Clarines is a town in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Anzoátegui State Anzoátegui State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, located in the northeastern region of the country. Anzoátegui is well known for its beaches that attract many visitors. Its coast consists of a single beach approximately long. Its ca ...

, located on the right bank of the Unare River. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality. It is located on Venezuela Route 11 (Troncal 11) and Route 9 (Troncal 9). Route 9 connects it to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

to the west and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

to the east. The town is from

Puerto La Cruz Puerto La Cruz () is a port city located in Anzoátegui State, in Venezuela. It is the seat of the Juan Antonio Sotillo Municipality. The city has road connections to the state capital, Barcelona, to Lecheria and to Guanta. Geography The cit ...

, and from Puerto Piritu. The estimated population was 15,000 in 2007.

History

When the town was officially founded on 7 April 1594 by Francisco de Vides, a

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 ...

adventurer who came from the

Province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is ...

, there was already a Palenques Indian village there. The town was named after Our Lady of Los Clarines, the patron saint of Beas in Huelva, Andalusia. In 1650 when the Franciscan friars arrived, Clarines was still essentially an Indian village. It was not until the oil boom of the 1960s that Clarines began to change. In 1852, the population of Clarines was 4,289, including 72 people identified as white and 3,321 people identified as indigenous. Alfredo Armas Alfonzo, Venezuelan historian and critic, was born in Clarines in 1921.

Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Ramón Lusinchi (27 May 1924 – 21 May 2014) was the president of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the external debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corrupt ...

, former president of Venezuela, was born in Clarines in 1924.

Attractions

The Museo de Clarines (museum) has items of historical interest including a collection of armaments.

Economy

The local population practices subsistence farming growing plantains, beans, china, cotton, cassava, and corn. Until the exploitation of oil, the only exports were cattle and mules. Nowadays, many small companies that service the oil fields operate out of Clarines.

Notes and references

Sources

* Memoria de la Direccion General de Estadistica al Presidente de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela en 1873 he first national census of Venezuela * Morse, Kimberly J. (2003) "When the Priest Does Not Sympathize with El Pueblo: Clergy And Society in El Oriente Venezolano, 1843–1873" ''The Americas'' – Volume 59, Number 4, April 2003, pp. 511–535.

External links