Barlovento, Venezuela
Barlovento is a sub-region located in the Venezuelan state of Miranda. It includes the municipalities Acevedo, Andrés Bello, Brión, Buroz Páez and Pedro Gual. It is known for its people and their African Venezuelan dances.
The land was the seat of many cacao haciendas in the Colony. The cultural offerings in this region are very attractive; of note are the drums of San Juan in Curiepe, Los Reyes in Higuerote, Los Boleros in Caucagua, the Burial of the Sardine, The Parranda of the Dead in San José de Río Chico, El Niño Jesús in Curiepe, Birongo, Capaya and El Guapo, La Cruz de Mayo, San Pascual. The majority of the population of Barlovento was brought from what presently constitutes the Congo, Zaire (or Belgian Congo) and Angola (corresponding to the cultural area of the African ethnicity Bantu, Kingdom of Loango and Yoruba). When the enslaved were brought in colonial times to work on the cocoa plantations, their cultural and religious manifestations were banned and new religions were imposed on them. Faced with this situation, the enslaved, having no choice but to accept the images of Catholic worship, assigned each saint a deity from their African religion. Thus, San Juan represents one of the most important saints in what experts define as a syncretism of religions.
The region of Barlovento is in the state of Miranda, east of Caracas. The term Barlovento has two meanings: one is geographic and the other is historical and anthropological.
Toponymy
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Barlovento means "Windward" and is the area where the wind comes from, after which it moves to the south of the region where it causes a great rainfall, then returns to the coast to cross the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, bringing rain to the Canary Islands.
Geography and location
The Barlovento region is embedded in the Barlovento depression. This is one of the regions, with its natural physical aspects[1] which form the North Coastal Region, according to the Ministry of Popular Power for Planning and Development. It includes the populations of: Caucagua, Capaya, Río Chico, El Guapo, Higuerote, Panaquire, Tapipa, El Clavo, Curiepe, Birongo, Tacarigua de Brión, San José de Barlovento and Cúpira. Barlovento has an area of 4,647 square kilometers, which represent 58% of the surface of Miranda State. It is located to the east of the Mirandize entity, between the parallels 10 ° and 11 °, north latitude and the meridians 65 ° and 67 °, longitude west. Its terrain is extremely varied, ranging from the mountains of Caucagua to the beaches of Higuerote and Río Chico.
Physical Characteristics
The plain of Barlovento was so named by many of the explorers of the region, among them, the best known was the official chronicler "Jesus A. Silva I." [2]
The Plain of Barlovento is a great plain that extends from the east side by the Valles del Tuy, and then from the west side to the state Anzoátegui, and travels south to the state Guárico. In whose vicinity it extends in an area known on the north and northeast side of the Mirandize state, which are rich in limestone, formed with the material carried by the rivers of its mountains Serranía del Interior, that come from the central sector of the Cordillera de la Costa (Venezuela).
Among its slopes are many grottoes, caves and caverns, but the best known is the Cave Natural Monument "La Tapa de Cambrai",[3] both for its beauty and as a wonderful attraction of interest to scholars of caverns and underground spaces, according to scientists, explorers and tourists, Located in the area of Birongo and discovered in the year 1934 by a poacher of the area, and explored by the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences (Ve / SVCN) of Caracas, on March 9, 1952.
The plain is crossed by numerous rivers, coming from high mountains and depositing a great amount of sediment, the reason that gave origin from the geological point of view to a deposit in an oilfield, that it goes from the basin Valles del Tuy - Cariaco.
Borders
- North: Caribbean Sea.
- South: Serranía del Interior, State Anzoátegui and State Guárico.
- West: Serranía de la Costa of the Cordillera de la Costa, Vargas State and other municipalities of the Miranda State.
- East: Uchire River, Caribbean Sea and Anzoátegui State.
Economy
Barlovento became known as the granary of Caracas because it was once an essentially agricultural region. Nowadays it is a tourist area and a bedroom city of Caracas, experiencing an accelerated growth due to its proximity to the capital, its beautiful coasts and the construction of the Highway Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho. Its economy[4] is based on its terrain, climate and hydrography, and is mainly geared towards tourism and agriculture.
Transportation and roads
Barlovento has an important network of paved roads. Its main avenues are BicentenarioIntercommunal Avenue San José-Río Chico, the Troncal 9th passes through the municipalities of Andrés Bello, Páez, Brión, Broz and Pedro Gual.
Gastronomy
The typical cuisine of Barlovento is a product of the mixture of cultures that settled in the region. It uses local products such as grains, tubers, bananas, fish, seafood, lapa, etc.
One of the oldest dishes is the Cafunga, a recipe inherited from African ancestors consisting of a banana muffin, prepared with cassava, coconut, papelón and anise. Another very popular dish is the Tropezón, composed of white beans cooked with pork skins. It also cooks the Soup of Massey white with sardines and abundant garlic. Tacarigua de la Laguna (Laguna de Tacarigua) is famous for the preparation of the roasted branches. Bañao: Ripe banana cooked to which is added a caramel made of papelón, anise, and spice clove.
Crafts
On the road to Barlovento, along with the side of the road, one can see informal exhibitions. Passing Caucagua, at the height of the village of Yagura, are the well-known replicas of aircraft and military helicopters, made of balsa wood. In the village of Gamelotal, between Caucagua and Tacarigua de Mamporal (Tacarigua de Brión), Adam Expedito López, a sculptor of wood and coconuts, surprises the eye with his imagination and the realism of his works; Pylons, portraits of Bolívar and coconuts with the faces of caciques are some of his many sculptures. Entering Higuerote, just after the beautiful square of the virgin Virgen del Carmen, there are reproductions in the wood of the typical birds of the canals and lagoons of Barlovento, coro-coras, and herons. The famous Curiepe drums called “culo e´puya” or tamboritas de fulía, can be purchased in the town through the well-known "Tucusito".
In Curiepe and almost all of Barlovento, there is a very important craft activity: the production of musical instruments, i.e. the different drums used in the dance. Among them, one can find the curbata, the mina and the cule puya with its prima, cruzao and pujao varieties. Another elaborate musical instrument is the furruco, of frequent use in the accompaniment of Christmas songs. In San Nicolás, a small community located on the road that leads from Curiepe to Birongo, crafts are done, such as carpentry, basketry, textiles and musical instruments. In San José de Río Chico, pylons, pans, canoes, manars, mats, baskets for collecting and loading cacao, hammocks and fishing nets, and musical instruments such as drums and furrucos are produced. In Río Chico hammocks for rest and fishing are made, and musical instruments. They use the same raw material that is used in the rest of the region.
Folklore
Its folklore is of great importance, composed mainly of Afro-Venezuelan drums. The drum of Barlovento, in its different varieties (Redondo, culo e’ puya, mina, and cumaco) on Sundays becomes an essential spiritual part of the barloventeño.
On June 24, the celebrations in honor of Saint John the Baptist are celebrated in Venezuela, celebrations that are of singular importance, from the colonial time to the present. The date established by the Church to commemorate the Saint coincides approximately with the winter solstice. The feast of Saint John the Baptist is of singular significance and strength in those black populations. In Barlovento it is celebrated in all its towns.
Municipalities
Acevedo: It is the largest of the Barlovento region and the one furthest to the west, with an estimated population of 150,281.
Andrés Bello: It has a population of 59,342 and has the third greatest commercial growth after Higuerote and Río Chico.
Brión Municipality: It has the fastest growth of the Barlovento region, with an estimated population of 78,940.
Buroz. It is, along with the municipality Pedro Gual, of slower growth and conserves its colonial houses and narrow streets. It has 38.945 inhabitants.
Páez: The second fastest-growing town with 62,723 inhabitants.
Pedro Gual: The easternmost of the 6 municipalities, it has 42,831 people.
Recreation Sites
Barlovento has beautiful beaches, private clubs, and large residential complexes. Among the most outstanding hotels are the AB Beach Hotel, Barlovento Hotel, Campomar, Las Olas Resort, Aguamarina among others. Currently, the Cabo Mall Shopping Center is under construction, the largest in the Barlovento region, which will have 10,500 meters of commercial area and parking for boats.
It also has beaches such as: Los Totumos, Paparo, La Cangrejera, Chirere, Puerto Francés, Machurucuto, Playa Pintada beaches, etc.
References
- ↑ http://www.minamb.gob.ve/files/Ordenacion%20del%20Territorio/4.2-ASPECTOS-FISICOS-NATURALES-revisado.pdf
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/http://www.cronistasilvairazabal.com/165234989
- ↑ http://wikimapia.org/20025874/es/Monumento-Natural-Cueva-la-Tapa-de-Cambural
- ↑ http://oggisioggino.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/estado-miranda.jpg
