José Bonifacio Aquileo Elias Parra y Gómez de la Vega (May 12, 1825 - December 4, 1900) was a Colombian soldier, businessman and political figure.

He found a job making and selling hats, and he navigated the Magdalena River, calling on the ports of Magangué, Mompós and Puerto Berrío.

He spent all his free time learning and studying, and he became an autodidact and highly educated.

[1] Parra also served in the military and participated in the civil wars against presidents José María Melo, Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and the Granadine Confederation ("Confederacion Granadina") in 1861.

The Conservatives, united in one group, launched the military offensive in the States of Antioquia and Cauca.