Macuro, 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 ...

, located a few miles from

Bocas del Dragón The Bocas del Dragón (Dragon's Mouths) are the series of straits separating the Gulf of Paria from the Caribbean Sea. There are four Bocas, from west to east: * The Boca Grande or Grand Boca separates Chacachacare from the Paria Peninsula and ...

, is a small fishing town overlooking a peaceful bay on the south-west side of the

Paria peninsula The Paria Peninsula () is a large peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, in the state of Sucre in northern Venezuela. Geography Separating the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Paria, the peninsula is part of the mountain range, in the Venezuelan Coa ...

, in

Sucre state The Sucre State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is Cumaná city. Sucre State covers a total surface area of and, as of the 2011 census, had a population of 896,921. The most important river in ...

. Macuro has the historical distinction of being the only part of the American continent visited by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

. During Columbus's third expedition, on August 1498, Columbus arrived to the

Eastern Region, Venezuela The Eastern Region is one of the 10 Administrative regions of Venezuela, administrative regions in which Venezuela was divided for its development plans; it comprises the states of Anzoátegui State, Anzoátegui, Monagas State, Monagas, and Sucre ...

and spent days interacting with the natives. He believed the area to be a large island at first, christening the region "Tierra de Gracia" or Land of Grace. A small mission-town was formally established in 1738 under the name of San Carlos Barromeo de Macuro. The town numbered over 1,000 people who lived off the harvest of cocoa and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Venezuelan government decided to build a port to serve as an intermediate transfer point for cargo. In 1903, president

Cipriano Castro José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (12 October 1858 – 4 December 1924) was a Venezuelan politician and Officer (armed forces), officer of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, military who served as president of Venezuela, president from ...

inaugurated the Cristobal Colon port. Its deep waters were ideal for receiving large ships. The town became the capital of Cristobal Colon Federal Territory and enjoyed a considerable level of activity. However in 1935, president

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, politician and '' de facto'' ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions d ...

ordered the port to be closed, and stopped all expansion activities. All the equipment and facilities were transferred to nearby

Güiria Güiria is the capital city of Valdez Municipality in the Venezuelan States of Venezuela, state of Sucre (state), Sucre. Güiria was the place where the Spanish American wars of independence, military campaign for South American independence set ...

. Early in the 20th Century, when

seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characterist ...

started to become the main means of air travel,

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

used the bay of Macuro as the place where its passengers to Trinidad would disembark, due to the serenity of its waters; from there they would be taken by boat to the island a few miles away. Macuro never had any terrestrial links, and all communications were by sea. This changed in the year 2000 when a small road connecting the town to Guiria, 65 kilometers away, was opened. Today the population of Macuro is under 2,400 people. A cement company owns a

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

extraction facility there; it is the major source of jobs. The other main economic activity is fishing. The lack of job opportunities causes many young men to leave the town, seeking employment elsewhere. Luis Estaba is one of the famous people to be born in the Macuro are

Because of its proximity to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and the presence of many small vessels engaged in narcotraffic and smuggling in the area, the National Guard permanently operates a small naval station with the purpose of patrolling the area. Each year, a large number of sea turtles lay their eggs in the beaches of Macuro.

References

External links

Map of Sucre state showing the location of MacuroMacuro tourism foundation
{{Coord, 10, 39, N, 61, 56, W, region:VE_type:city, display=title Populated coastal places in Venezuela Populated places in Sucre (state) Populated places established in 1738 1738 establishments in the Spanish Empire