Cúa (founded in 1690) is a small city capital of the Urdaneta Municipality, located in the

Miranda State Miranda State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela and the second most populous after Zulia State. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,675,165 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to ...

(Estado Miranda) in the north of

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 ...

with an altitude of 490 m. Cúa is noted for warm and clear weather, with year-round sunshine and 60 days of rainfall annually, and an average temperature that range from 18 °C to 28 °C, but with relative low humidity. With leafy forest and meadows, Cúa has a population of 123,000 (2004), mainly dedicated to services and industry (plastic pipes, paper rolls) it's a dormitory town. The most important districts of Cúa are: ''Nueva Cúa, Lecumberry, La Fila, Mume, Santa rosa'' and ''Aparay''. The local Sanctuary of the Virgin of Betania has become famous for its attributed

Marian apparitions A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. While sometimes described as a type of vision, apparitions are generally regarded as external manifestations, whereas visions are mor ...

. Cúa is one of the locations served by the IFE Ezequiel Zamora Mass Transportation System.

Foundation

The first establishments of Cúa dates from the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

period, being the first founders the '' Quiriquires'' natives, has like nickname ''The Tuy Pearl'', because its location at the borders of the

Tuy River The Tuy River is a river of northern Venezuela, in the Valles del Tuy (Tuy Valleys) of Miranda State. The principal river of Miranda, it flows north from Aragua State through Miranda into the Caribbean Sea. Tributaries include the Guaire River, ...

. After the officially foundation on October 6, 1690 by Fray ''Manuel de Alesson'', under the invocation of

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary (), also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Titles of Mary, Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October ...

of Cúa, the first inhabitants came from different regions motivated by the agriculture, due to the fertility and strategic location of the valley. However, this town was founded initially at the site known as ''Marín'' in 1633, this first village was destroyed in its totality by a violent earthquake that affected a great part of the Tuy Valleys. The name of Cúa, according to some historians, has it origin from the '' Cumanagotos'' natives, from the

Carib language Carib or Kariʼnja is a Cariban language spoken by the Kalina people (Caribs) of South America. It is spoken by around 7,400 mostly in Brazil, The Guianas, and Venezuela. The language is currently classified as highly endangered, as it is onl ...

that means ''Crab'', meaning that Cúa is the place where the crab abounds. Others affirm that its name is associate with Apacuana, a brave native woman from the region, that fought against the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

. Others think that that name was giving in honor to the native ''Cue'', ally of the Spaniards, that helped in the foundation and consolidation of the town.

Geography

Climate

Law and government

Cúa has one municipality: Urdaneta Municipality. Venezuelan law specifies that municipal governments have four main functions: executive, legislative, comptroller, and planning. The executive function is managed by the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven

councillors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regi ...

, charged with the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

's office, which oversees

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...

. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality. Law and government

Demographics

Cúa has a total area of 273 km² (105.4 mi²), with a population of 123,000 (2004), the city limits by the north with the municipalities Cristóbal Rojas (

Charallave Charallave is a city in the state of Miranda, Venezuela, and part of Miranda's Valles del Tuy region. It is the capital of Cristóbal Rojas Municipality. The name derives from the local ''Charavares'' indigenous people found at the time the ci ...

) and

Guaicaipuro Cacique Guaicaipuro was a legendary native (indigenous) Venezuelan chief of both the Teques and Caracas tribes. Though known today as Guaicaipuro, in documents of the time his name was written Guacaipuro. Life Guaicaipuro formed a powerful coa ...

(''Paracotos'' parish), by the south with ''San Casimiro'' municipality (

Aragua state Aragua State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains, jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular beaches are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first national par ...

), by the east with ''Tomás lander'' municipality (''Santa Bárbara'' and ''Ocumare del Tuy'' parishes) and by the west again with Guicaipuro municipality (''Tácata'' parish). The main routes of communication are the Charallave-Cúa highway, that communicates this cities with the rest of the Tuy Valleys and

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 ...

, in addition to the connection with the ''Regional del Centro'' Freeway, and the road to the Venezuelan plains, the highway to ''Ocumare'' and the highway towards ''Tácata''.

Cúa districts

Parishes

*''Cúa'' *''Nueva Cúa''

Transportation

*Buses are the main means of

mass transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues: ** bus; large buses. ** buseta; medium size buses. ** microbus or colectivo; vans or minivans. * IFE; train services to and from

and

Main avenues

* Perimetral avenue * Monseñor Pellín avenue * José María Carreño street * El Rosario street * El Carmen street * Lecumberry street * San Rafael street * Juan España street * Zamora street

Notable people

Ezequiel Zamora Ezequiel Zamora (; 1 February 1817 – 10 January 1860) was a Venezuelan soldier and leader of the Federalists in the Federal War ''(Guerra Federal)'' of 1859–1863. He participated in the 1846 Venezuelan peasant insurrection against the con ...

José María Carreño Jose Maria Carreño Blanco (19 March 1792 in Cúa – 18 May 1849 in Caracas) was a Venezuelan politician and military person. He was vice-president in the government of José María Vargas, and provisional president of Venezuela as interim car ...

* Cristóbal Rojas * Baudilio Díaz * María Teresa Castillo * Victor Guillermo Ramos Rangel * Evencio Castellanos * Pancho Prin *

Gregor Blanco Grégor Miguel Blanco Pedraza (born December 24, 1983) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbacks. ...

References

External links

FallingRain Map - elevation = 227 (Red dots are railways as at 2000)
(Estado Miranda)
Urdaneta Municipality website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cua Populated places established in 1690 Cities in Miranda (state) 1690 establishments in the Spanish Empire Cúa