The city of Armero, founded in 1895, was once known as the White City owing to its role as the capital of the Colombia’s main cotton-producing region. Located over 100 miles from the national capital of Bogotá, its excellent volcanic soils, warm climate, and location near the banks of the Magdalena River made it an agricultural and economic center of Tolima Department. By 1985, the population of the town in the hot, lush valley had grown to almost 29,000 people. In the middle of this darkest decade in Colombia’s history,…
