Vallegrande (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, meaning 'Big Valley') is a small colonial town in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, located in the Department of Santa Cruz, some southwest of

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

. It is the capital of the

Vallegrande Province Vallegrande is a province in the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. Subdivision The province is divided into 5 ''municipios'' (municipalities): See also *La Higuera ; ) is a small village in Bolivia located in the Province of Vallegrande, in ...

and

Vallegrande Municipality Vallegrande Municipality is the first municipal section of the Vallegrande Province in the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. Its capital is Vallegrande. Administrative divisions The municipality of Vallegrande is divided into sixteen cantons. ...

and serves as a regionally important market town. The town was the first burial site of revolutionary

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

, after his 1967 execution.

Geography

Overview

The town lies in a big valley (hence the name) at an altitude of 2,030 m (6,660 ft) and has approximately 6,000 inhabitants. It has a mild temperate climate due mainly to its valley location, altitude, and the cold winter fronts the sweep the plains of Santa Cruz known as "Surazo".

Climate

Vallegrande has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cwb''). Temperatures are relatively temperate annually, with high levels of diurnal temperature variation due to the altitude. Precipitation falls mainly during summer storms, while winter is marked by a drying period.

Climate

Economy

The main industries in the area revolve around agriculture and its derived products. The region is mainly dedicated to the production of grains such as corn and wheat, and fruits such as peaches, apples, grapes, pears, chirimoyas and plums. Among the value added products the most important are homemade bread, ''chamas'', fruit liquor, wine, handmade rugs, and other handcrafts.

Transport

Vallegrande can be accessed via a spur road branching off the (old, southern) Santa Cruz to

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

highway and has an airstrip off Av Circunvalación 2do Anillo.

Personalities

Che Guevara

On October 8, 1967, the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

revolutionary

was captured by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

-assisted

Bolivian Army The Bolivian Army () is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. Figures on the size and composition of the Bolivian army vary considerably, with little official data available. It is estimated that the army has between 26,000 and 6 ...

nearby

La Higuera ; ) is a small village in Bolivia located in the Province of Vallegrande, in the Department of Santa Cruz. It is situated in the La Higuera Canton (civil parish) belonging to the Pucará Municipality. Geography The village is situated some ...

, where he was killed the next day. The body was buried in Vallegrande, on an airstrip near Av. Circunvalación 2do Anillo, and was returned to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in October 1997, where he was buried in a mausoleum in Santa Clara. A "Che Guevara Mausoleum" is located in Vallegrande on the former burial site and can be visited by tourists.Che Sat Here: The Making (and Marketing) of a Martyr
by Alex Ayala Ugarte, ''Virginia Quarterly Review'', Winter 2009 Issue

Edil Casiano Sandoval Morón.

Important Bolivian politician in the decades of the 1960s and 2000s, he was named illustrious son of Vallegrande.

References

External links

Vallegrande.org website

Vallegrande.com.bo website

{{Authority control Populated places in Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia) Che Guevara Populated places established in 1612 1612 establishments in the Spanish Empire