As the only major Colombian city with access to the Pacific Coast, Cali is the main urban and economic center in the south of the country, and has one of Colombia's fastest-growing economies.

In the region between the Cauca River and the Western Cordillera, the Gorrones established themselves between the present day Roldanillo and Santiago de Cali.

Before taking control over the region, the Spaniards had to defeat the chief Petecuy, whose tribe inhabited the area between the river Lilí and the Western Cordillera.

After the capture and execution of the Inca Atahualpa at Cajamarca, Francisco Pizarro had sent Belalcázar to take possession of Guayaquil and Quito on his behalf, but Cali, being outside the Quechua empire, was claimed by Belalcazar as his own territory.

Belalcázar founded Santiago de Cali on 25 July 1536, a few kilometres north of its present location, near what are now the towns of Vijes and Riofrío.

Santiago de Cali was strategically positioned for trade, centrally located in relation to the mining regions of Antioquia, Chocó, and Popayán.

The people from Cali called for help to the "Junta Suprema" in Bogotá, which sent a contingent under colonel Antonio Baraya to support the independence cause.

For mutual defense, Cali also formed, with Anserma, Cartago, Toro, Buga and Caloto, the Confederated cities of the Cauca Valley, which declared independence from the Governorate of Popayán on 1 February 1811, although they continued to recognize the absent Ferdinand VII as their head of state.

After having been released from captivity by Napoleon, Ferdinand VII sent a large army under the command of the "Pacificador" (Pacifier) Pablo Morillo who restored royalist rule in the area by 1816.

In 1819, after Simón Bolívar defeated the bulk of the royalist army in the Battle of Boyacá, there were new uprisings in the Valle del Cauca and the Criollos took control permanently.

These included the De Lima, Salazar, Espinoza, Arias, Ramirez, Perez and Lobo families from the Caribbean, as well as the author Jorge Isaacs of English Jewish ancestry, and the industrialist James Martin Eder (who adopted the more Christian name of Santiago Eder when he translated his name to Spanish) born into the Latvian Jewish community.

Very close to the 9th street was the principal station of the tranvia of Cali, a system of public transportation that linked the city with suburban areas.

On 7 August 1956, at around 1 a.m., seven Colombian army trucks filled with 42 tons of dynamite exploded near the train station, destroying eight city blocks.

[19] In the Siloé neighborhood, a peaceful demonstration was violently broken up by members of the public force,[20] with that sector being also affected by an unexpected internet crash, which occurred twice on 4 and 5 May.

Approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Cali and over the Western Cordillera, lies the port city of Buenaventura on the Colombian Pacific coast.

The most emblematic sculptures are Cristo Rey, located upon a mountain range; Sebastian de Belalcazar, founder of the city; and Las tres Cruces, a place of pilgrimage during the days of the Holy Week.

[35] Santiago de Cali is served by Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (IATA: CLO, ICAO: SKCL), located in the City of Palmira.

Alfonso Bonilla Aragón is located in a long, narrow valley that runs from north to south, and is surrounded by mountains up to 14,000 feet (4,300 m) high.

The airport has also been remodeled recently; some of the last significant events in those terms were the inauguration of the VIP room in the National terminal and the installation of a main electronic screen in the center of the check-in area.

In the early twentieth century the city's economy was concentrated in the production of sugar, based on an agricultural model in which large tracts of land were cultivated with minimum use of labor.

In the period 1910–1930, the city's economy shifted its focus from an agricultural model to become a commercial node at the national level through the development of basic infrastructure such as construction of the railway to Buenaventura and the creation of the department of Valle del Cauca with Cali designated as its capital.

In 1929 there is the creation of Soap Varela Hermanos, in the 1930s other industries begin to grow as large scale factories of gas and beer, printing and cigarettes.

A few years before the decade began a major investment of foreign capital led to the establishment of many factories and local business grew to multinational corporations; as Croydon in 1937, Cementos del Valle in 1939, and Carton Colombia in 1941; Goodyear and Colgate-Palmolive came from the US in 1941.

Public investment in infrastructure reached significant levels benefiting not only the production sector but also the growing population, this made Cali and Valle del Cauca models further development across the country.

In 1998, when the economic crisis became apparent, the national government could not respond to the call of the local politicians and mayors had to introduce austerity measures under pressure from creditors, which caused the vallecaucano development model to collapse.

Particularly, the industries of food, beverages, and snuff are important products in the valley's economy, contributing 16% of the national value added, equaled or surpassed only by Antioquia and Bogotá.

In 2005, for the first time in six years, the city had an occupancy rate above 60%, which confirms the good state of the economy, led primarily by growth in manufacturing, agriculture, and trade, among others.

Cali has some decentralized agencies; the most important being: A large part of the population relies on the public educational system, which is underfunded and in some cases improperly managed.

The Municipal Secretary of Education manages a large part of the city's budget, which has brought some politicians to try to control it as their personal organization.

[70] Furthermore, the last Friday of every month, the city has an event known as "Delirio", already internationally known with the most spectacular salsa shows presented, "Las Vegas" style.