Santa Cruz de la Sierra

This article is about the Bolivian city. For other cities named Santa Cruz, see the Santa Cruz page

Santa Cruz de La Sierra, commonly known as simply Santa Cruz, is, with a population of roughly 1.5 million residents, the capital city of the Department of Santa Cruz in Bolivia.

Location

The city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is located in the eastern part of the country (17°45' South, 63°14' West) at 416 m above sea level. Thisi city is part of the province of Andres Ibañez and is the capital of the department (state) of Santa Cruz. The city is considered the largest city in the department of Santa Cruz.

Geography

The city, though usually warm, experiences chill winds that blow from the Argentine pampas called surazos. The climate of the city is around the 21C (70F). Since the city is in an altitude of 416 meters above sea level, the city has a sunny and semi-tropical weather. The majority of the country is in a higher leveled altitud (for example, La Paz, is the highest capital in the world). The geography of the country is overall steeped into decreasing altitude from west to east. The region is amongst the most humid of the country.

History

Santa Cruz de La Sierra was first founded on February 26, 1560 by Ñuflo de Chávez who gave the new settlement its name, which means "Holy Cross of the Hills," in honor of his beloved native city in Extremadura, Spain. The original settlement was actually 220 km east of its current location, only a few kilometers south of today's San José de Chiquitos. After conflicts with savages the town was moved to its present position on the banks of the Piraí River in 1592. Some remains of the original settlement can be visited in the Santa Cruz la Vieja ("Old Santa Cruz") archeological site south of San José de Chiquitos (which was founded as a Jesuit mission in 1792).

Santa Cruz is connected by railway to Argentina and Brazil, and connected by a road built in the 1950s to Trinidad, Cochabamba and also has newly constructed paved roads to Camiri-Yacuiba-Argentina and another to Cochabamba. It is also the home of Viru Viru International Airport, the largest airport in Bolivia, as well as the El Trompillo Airport, a local airport used mainly by private planes.

As the city was fairly isolated until the early 20th century, Santa Cruz has much colonial architecture, including a 16th century cathedral and numerous Jesuit missions.

Gastronomy

The city of Santa Cruz has benefited from a fast paced growing economy for the last 15 years. This has allowed for a multicultural and ethnically diverse city to develop. Despite its fast growth, the city preserves much of it's traditions and culture. This is particuraly relfecte in its typical food. The agricultural richness of the region allows Santa Cruz to enjoy a vast variety of flavours and ingridents. The following is a list describes the most common typical foods:

Typical Foods

Majao or Majadito (a rissoto style plate wich includes dried beef meat) Locro (A very dense, rice based soup contianing vegtables and chiken) Sopa de maní ( Another dense soup, whose base is made of cooked peanuts, crushed and boiled) Typical Drinks

Mocochinchi (This rather strange looking drink consist of sun dried peaches which are boiled with honey and clove) Somó (Corn based drink, served cold,very refireshing.

Typical Pastries Cuñapé (yuca and cheese baked as small bread bunds) Zonzo (yuca and cheese, boiled and mixed in a type of mashed potato consitency, oven baked or grilled)

Others include:

Empanada de arroz, Empanada de queso frita, Empanada de jigote Bizcochos de trigo, Masaco de plátano, Masaco de yuca, Arepas, Salteña.

Trivia

The city has a ring-system of streets.

There are many japanese-origin taxi cabs modified for left-hand driving.

The city was home to the first fast-food establishment in Bolivia. It was located inside a supermarket called "Hypermaxi" and served burgers, fries, and other typical fast-food.

Cities in Bolivia

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Location

Geography

History

Gastronomy

Trivia