Porlamar () is the most populated city, major seaport and major center in the state of

Nueva Esparta The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, Venezuela, Coche, and the lightly inhabited Cubagua. The state is located off the ...

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 ...

. It is situated on the southern coast of

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the ...

, one of three islands in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

off the

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 ...

n mainland which make up the state of Nueva Esparta, at a distance of from the state capital of

La Asunción LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

. Porlamar is the capital of Mariño, the most populous of the eleven municipalities into which the state of Nueva Esparta is divided.

History

The city was founded as Puerto de la Mar (now Porlamar) on the southeast coast in 1536, less than 40 years after

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 ...

first sailed through. In 1561 it was briefly captured by the Latin American conquistador and rebel

Lope de Aguirre Lope de Aguirre (; 8 November 1510 – 27 October 1561) was a Basque Spanish conquistador who was active in South America. Nicknamed ''El Loco'' ("the Madman"), he styled himself "Wrath of God." Aguirre is best known for his final expedition down ...

. Aguirre and his men executed several of the town's residents, including its governor, and looted the royal treasury. Even after Aguirre's demise on the mainland, the beach in which he first landed on the island is still referred to as playa del Tirano (Tyrant's beach) In 1680 the Council of the Indies ordered Juan Fermín de Huidobro to build a fortress with four bastions and a watchtower known as San Carlos Borromeo. Porlamar was a quiet fishing village until the arrival of air travel. Since then it has become the central hub of the island with shops, restaurants and nightlife supported mostly by

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an and Venezuelan tourism.

Demographics

Porlamar is home to about one-third of Margarita Island's population. Playa paraiso

Economy

Porlamar is Margarita Island's center of commerce. Since it was granted free-port status in 1973, its boutique-lined avenues have been crowded with tourists. In the late 1990s came the economic downfall hit Porlamar.

Transportation

Del Caribe International General Santiago Marino Airport (PMV) in Porlamar has charter services to

and

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 ...

as well as scheduled passenger flights to destinations in Venezuela. It is located southwest of the city center.

Geography

Porlamar is situated on the southeast coast of Margarita Island on the bay of Guaraguao, which is shielded from northeast winds by Cabo El Morro. The city is bisected by the seasonal El Valle river.

Climate

Porlamar has 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'') with hot day time temperatures and warm night time temperatures year round. Rainfall peaks from June to August and from November to February. Average sunshine hours are very consistent year round. Porlamar

Twin cities

Cancún Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past role as a link in the route ...

* Miami, USA

Notable people

* Jihad Ayoub (born 1995), Lebanese footballer

References

External links

San Francisco Chronicle article
{{Authority control Margarita Island Cities in Nueva Esparta Populated places established in 1536 Populated coastal places in Venezuela 1536 establishments in the Spanish Empire