Barquisimeto


Barquisimeto is the capital city of Lara and seat of the Iribarren Municipality in Venezuela. Barquisimeto is located in the Central-Western Region. The city is an important urban, industrial, commercial, musical, and transportational center in the country, recognized as the fourth-largest city by population after Caracas, Maracaibo, and Valencia. Barquisimeto is sometimes referred to as the "Music City of Venezuela" due to the large number of musical institutions there. Gustavo Dudamel, the director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was born in the city.
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History

Barquisimeto was founded in 1552 by Juan de Villegas, as a headquarters and to have better control of the territory believed to be rich in gold. Its original name was Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto and then it was shortened to just Barquisimeto.
This city changed locations four times between 1552 and 1563. The original settlement was near the Buría River, but moved in 1556 due to frequent floods suffered by inhabitants. The second location was in the valley of the Turbio River, where the city stayed until Lope de Aguirre burned it down in 1561. The city was rebuilt, but in 1562 they inhabitants asked for permission to move to another site due to strong winds blowing in the place. Finally, Barquisimeto was moved to the north plateau of the Turbio River in 1563.
During the country's independence, Barquisimeto joined the liberation movement and its deputy José Ángel Álamo signed the Independence Act on July 5, 1811.
In 1929, the city went through a modernization program carried out by General Juan Vicente Gomez. He fixed the streets and avenues and buildings were built, like the Jacinto Lara Headquarters, the Government Palace and the Ayacucho Park.

Names and etymology

According to the German adventurer Nikolaus Federmann, the Caquetío aborigines used to call it Variquicimeto, which translates as "ash-colored river", the name with which the natives distinguished the water stream near the city. This river was named "Turbio River" by the Spanish conquerors, a name that is still in use today. Another possible name origin is due to a red dye called bariquí.
When Juan de Villegas founded it, he named the city "Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto", but years later it became just "Barquisimeto", a word popularized by Oviedo y Baños in his book History and Conquest of the Venezuelan Population.

Religion

The city's modern Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the cathedral of the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barquisimeto.

Divina Pastora

The Divina Pastora is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus, with a lamb at her side. It is considered to be one of the most important religious icons of Venezuela. Divina Pastora is the patron saint of the city of Barquisimeto and of the Venezuelan National Militia. The original image dates from 1735. Divina Pastora is celebrated in a procession on January 14 of each year, when a massive Marian procession occurs, considered to be one of the largest in the world, attracting thousands of pilgrims.
The statue is removed from its shrine and is carried on the main streets of Barquisimeto in a procession which starts at the Iglesia de la Divina Pastora in Santa Rosa until it reaches the Barquisimeto Cathedral. This procession is unlike other mass Marian celebrations in the world, where the image does not leave its temple. This procession occurs due to the devotion the people of Barquisimeto have towards it as gratitude towards saving the city from a cholera outbreak that occurred in the city in the 19th century. In 2013, 3,000,000 faithful honored the Divina Pastora.

Geography

Barquisimeto is built on the terrace of the same name, on the banks of the Turbio River, about 600 meters above sea level, gradually sloping from in the eastern part of the city to in the west. As the city lies at the northern edge of the Andes, it is bounded on the south by mountains with elevations ranging from 1000 meters to over 2000 meters, such as Loma de Leon, Cerro Patriciera, and Cerro Lara. To the northwest of Barquisimeto there are the Saroche hills and to the northeast there are the Sierra de Aroa mountains.
Barquisimeto is located in central-western Venezuela, from Caracas, the country's capital city. Being a point of convergence of major road and rail routes, it has a diverse economy and has grown into a large city of 930,000 inhabitants. Its flat relief has enabled a systematic urban grid with streets numbered in ascending numerical order, and consistent signage that helps with locating addresses. Barquisimeto has an average temperature of throughout the year; its driest period is from December to March.

Neighboring municipalities

North: Urdaneta MunicipalitySouth: Palavecino MunicipalityEast: Peña Municipality, Yaracuy StateWest: Jiménez and Torres Municipalities.

Large-magnitude earthquakes (Richter’s scale)

  • 6.6
  • 5.6
  • 6.3

Climate

In the city, a hot semi-arid climate is dominant. Located in that region, Barquisimeto records of rain per year and its average temperature ranges. However, in higher regions near the Andes, temperatures are lower and the rain is more constant. For instance, in Sanare city, the annual average rainfall is.

Education

Barquisimeto is a city with a historic vocation by academic knowledge, and boasts a considerable sample of universities and institutes of higher education in Venezuela, has a high and growing student population from all over the country.
Major universities in the city include Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado and Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica Antonio José de Sucre.

Other universities and colleges

;Public institutions
;Private institutions
  • Fermin Toro University
  • Yacambú University
  • Fermin Toro College
  • Rodolfo Loero Arismendi Technology and Industrial Institute
  • National Institute of Socialist Education and Capacitation
  • Antonio José de Sucre Technology Institute
  • Jesús Obrero Institute

Hospitals

Private hospitals

  • Clínica IDB Barquisimeto
Address: Carrera 19 esquina calle 34
  • Clínica Razetti de Barquisimeto
Address: Carrera 21
  • Policlínica Barquisimeto
Address: Av. Lara
  • Previmédica IDB Los Abogados
Address: Av. Los Abogados. 50 mts. from Av. Vargas
  • Previmédica IDB Centro
Address: Calle 34
  • Previmédica IDB Oeste
Address: Av. Pedro León Torres. CC Sotavento

Public hospitals

Address: Av. Libertador
  • Hospital Dr. Luis Gómez López
Address: Barrio La Feria

Transportation

The Transbarca system is a new "bus rapid transit" system under construction, which was originally planned to use trolleybuses. When construction began, in 2006, the system was projected to serve an average of 170,000 people per day when completed, using 80 trolleybuses operating along of exclusive lanes, across the metropolitan area. Service was planned to include an express route of along with one local route of. With 52 stations, the BRT system is to include a centralized system of communication and security, and structures for easy access for elderly and disabled people. It is to be complemented with feeder routes, covering the areas of Greater Barquisimeto the BRT line will not serve, which will connect with the main line at terminal stations.
Although 80 articulated trolleybuses were purchased from Neoplan and delivered around 2008–09, the plans to operate the Transbarca system with those vehicles were dropped in 2013. In addition to reasons of cost, an inadequate supply of electricity with which to power the system was cited in the announcement of the decision.
  • Buses are the main means of mass transportation. The system runs a variety of bus types, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues:bus; large buses.buseta; medium-sized buses.microbus or colectivo; vans or minivans.rapiditos; old cars with capacity for 5 or more people.
The city has an airport called Jacinto Lara International Airport.

Sports

The city is home to several notable baseball and football teams. Several other sports also have Barquisimeto as their home.

Notable people