Tenza used to be inhabited by the Muisca before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who was looking for emeralds. The village was ruled by the cacique of Cora, loyal to the zaque of Hunza.[1] Modern Tenza was founded during the Spanish conquest of the Muisca by the Jiménez de Quesada, on June 24, Saint John's day, 1537.[1]
Tenza used to be called Tenazuca, which in the Chibcha language of the Muisca means "going down at night".[2]
Discord