos, Luis Rivero Silva, Isaias Soler and Jesus Martinez”, the cited newspaper ends. Presently, the Santander Bank owns 70 million pesos with deposits of 120 million pesos and activities for 200 million pesos. The Bank’s main ofce is in Bucaramanga, and it has other offices in the cities of San Gil, Barranquilla, Barrancabermeja and Cali. At the time of this book’s printing, the gentlemen who integrated the Board of Directors of the Santander Bank were:
Principals:
Luis Gonzlez Jaimes, Mario Valencia Ochoa, Gustavo Vasco Muntildez, Ignacio Gonzlez Acosta, Vicente Ordontildeez, Zoilo Guarin Plata and Gustavo Lievano Fonseca. Substitutes:
Germn Gomez, Jaime Rodriguez Silva, Antonio Sarmiento, Manuel Puyana, Francisco de Paula Alvarez, Guillermo Diaz Acosta and Jorge Castillo Florez. The President of the Bank is Pedro Manuel Arenas and the General Manager Rafael Pentildea Ogliastri.