Maracay (population: 2001 census 850.000, Maracay and the "metropolitan" area, in 2005 a estimated of 1.367.217 ) in central Venezuela and is the capital and most important city of Aragua State. It is the municipal seat of Girardot Municipality.

It was officially established on March 5, 1701, by Bishop Diego de Baños y Sotomayor in the valleys of Tocopio and Tapatapa (what is known today as the central valley of Aragua) in northern Venezuela. It was named Maracay after a local indigenous chief. Maracay (Mara-kai, association of ancient Caribbean words, which embody strong ideas for the chief names of Caciques, like north-American Indians; also Yaguara for Jaguar today.) seems to mean "Tiger" in an ancient Caribbean language.

Today Maracay is a modern city with a large manufacturing park. Main products are paper, textiles and chemicals.

Maracay is also the home of the local baseball team "Tigres de Aragua".

In Spanish, Maracay is known as "Ciudad Jardín", or "Garden City". Maracay was the name of a Cacique (Caribe Indian Chief) of the indigenous people that lived in the area before the Spanish discovery of America.

Maracay is the cradle of Venezuelan aviation, and it is home to the two largest Air Force bases in the country, in addition to other military facilities including an Army Armor division and the Venezuelan Paratroopers main base and training center. It is also home to the government-owned ammunition and weapons factory that produces the Venezuelan version of the FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Leger - Light Automatic Rifle) rifle. Maracay is a military city.

Maracay has good transportation facilities and infrastructure that effectively connects it to the rest of the country, it is linked to most other important localities by the Autopista Regional del Centro (Central Regional Highway), it also has good access to the only, small railway system in the country. The city boasts the national Hidroplane airport, located on the shore of the Lago de Valencia (Lake of Valencia).

One of the most important cities in Venezuela, Maracay is primarily an industrial and commercial center, the city produces textiles, paper, cement, tobacco, cattle derived foods, such as milk or meat conserves, as well as soap and perfumes. Even though it is an industrial center, the surroundings of Maracay live of an intensive agriculture, where sugarcane, tobacco, coffee and cocoa stand out as the main products. There are also cattle-herding and timber-cutting activities.

The mountains on the north side of Maracay, that separate it from the coast, make up the Henri Pittier National Park, named after the Swiss naturalist that studied them. The park is a very lush rainforest, with a great variety of ferns. Two very winding roads cut through the park over the mountains to the coast. One, beginning at the North-Central part of the city known as Urbanización El Castaño, goes to the beach town of Choroní. The other, beginning at the North-Western part of the city known as Urbanización El Limón, goes to Ocumare de la Costa and the beaches of Cata and Catica.

Maracay was affected by a rapid growth during Juan Vicente Gómez's dictatorship, from 1908 to 1935, year of his death in this very city. Gómez saw Maracay as a suitable place to make his residence during his rule, and his mere presence caused the city to grow very quickly. During his stay at Maracay, Gómez ordered the construction of an Arc of Triumph, a bull plaza (a near replica of the one in Seville, Spain), an Ópera, and, most notably, the Hotel Jardín (Garden Hotel), a majestic, tourist attraction with very large gardens. The city is home to the Mausoleo de Gómez (Gómez's mausoleum), where the dictator's remains are stored; it also houses the Faculty of Veterinarians and Agronomy of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, as an extension of the Universidad de Carabobo.

Mass media in Maracay

TV Stations

• TVS
• TRV (Orbivisión)
• Color TV
• TIC TV Televisión Informativa del Centro
• Novavisión TV
• Aragua TV

Newspapers

• El Aragüeño
• El Periodiquito
• El Siglo
• El Impreso

Maracay in the web

• MaracayUp
• Maracay Extrema
• En Aragua

Born in Maracay

• Juan-Carlos Bianchi, tennis player
• Miguel Cabrera, baseball player
• Carlos Guillén, baseball player
• Luis González, baseball player
• Ray Olmedo, baseball player
• Alicia Machado, 1996 Miss Universe

External Links

• Official site of the Girardot Municipality
• The Maracay´s Map

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