Carúpano

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Coordinates: 10°40′N, 63°15′W

Carúpano
Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima in Carúpano
Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima in Carúpano
Flag of Carúpano
Flag		 Official seal of Carúpano
Seal
Bermúdez Municipality in Sucre State
Bermúdez Municipality in Sucre State
Country Venezuela
State Sucre
Municipality Bermúdez
Government
 - Mayor José Ramón Regnault Hernández (MVR)
Area
 - Total 203 km² (78.4 sq mi)
Population (2001)
 - Total 122,195
 - Density 601.95/km² (1,559/sq mi)
 - Demonym carupanero(a)
Time zone VST (UTC-4:30)
 - Summer (DST) not observed (UTC-4:30)
Area code(s) 0294
The area and population figures are for the municipality
Website: bermudez-sucre.gob.ve

Carúpano is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. It is located on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast at the opening of two valleys, some 120 km east of the capital of Sucre, Cumaná.[1] This city is the shire town of the Bermúdez Municipality and, according to the 2001 Venezuelan census, the municipality has a population of 122,195.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

It was somewhere on the Peninsula of Paria, near Carúpano, where Christopher Columbus first set foot on the American continent for the first and only time, during his third voyage (in all his other trips he only explored the Caribbean islands).

It was in Carúpano where Simón Bolívar, the liberator of Venezuela, issued a decree ending slavery in 1814.[3]

Carúpano features a peculiar mixture of races, as during the 19th century it was the target of European immigration from Corsica and Sardinia, among other locations.

At around midnight on May 4, 1962, military officers in rebellion against the government of Rómulo Betancourt, took over the city of Carúpano. The insurgents, under control of Captain Jesús Teodoro Molina Villegas, Major Pedro Vegas Castejón, and Lieutenant Héctor Fleming Mendoza, occupied the city's streets and buildings, the airport, and the radio station, Radio Carúpano, which they used to broadcast their message, calling themselves the Movimiento de Recuperación Democrática (Movement of Democratic Recuperation). President Betancourt demanded that the rebels surrender, but at the same he ordered the air force began to attack the city and the navy began blocking the seaport in an operation called Operacion Tenaza. The following day, the government was able to take over Carúpano and its surroundings, arresting more than 400 military personnel and civilians that were involved in the rebellion. Those involved were Congressman Eloy Torres of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), as well as other member of that party and the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR). As a result, Betancourt suspended constitutional guarantees, accused the PCV and MIR of being involved, and decreed both parties as illegal.[4][5][6][7]

In July 1997, a violent earthquake struck the city and most of the state. This earthquake was centered in the town of Cariaco, where most of the deaths and damage occurred.[8][9]

[edit] Economy

Cacao, coffee, sugar, cotton, timber and rum have been important exports of Carúpano since colonial times. Carupanese rums are highly appreciated nationwide, so the internal consumption usually leaves little surplus rum for export.

As of November 2006, Carúpano is a domestic scheduled destination of Avior Airlines.[10]

[edit] Demographics

The Bermúdez Municipality, according to the 2001 Venezuelan census, has a population of 122,195 (up from 100,794 in 1990). This amounts to 15.5% of Sucre's population.[11] The municipality's population density is 1,559 people per square mile (601.95/km²).[12][13]

[edit] Government

Carúpano is the shire town of the Bermúdez Municipality in Sucre. The mayor of the Bermúdez Municipality is José Ramón Regnault Hernández, elected in 2004 with 53% of the vote.[14] He replaced Claudio Marín Morales shortly after the last municipal elections in October 2004.[15]

[edit] Sites of interest

[edit] House of Cable

The House of Cable was where the first submarine cable between Europe and America arrived, joining the French city of Marseille with Carúpano, back in the late 19th century. This house is today the headquarters of the Tomas Merle foundation and the Paria Project, two organizations that promote tourism and industry.

[edit] Religious buildings

  • Iglesia de Santa Catalina de Siena
  • Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima

[edit] Squares and parks

  • Plaza Bolívar
  • Plaza Colón
  • Plaza Miranda

[edit] Notable natives

Famous Carupaneros include Wolfgang Larrazábal, former president of Venezuela; Jictzad Viña,Miss Venezuela 2005; local Andres Eloy Gonzalez,Eladio Lárez, president of Radio Caracas Television, one of Venezuela's largest television networks; and Washington Nationals major league baseball catcher Jesús Flores.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gobernación Del Estado Sucre
  2. ^ Primeros Resultados XIII Censo General de Población y Vivienda
  3. ^ Carúpano - Venezuela Tuya
  4. ^ El Carupanazo y El Porteñazo - Venezuela Tuya
  5. ^ El Carupanazo fue rebelión de un día
  6. ^ El "Carupanazo" o Insurrección de Carúpano
  7. ^ http://www.jotaceve.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=231
  8. ^ El Observador Online
  9. ^ Crónicas de Desastres - Terremoto de Cariaco, Venezuela (Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) / Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), 1999, 57 p.)
  10. ^ Avior Airlines...un Viaje de Diferencias
  11. ^ Primeros Resultados XIII Censo General de Población y Vivienda
  12. ^ Primeros Resultados XIII Censo General de Población y Vivienda
  13. ^ Gobernación Del Estado Sucre
  14. ^ http://www.cne.gob.ve/regionales2004/17/alcaldedis=0&edo=17&mun=3&par=0&cen=0&mesa=0&cua=0.html
  15. ^ http://www.cne.gob.ve/estadisticas/e016.pdf

[edit] External links