El Paso is mostly known for having the second largest coal mine in Colombia,[citation needed] located in the corregimiento of La Loma.

The name was mentioned in a document establishing the encomienda with the Chimila indigenous peoples in the region.

The documents mentioned "The path of the advanced" in reference to the path of Alfonso Luis de Lugo in 1544 from Cabo de la Vela in the Guajira Peninsula, Tamalameque in his way inland to the New Kingdom.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas the region was a herd under the jurisdiction of the village of Becerril named the Hato of San Bartolome, established by Captain Bartolomé de Aníbal Paleólogo Becerra.

On October 25, 1825 the Canton of Valencia de Jesus was suppressed and once again reestablished to Valledupar.