Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern

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 ...

, on the western shore of the strait that connects

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo () is located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo, and Mérida. While Maracaibo is commonly referred to as a lake, its current hydrological characteristics may better classify it as estuary and/or ...

to the

Gulf of Venezuela The Gulf of Venezuela is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and by La Guajira Department, Colombia. The western side is formed by the Guajira Peninsula. A strait connects it with Maracaibo Lake to ...

. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is the second-largest city proper in Venezuela, after the national capital,

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 ...

, and the capital of the state of

Zulia Zulia State (, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is also one of t ...

. The population of the city is approximately 2,658,355
with the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

estimated at 5,278,448 .
/ref> Maracaibo is nicknamed "The Beloved Land of the Sun" (). Maracaibo is considered the economic center of western Venezuela, owing to the petroleum industry that developed in the shores of

. It is sometimes known as "The First City of Venezuela", for being the first city in Venezuela to adopt various types of public services, including electricity, as well as for being located in the shores of Lake Maracaibo, where the name of Venezuela allegedly originates. Early indigenous settlements around the area were of Arawaks, Arawak and Carib origin. Maracaibo's founding date is disputed. There were failed attempts to found the city—in 1529, by Captain Ambrosio Ehinger, and in 1569, by Captain Alonso Pacheco. Founded in 1574 as Nueva Zamora de la Laguna de Maracaibo by Captain Pedro Maldonado, the city became a transshipment point for inland settlements after

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, at the head of the lake, had been destroyed by pirates in 1669. It was not until the first decades of the 17th century that the first town was settled. Petroleum was discovered in 1917, leading to a large increase in population from migration. Maracaibo is served by

La Chinita International Airport La Chinita International Airport is an international airport serving Maracaibo, the capital of Zulia State, Venezuela. It is located southwest of Maracaibo proper in the municipality of San Francisco Municipality, Zulia, San Francisco. La Chini ...

. The

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge is located at the Tablazo Strait outlet of Lake Maracaibo, in western Venezuela. The bridge connects Maracaibo with much of the rest of the country. It is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a Venezuelan hero ...

connects Maracaibo to the rest of the country.

Etymology

The name Maracaibo is said to derive from the brave ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'' (indigenous chief) Mara, a young native who valiantly resisted the Spaniards and died fighting them. Legend says that when Mara fell, the Coquivacoa shouted "''Mara cayó!''" ("''Mara fell!''"), thus originating the city name—although it would be strange for them to shout in Spanish. Other historians say that the first name of this land in the local language was "Maara-iwo" meaning "Place where serpents abound".

History

Royal Coat of Arms of New Zamora of Maracaibo

Foundation

The first indigenous settlements were of Arawaks, Arawak and Carib origin. Around the main group were the

Añu ''Tropaeolum tuberosum'' (mashua, see below for other names) is a species of flowering plant in the family Tropaeolaceae, grown in the Andes, particularly in Peru and Bolivia, and to a lesser extent in Ecuador as well as in some areas of Colombi ...

tribe who built rows of

stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

s all over the northern riviera of Lake Maracaibo. The first Europeans arrived in 1499. The city was founded three times: the first time was during the

Klein-Venedig ( German for 'Little Venice') or Welserland () was the most significant territory of the German colonization of the Americas, from 1528 to 1546, in which the Welser banking and patrician family of the Free Imperial Cities of Augsburg and Nure ...

period (1528–1546), when the

Welser Welser was a German banking and merchant family, originally a patrician family based in Augsburg and Nuremberg, that rose to great prominence in international high finance in the 16th century as bankers to the Habsburgs and financiers of Cha ...

bankers of

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

received a concession over

Venezuela Province The Venezuela Province (or Province of Caracas) was a province of the Spanish Empire (from 1527), of Gran Colombia (1824–1830) and later of Venezuela (from 1830), apart from an interlude (1528–1546) when it was contracted as a concession by t ...

from

Charles I of Spain Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

. In August 1529, the German

Ambrosius Ehinger Ambrosius Ehinger, also (Ambrosio Alfínger in Spanish) Dalfinger, Thalfinger, (ca. 1500 in Thalfingen near Ulm – 31 May 1533 near Chinácota in modern-day Colombia) was a German conquistador and the first governor of the Welser conces ...

made his first expedition to

, which was bitterly opposed by the indigenous Coquivacoa. After winning a series of bloody battles, he founded the settlement on 8 September 1529. Ehinger named the settlement New Nuremberg () and the lake after the valiant

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

Mara of the Coquivacoa, who had died in the fighting. The city was renamed Maracaibo after the Spanish took possession. The lack of activity in the zone made

Nikolaus Federmann Nikolaus Federmann (, ) (c. 1505, Ulm – February 1542, Valladolid) was a German adventurer and conquistador in what is modern-day Venezuela and Colombia. He is a significant figure in the history of Klein-Venedig (1528–1546), the concessio ...

evacuate the village in 1535 and move its population to

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

near the then capital of

Santa Ana de Coro Coro is the capital of Falcón, Falcón State and the second oldest city in Venezuela (after Cumaná). It was founded on July 26, 1527, by Juan de Ampíes as Santa Ana de Coro. It was historically known as Neu-Augsburg (from 1528 to 1546) by the ...

. A second attempt by Captain Alonso Pacheco in 1569 suffered a brief setback when the city had to be evacuated in 1573 due to ferocious attacks by native local tribes. The European settlement returned a short while later, in 1574, however, for which it was re-founded by Captain Pedro Maldonado under Governor Diego de Mazariegos's command and assuming the name of Nueva Zamora de Maracaibo. "Nueva Zamora" comes from Mazariego's place of birth, Zamora, in Spain. Since its definite foundation, the town began to develop as a whole. It is based on the western side of

, the dominant feature of the oil-rich Maracaibo Basin. Favored by prevailing winds and a protected harbour, the city is located on the shores of the lake where the narrows, which eventually lead to the

, first become pronounced.

Pirate attacks

The Dutch corsair Henrik de Gerard plundered Maracaibo in 1614, and in 1642 the city was attacked by the British pirate William Jackson. In 1667, l'Olonnais with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of six hundred pirates sacked Maracaibo and Gibraltar. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship, which he captured, along with its rich cargo of cacao,

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s and more than 260,000 pieces of eight. In March 1669,

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

sacked Maracaibo, which emptied when his fleet was first spied and moved on to the Spanish settlement of Gibraltar on the inside of Lake Maracaibo in search of more treasure. A few weeks later, when he attempted to sail out of the lake, Morgan found an occupied fort blocking the inlet to the Caribbean, along with three Spanish ships. These were the ''Magdalena'', the ''San Luis'', and the ''Soledad''. He destroyed the Magdalena and burned the San Luis by sending a dummy ship full of gunpowder to explode near them, after which the crew of the ''Soledad'' surrendered. By faking a landward attack on the fort, thereby convincing the Spanish governor to shift his cannon, he eluded their guns and escaped. In June 1678, Michel de Grammont, the French commander of six ships and 700 men, captured Maracaibo then followed the plundering of several smaller towns as

, penetrating as far inland as Trujillo.

Venezuelan Independence

In 1810, the province of Maracaibo did not join the

First Republic of Venezuela The First Republic of Venezuela () was the first independent government of Venezuela, lasting from 5 July 1811, to 25 July 1812. The period of the First Republic began with the overthrow of the Spanish colonial authorities and the establishment ...

and remained loyal to the

Spanish crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. Maracaibo then held the seat of the

Captaincy General of Venezuela The Captaincy General of Venezuela (), was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela, previously under the ju ...

. In 1821, uprisings in favor of independence began to lead to warfare and hostility. The royalists, led by Francisco Tomás Morales, fought against the patriots, led by

Rafael Urdaneta Rafael José Urdaneta y Farías (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence. After overthrowing President Joaquín Mosquera in a 1830 military coup, he served as Pre ...

, to take back control over the province in the Juana de Ávila Battle, and Morales brought back Spanish rule in 1822 until he was defeated in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, culminating Venezuela's struggle for independence.

Isolation period

For about 380 years, Maracaibo remained isolated and separated from the rest of the country. Transportation to the area was possible through the lake via boats and ferries. Commerce and culture flowed between Maracaibo and the Caribbean Sea, particularly the Dutch Antilles, Colombian coastal cities, Cuba, Hispaniola and later on Miami, New York and Hamburg. This isolation from the rest of Venezuela was both a challenge and an advantage. The very nature of the city's location made for a population known for their independent thought and character. The history of this region is rife with stories about the creation of an independent and sovereign nation apart from Venezuela, a nation called , 'the Independent Republic of Zulia', but this has never come to be. Come the 20th century, cars, buses, and lorries, with their constant flow of manufactured goods and agricultural product to and from the city port, depended on ferry services between the city and the eastern shore which was poorly connected to the country's motorway system. Maracaibo and the Lake Maracaibo region's economy was more linked to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and the Caribbean than to eastern Venezuela due to the natural route available through Lake Maracaibo then leading to the sea. In January 1903, as the naval blockade of Venezuela continued during the negotiations with presidente

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 ...

, the German

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

attempted to enter

, which was a center of German commercial activity. On 17 January, it exchanged fire with the settlement of Fort San Carlos, but withdrew after half an hour, as shallow waters prevented it getting close enough to the fort to be effective. The Venezuelans claimed this as a victory, and in response the German commander sent the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...

, with heavier weapons, to set an example. On 21 January, ''Vineta'' bombarded the fort, setting fire to it and destroying it, with the death of 25 civilians in the nearby town. In 1908, the ''Friesland'', ''

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

'' and ''

Jacob van Heemskerck Jacob van Heemskerck (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutch explorer and naval officer. He is generally known for his victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Gibraltar, where he ultimately lost his life. Early life Jacob van Hee ...

'' were sent to patrol the Venezuelan coast during the second Castro crisis. ''Friesland'' guarded the entry way to Maracaibo.

Building of the bridge

The dictatorial regime of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 1950s set as a goal the construction of a bridge connecting the two lake shores. Various bridge projects for the spanning of the Lake Maracaibo narrows near the city were in the works. The general's government had decided that this "city of independent thought" should be more "connected" to the rest of the country. Proposals for a bridge design that included rail transport and tourist facilities were seriously considered. The fall of the Pérez Jiménez regime on January 23, 1958, quickly led to a less elaborate design project that was approved and funded by a democratic and more financially responsible government. The building of ('

over Lake Maracaibo') named after the distinguished general and war of independence

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

was opened to public traffic in 1962 connecting the city to its opposite shore neighbors and the rest of the country through a new system of highways. The project was completed on schedule in 40 months. This bridge construction project was a remarkable feat. Built under very difficult conditions, when completed, it became the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the world. The structure is in constant use and remains today as the most important link between Maracaibo, along with much of the state of Zulia, and the rest of Venezuela.

Modern times

François de Pons, an agent to the French government in Caracas, provides some historical insight into the people of Maracaibo in his travel journal . The following excerpts describe the local population of Maracaibo: :"They perform coasting, or long voyages, with equal facility; and when all trade is suspended by the operations of war, they enter privateers. Bred up in the neighbourhood of the lake, they are mostly all expert swimmers and excellent divers. Their reputation stands equally high as soldiers. Those who do not enter into the sea service, form plantations, or assist in cultivating those that belong to their fathers. Nothing proves better their aptitude for this kind of occupation, than the immense flocks of cattle with which the savannas of Maracaybo are covered." He also notes the appreciation of literature, the arts, education, and culture among the people of Maracaibo: :"But what confers the greatest honour on the inhabitants of Maracaibo, is their application to literature; in which, notwithstanding the wretched state of public education, they make considerable progress....They likewise acquired the art of elocution, and of writing their mother tongue with the greatest purity; in a word, they possessed all the qualities that characterise men of letters." Maracaibo has become a large metropolitan city, comprising two municipalities: the municipality of Maracaibo proper, and the municipality of San Francisco, established in 1995, to the south. In recent years, due to political/economic and cultural reasons, many have moved to Maracaibo from rural areas and other cities (including

). Maracaibo also boasts one of the best universities in the country, the state university, '' La Universidad del Zulia'' (LUZ) is well renowned for its excellent law, medical and engineering schools as many other disciplines. Other universities and schools include

Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

(URBE) and Universidad Rafael Urdaneta, with one of the country's leading psychology schools. However, recent political instability has led to the decline of the universidad. The Diocese of Maracaibo (23 July 1965) was elevated to

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

on 30 April 1966 by Pope Paulus VI. Maracaibo was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1985. Since November 2000, its Archbishop has been Ubaldo Ramón Santana Sequera. In 2019, power outages and widespread poverty caused a citywide wave of violence and looting, resulting in mass emigration, most of which was headed to the United States.

Economy

Zulia's main income comes from oil extraction and refining, agriculture (coffee, rice, maize, cassava, cocoa, sugar cane), livestock production, and mining (clay, limestone, coal and sand).

Geography

The municipality of Maracaibo is divided into 18 parishes as follows:

Districts

Climate

Maracaibo is one of the hottest cities in

and all of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

as well. The

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

gives the city a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

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 ...

: ''BSh'') Attenuated only by the moderating influence of the lake; Maracaibo's average historical temperature is . In the past, the climate of the city, indeed all along the coast of Lake Maracaibo, was unhealthy due to the combination of high temperatures with high humidity. Today, control of plagues and the effects of urban development has largely eradicated these health problems. The registered high temperature of the city is , and the lowest is .

Education

Colleges and universities

Several universities are based in the city: * Universidad del Zulia - (LUZ) * Nacional Experimental de la Fuerza Armada UNEFA * Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín - (URBE) * Universidad Rafael Urdaneta * Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta * Universidad Dr. José Gregorio Hernández * Universidad Bolivariano de Venezuela sede Zulia * Universidad Nacional Abierta (UNA) Centro Local Zulia

International schools

* Escuela Bella Vista (American school) * Colegio Alemán de Maracaibo, formerly Colegio Alemán del Zulia (German school)

Sports

Due to the regionalistic nature of Marabinos, they strongly support their native teams. Maracaibo, and the rest of Zulia, are represented in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

by the Águilas del Zulia, a Venezuelan winter league team that plays in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, and is based in the Estadio Luis Aparicio El Grande. The city's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team is Gaiteros del Zulia, which plays in the

Liga Profesional de Baloncesto The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division national professional basketball league. Founded in 1974 as the Liga Especial de Baloncesto, it adopted the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto i ...

de Venezuela. Its home is the 5.000-people ''Pedro Elías Belisario Aponte'' stadium. Other teams include the Unión Atlético Maracaibo and the Zulia FC in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, the Maracaibo Rugby Football Club and the Zulianos Rugby Club. In the 2000 Little League World Series, the Sierra Maestra Little League of Maracaibo, Venezuela defeated Bellaire Little League of Bellaire, Texas in the championship game of the 54th Little League World Series. The Coquivocoa Little League team from Maracaibo placed third in the 1974 Little League World Series. Rugby in Venezuela was first played in Maracaibo, thanks to the influence of the English community based on the

Zulia State Zulia State (, ; Wayuu language, Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the States of Venezuela, 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Vene ...

Team: * Baseball: Águilas del Zulia BBC. * Basketball: Gaiteros del Zulia * Soccer: Unión Atlético Maracaibo, Zulia FC * Rugby: Maracaibo Rugby Football Club "Oil Blacks", Zulianos Rugby Club

Culture

Culture in Maracaibo maintains strong Indigenous influences, from its gaitas, desserts, style, and other customs. Most major houses of advertising in Venezuela acknowledge how different the culture of Maracaibo is from that of Caracas. Studies of both prove, for example, that Caracas' leading soft drink brand is Coke, while in Maracaibo it is

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

. This has made many brands create special localized advertising of their products (including several Pepsi commercials spoken by local celebrities). The Gaita is a style of Venezuelan folk music from Maracaibo. According to Joan Corominas, it may come from gaits, the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the "furro" instrument. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro, charrasca and tambora (Venezuelan drum). Song themes range from humorous and love songs to protest songs. The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa and merengue in the 1970s. Famous gaita groups include Maracaibo 15, Gran Coquivacoa, Barrio Obrero, Cardenales del Éxito, Koquimba, Melody Gaita, Guaco, Estrellas del Zulia, Saladillo, and many others.

Museums, cultural centers and theaters

* Zulia Contemporary Art Museum (MACZUL) * General Rafael Urdaneta Museum * "Balmiro León" Municipal Graphic Arts Museum * Maracaibo's Fine Arts Centre * Maracaibo's " Lía Bermúdez" Art Centre * Baralt Theatre * Museum of Gaita

Libraries

* Public Library of Zulia * "Arturo Uslar Pietri" Public Library * "Dr. Pedro Alciro Barboza de la Torre" Library * "Simón Palmar" Public Library * Biblioteca Pública "Luís Guillermo Pineda Belloso" (De carácter público, bilingüe y circulante) * "Pedagógica" Specialized Public Library * "SEDINI" Specialized Public Library * "Dr. Nectario Andrade Labarca" Private Library

Notable people

* Tito Abbo, Jr. - coffee trader, entrepreneur * Wilyer Abreu - baseball player * Teolindo Acosta - baseball player * José Andrés Martínez - professional MLS soccer player * Gustavo Aguado - musician, singer and leader of Guaco music band * Ricardo Aguirre - composer and singer * Daniel Alvarado - singer and actor * Junior Alvarado - jockey * Wilson Álvarez - Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher * Ernesto Aparicio - former shortstop in Venezuelan League Baseball *

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League ...

- shortstop, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame * Rafael Maria Baralt - diplomat, writer, philologist, historian * Jessica Barboza Schmidt - model and beauty pageant * Omar Barboza- politician * Huascar Barradas - flutist * Evert Bastet - Canadian sailor. He won a silver medal in the Flying Dutchman Class at the 1984 Summer Olympics * José Bracho - baseball pitcher * Lionel Belasco - pianist, composer and bandleader, best known for his calypso recordings * Marisela Berti - actress, singer, show host and beauty queen * Silvino Bracho - baseball pitcher * Antonio Briñez - first manager to win a National Amateur Baseball championship to Venezuela * María Calcaño - poet * José Antonio Casanova - baseball player and team manager * Abel Castellano Jr. - jockey *

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977) is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. In 2023 he won two legs of the American Tripl ...

- jockey

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. Hall of Fame * Leopoldo Castillo - journalist. TV host * Gustavo Chacín - baseball player * Jackson Chourio - baseball player * Fernando Chumaceiro - lawyer and politician * Johana Clavel - cook and entrepreneur * Luis Contreras - baseball player * Gilberto Correa - TV host * David Cubillan - basketball player * Chiquinquirá Delgado - actress and TV host * Elías Díaz - MLB baseball player * Xabier Elorriaga- actor * Heraclio Fernández - pianist and composer * Lupita Ferrer - actress * Juan Fuenmayor - soccer player * Manuel Gogorza- military * Betulio González - boxer * Carlos González - baseball player * Geremi González - Major League Baseball player for several teams * Inés González Árraga - chemist and former political prisoner * Mariana González Parra - fencer * Ulises Hadjis - singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist * Alejandro Hernández - Internet comedian * Jonathan Herrera - baseball player * Wilmer Herrison - painter * Fred Hoos – Canadian field hockey player * Ender Inciarte - MLB baseball player * Daniela Larreal - cyclist sprinter * Ninibeth Leal - Miss Venezuela World 1991, Miss World 1991 *

Tulio Enrique León Tulio Enrique León (October 11, 1938 ‒ March 18, 1982) was a Venezuelan organist, composer, and arranger. Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, he would become one of Venezuela's most popular artists and came to be known as ''El Artista del Teclado'' ...

- blind organist, composer, and arranger * Sandy León - MLB baseball player * Carlos López Bustamante - journalist, known for his opposition to

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 ...

* Eduardo López Bustamante - journalist, lawyer, and poet * Teresa López Bustamante - journalist, founder of the Catholic Venezuelan newspaper * Eduardo López Rivas - editor and journalist * Roberto Lückert León - Roman Catholic prelate * Betty Cecilia Lugo - philanthropist * Julio Machado - Major League Baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

* Carlos Ramírez MacGregor - journalist, politician and writer * Domingo Marcucci - shipbuilder and shipowner in San Francisco, California * Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla - philosopher, rector of Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela) * Armando Molero - songwriter * Carlos Molina Tamayo - navy militar *

Ricardo Montaner Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner (born 8 September 1957), better known as Ricardo Montaner (), is an Argentine-born Venezuelan singer. Since starting his career in the late 1970s, he has released more than 24 albums, and many successful singles ...

- Venezuelan musician * Carmen Maria Montiel - Miss Venezuela 1984, Miss Universe 1984 2nd runner-up * Carlos Caridad-Montero - film producer * Humberto Fernández Morán - research scientist, founded the Venezuelan scientific research institute * Lila Morillo - actress and singer * Francisco Ochoa - first President of the Universidad del Zulia * Rougned Odor - MLB baseball player * Gastón Parra Luzardo- Economist president of

PDVSA Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (acronym PDVSA, , English language, English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as e ...

in 2002 *

Gerardo Parra Gerardo Enrique Parra (born May 6, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder and current first base coach for the Washington Nationals. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

- MLB baseball player * Nestor Perez Luzardo - lawyer and singer * Felipe Pirela - singer *

Nick Pocock Nicholas Edward Julian Pocock (born 15 December 1951) is an English former first-class cricketer who played county cricket for Hampshire between 1976 and 1984, making over a hundred appearances in both first-class and one-day cricket. He serv ...

- former cricketer, ex-captain of

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...

* Oswaldo Álvarez Paz - First elected Governor * L. Rafael Reif -

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and the 17th President of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

* Graciela Rincón Calcaño - poet * Rafael Romero Sandrea - track and field athlete * Daniel Sarcos -

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

TV host * Jefferson Savarino - footballer * Monica Spear - Miss Venezuela 2004, Miss Universe 2005 4th runner-up, actress * Orlando Urdaneta - actor *

- hero of the Latin American war for independence * Vivian Urdaneta - Miss Venezuela International 2000, Miss International 2000 * Patricia Van Dalen - painter * Patricia Velásquez - actress and international top model * Leonardo Villalobos - actor and television personality

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Maracaibo is twinned with:Sister Cities designated b
Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)
. Retrieved June 8, 2006. *

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany *

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa *

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, United States *

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States *

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

References

Sources

External links

*
Panorama Digital
- Largest Maracaibo based newspaper
La Verdad
- Maracaibo-based newspaper {{Authority control Cities in Zulia Municipalities of Zulia Lake Maracaibo Port cities in the Caribbean Port cities in Venezuela Populated places established in 1529 Ports and harbours of Venezuela