Aragua

Aragua
State
Aragua State Estado Aragua (Spanish)
Bahía de Cata
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  God, Fatherland, and Aragua
Anthem: "Himno del Estado Aragua"
Location within Venezuela
Country	Venezuela
Created	1899
Capital	Maracay
Government
• Body	Legislative Council
• Governor	Joana Sánchez (PSUV)
Area
• Total	7,014 km2 (2,708 sq mi)
• Rank	20th
	0.76% of Venezuela
Population  (2011)
• Total	1,630,308
• Rank	6th
	6.28% of Venezuela
Time zone	UTC−4 (VET)
ISO 3166 code	VE-D
Emblematic tree	Samán (Pithecellobium saman)
HDI (2019)	0.738[1] high · 3rd
Website	www.aragua.gob.ve

Aragua State (Spanish: Estado Aragua, IPA: [esˈtaðo aˈɾaɣwa]) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Located in the Central Region of Venezuela, it features plains, jungles, and Caribbean beaches, the most popular of which are Cata and Choroní. It is home to Venezuela's first national park, Henri Pittier National Park. The capital is Maracay; other major cities include Turmero and El Limón.

Aragua State covers a total surface area of 7,014 km² (2,708 sq mi). Based on the 2011 census data, the state had an estimated population of 1,630,308 inhabitants.

The state's name comes from an indigenous word of Cumanagoto (Cariban) origin, used to refer to the chaguaramo, a type of palm from the region. However, according to Carlos Blanco Galeno, a chronicler from Turmero, the name derives from the Cariban aregua, consisting of the morphemes are ("site") and gua, which in turn derives from ogun ("my thing"); thus aregua means "my place, my country". This same word inspired the name of the Aragua River, a major tributary of Lake Valencia.

The land where the city of Maracay is located today was granted to Sebastián Díaz Alfaro in the 16th century. After his death, the land passed to his son, Mateo. At that time, these areas were known as Valle de Tucupío and Tepatopo and they were used for cattle grazing. In the areas of Tucupío, Tapatapa, Guey, and El Rincón, sugarcane and cocoa were planted.

By 1700, approximately 40 families inhabited the valley; they petitioned Bishop Diego de Baños y Sotomayor to establish a parish, which formally recognized the settlement as an official population center.

The city of Maracay was founded on March 5, 1701, taking its name from the Maracay River. Maracay suffered through the upheavals of the War of Independence; of particular note were the events of 1812–13 that took place at the La Trinidad hacienda. Later, in 1816 and 1818, the assault of La Cabrera and the Battle of Maracay occurred, where the patriot troops were defeated. The Federal War also affected the town and the surrounding countryside. In addition, a plague epidemic attributed to the decomposition of fermented indigo claimed many victims.

Maracay's urban and economic transition began during the administration of General Juan Vicente Gómez, who resided in the city from the start of his presidency. La Victoria served as the capital until 1917, when the seat of the government was moved to Maracay, a status it still retains.

Aragua was part of the Province of Caracas beginning in 1555.

European groups reached the area of Aragua later than they did the neighboring regions of present-day Carabobo or Miranda. In the last decade of the 16th century, the Spanish began establishing encomiendas in the Valleys of Aragua. By 1620 all the land of Aragua were divided among approximately 40 encomenderos, who lived primarily in the Caracas Valley.

By 1780, La Victoria was a town of approximately 800 Indigenous people who spoke only Spanish, along with more than 4,000 people from other groups, including Spaniards, criollos, mestizos, black people, and zambos.

Alexander von Humboldt that by 1800, the population of the Aragua Valleys, which included both sides of Lake Valencia at that time, consisted primarily of pardos and criollos, zambos and enslaved people; approximately 5000 registered Indigenous people remained, most of whom were concentrated in Turmero and Guacara. None of them still spoke their ancestral languages.

Aragua was established as a province on February 11, 1848, following its separation from Caracas. Its territory was similar to that of the modern state of Aragua and comprised La Victoria, Turmero, Maracay, Villa de Cura, and San Sebastian, with La Victoria serving as its capital.

In 1864, Aragua became an independent state. In 1866, it merged with Guárico to form the state of Guzmán Blanco, and the capital was moved to Villa de Cura in 1881. Aragua regained its status as an autonomous state in 1899.

In 1917, the state capital was moved from La Victoria to Maracay. The dictator Juan Vicente Gómez spent most of his presidency in Maracay, where he eventually died in 1935.

Its current borders were established through protocols signed with bordering states at various times: Miranda in 1909, Carabobo in1917, and Guárico in 1933.

In 1989, the state elected its first governor through direct, universal, and secret elections, ending the practice of having a leader appointed by thecentral government in Caracas.

Aragua borders the Caribbean Sea to the north, with its coastline backed by the steeply central Cordillera mountain range. Codazzi Peak reaches an elevation of over 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). Much of the state consists of fertile valleys used for intensive agriculture, except in the extreme south, where the plains of the central Llanos region begin. Lake Valencia is situated on the western border.

The state's primary rivers are the Aragua, Guárico, El Limón, Tuy, Pao, and Turmero. These flow into the Caribbean Sea or Lake Valencia, or feed into the vast Orinoco River network. The Camatagua Reservoir is one of the primary sources of water for Caracas.

Four distinct natural regions are found in the state: the coastal mountain range, the Lake Valencia depression, the inland mountain range, and the Central Wavy Plains. In the Lake Valencia depression, recent sedimentary formations predominate. In contrast, the mountainous areas consist of formations highly affected by metamorphic processes, though they contain core areas of better-preserved igneous and sedimentary rock. In the mountain ranges of the Interior chain, "galleys" can be observed as spurs of the range; these features level out toward the south until they transition into the plains.

The region has an area of 7,014 km², most of which is mountainous, and represents 0.76% of the Venezuelan territory. The maritime coast of the state extends from Turiamo Bay in the west to Puerto Maya in the east, corresponding to the central section of the Coastal Range. The southern zone of the state runs from the southern piedmont of the Caribbean mountain range, through the 100-meter elevation level that separates the Llanos Altos from the Llanos Bajos to the depression of the Unare and San Carlos rivers that separates it from the Llanos Altos Occidentales.

As one of the largest reliefs in the world, two parallel mountain ranges cross the state of Aranua in an east-west direction. Separated by a central depression, these ranges create three distinct physiographic regions that follow one another from north to south. The northern end is hilly, featuring the central stretch of the Litoral mountain range. This area culminates in El Cenizo peak at 2,436 meters above sea level and Codazzi peak at 2,426 meters above sea level.

The state's hydrographic network consists of three major points. The first is the point of the Caribbean Sea, formed by the San Miguel, Ocumare, Cata, Gaurapito, and Aroa rivers, as well as the rivers of its upper basin via the Tuy River. Second is the Orinoco River basin, formed by the high point and part of the middle point of the Guárico River and the middle part of the Memo River. Finally, there is the endorheic point of Lake Valencia, where the Aragua, Turmero, Maracay, Caño Grande, Tapatapa, Tocorón, and Las Minas rivers pour their waters. In the latter, surface courses have been considerably reduced, as it is no longer possible to use the water from these rivers for human consumption. These rivers have become the main collectors of wastewater discharges from urban, industrial, and agricultural use.

The hydrographic system of the state is characterized by a dendritic drainage pattern, with watercourses are generally neither voluminous nor extensive compared to other states in the country. The region is situated within three major hydrographic basins: the Caribbean slope, the Lake Valencia basin, and the Orinoco River basin. Within the Caribbean unit, the drainage areas are further divided into the coastal slope and the interior slope of the Litoral mountain range. The Tuy River basin in the interior slope, combined with the Guárico River^[2][3] (part of the Orinoco basin), serves as the primary water source for the metropolitan aqueduct supplying Caracas, the Tuy valleys, and the Caucagua region.

In the northern slope of the Litoral mountain range, a network of short-course rivers originates and drains directly into the Caribbean Sea. These rivers follow a west-to-east distribution, which surprisingly coincides with a gradual increase in their water flow volumes. The most representative watercourses in this specific coastal basin include the Ocumare, Cata, Tamaira, and Paraulata rivers. Conversely, on the southern slope of the same range, some rivers feed into the endorheic basin of Lake Valencia, while others form the Tuy River system,^[4] which eventually flows back into the Caribbean basin after traversing the mountainous interior landscape of the northern region.

The southern part of Aragua state features a vast plains landscape that extends across an inclined plane descending from north to south, starting from an altitude of 500 meters above sea level down to less than 250 meters. In this geographical unit, several important rivers have their headwaters, including the Taguay and Tucutunemo rivers. Additionally, numerous low-flow watercourses originate here, forming a complex network that feeds the Camatagua reservoir and constitutes a vital part of the drainage system for Guárico state. Among these, the Pao, Zuata, and Guárico rivers stand out as essential components of the regional water infrastructure and natural ecosystems.

Lake Valencia (Also Tacarigua lake)^[5] deserves special mention as the third most important body of water in Venezuela, following Lake Maracaibo and the Guri reservoir in significance. Currently, the lake maintains an elevation near 408 meters above sea level, covering a total surface area of approximately 380 square kilometers with a volume of 8,000 cubic kilometers. Its geological origin dates back to the period between the late Tertiary and early Quaternary eras, located within a tectonic depression or fault line with an east-west orientation between the Litoral and Interior mountain ranges. This unique positioning has defined the lake's ecological and hydrological history throughout the centuries of its existence.

The Lake Valencia basin transformed into an endorheic system approximately 278 years ago when water levels dropped, causing its elevation to fall below 427 meters above sea level and cutting off its natural contribution to the Pao River basin. Human occupation and intensive water use since 1945 accelerated the drying process of the lake. However, in 1975, water began to be imported from the Pao-Cachinche reservoir in Carabobo state to meet the urban demands of Valencia. Since 1978,^[6] the National Institute of Sanitary Works decided to divert the Cabriales River into the lake, which finally triggered a slow but steady recovery of its water levels after decades of decline.

Due to its diversity in relief and altitudes that it possesses in all its extension, there are different thermal floors in which the temperature tends to have different climatic characteristics and temperatures that decrease with the increase of the altitude. In the coastal strip dominates a semi-arid and warm climate, as it is evidenced in Turiamo and Puerto Maya. Orographic rainfall occurs at elevations on the northern flank of the Serranía de Litoral, allowing for cooler and more humid conditions, which make possible the formation of cloud forests in the Henri Pittier National Park, local conditions allow for greater humidity and warmer temperatures in some coastal coves, such as Chuao, Choroní and Ocumare, which are used in traditional cocoa plantations.

At the altitudes of the Coastal Range, an isothermal climate is expressed, reaching in Colonia Tovar, at 1,900 meters above sea level, an average annual temperature of only 15.4 °C and rainfall of 1,000 mm per year. In the depression of Lake Valencia and the valleys of Aragua, warmer conditions are recognized. In Maracay, at 545 meters above sea level, an average annual temperature of 25 °C and annual rainfall of 834 mm are recorded, with a well-defined dry season. In the plain sector, there is a rainy tropical savanna climate, with an average rainfall of 1,100 mm, a rigorous dry season and average annual temperatures of 26 °C.

The lands of the valleys of Aragua are rich in minerals and fertile; even the mountainous areas are suitable for certain types of crops. There, one can find soils with a medium accumulation of organic matter and clay. The banks of the lake show a formation of calcium content due to the presence of fossils. Due to these characteristics, the soil of the state of Aragua is one of the most fertile in the country.

Vegetation ranges from abundant foliage trees, present in the cloud forests of the Henri Pittier National Park, on the Litoral mountain range, to thorny scrub in the coastal area. In the areas of valleys and savannahs, grasses predominate, accompanied by trees such as kapok, cedar, and saman.

As a federal state, it is autonomous and equal in political terms to the other members of the Federation. It organizes its administration and public powers through the Constitution of Aragua State, which was adopted in 2002. The same establishes the division of powers into executive and legislative. This Constitution can only be reformed totally or partially by the legislative power of Aragua, and to be approved, they need the absolute majority of the state deputies.

The executive branch is composed of the governor of Aragua and a group of state secretaries who are appointed by him. The governor is elected by the people by direct and secret vote for a period of four years and with the possibility of immediate re-election for an equal period, being in charge of the state administration.

Since direct elections for Venezuela state governors in 1989, Aragua has been governed by the Movement for Socialism and PODEMOS (1989 - 2008). The current governor is Daniela González of the PSUV.^[7]

Like the other 23 federal entities of Venezuela, the State maintains its own police force, which is supported and complemented by the National Police and the Venezuelan National Guard.

The State Legislature is the responsibility of the Legislative Council of the unicameral Aragua State, elected by the people through direct and secret vote every four years, being able to be reelected for new consecutive periods, under a system of proportional representation of the population of the state and its municipalities, the State has 9 main deputies and their substitutes, of which 8 belong to the opposition and 1 to the officialism according to the elections held in December 2015. The governor is accountable for his actions to the legislative council and must report to it, which approves the regional budget.

Aragua comprises eighteen municipalities (municipios):^[8]

1. Bolívar (San Mateo)
2. Camatagua (Camatagua)
3. Francisco Linares Alcántara (Santa Rita)
4. Girardot (Maracay)
5. José Angel Lamas (Santa Cruz)
6. José Félix Ribas (La Victoria)
7. José Rafael Revenga (El Consejo)
8. Libertador (Palo Negro)
9. Mario Briceño Iragorry (El Limón)
10. Ocumare de la Costa de Oro (Ocumare de la Costa)
11. San Casimiro (San Casimiro)
12. San Sebastián (San Sebastián)
13. Santiago Mariño (Turmero)
14. Santos Michelena (Las Tejerías)
15. Sucre (Cagua)
16. Tovar (Colonia Tovar)
17. Urdaneta (Barbacoas)
18. Zamora (Villa de Cura)

Aragua State, with 8.28% of the country's total population, is the sixth most populated state in Venezuela. The total population of the state was 2,093,224 inhabitants in 2015. The population is located on the coast and in the lower valleys. The valleys of Aragua are one of the most populated regions of Venezuela, due to the rapid process of industrialization of the city of Maracay and its important metropolitan area of more than 2.1 million inhabitants, of which a little more than 230,000 inhabitants, are part of its area of influence spread between the states of Carabobo and Guárico.

According to the 2011 Census, the racial composition of the population was:^[9]

The population in the region is very diverse, due to the influence of immigration that existed from the 1950s until the present day. Most of its population is a product of the mixing between Spaniards and local natives or Spaniards and Africans. In the northern part of the state, where the highest population density and the largest urban area in the state are found, the majority of whites are present, especially in the municipalities: Tovar, Mario Briceño Iragorry and Girardot.

The Municipality of Tovar, in the north of the state, is populated almost entirely by white people of German descent, since this was the site of the Tovar Colony, a town founded by Germans who immigrated to Venezuela in the nineteenth century.

There are a total of 2,170.5 km of trunk, local, branch and sub-runner roads in the state, of which 47.7% are paved, the most important being the regional highway in the center (Trunk 1) that connects it with the states of Carabobo, Miranda, and the Capital District; Trunk 2 that crosses the state from north to south and connects it with the state of Guárico, and the local ones 6 and 7 that go to the coast of Aragüa.

In the state, there are small towns like Colonia Tovar, Magdaleno, La Villa, Tocorón, Palo Negro, among others.

• Velorio de Cruz de Mayo.
• La Llora.
• Toro de colores
• San Juan Bautista.
• Los Pastores del Niño Jesús de El Limón and Chuao.
• Los Diablos Danzantes de Cuyagua, Cata, Ocumare, Turiamo and Chuao.(In Venezuela there are 11 Brotherhoods of which 5 are from Aragua).
• Burras Tradicionales.
• Joropo Central.
• Parranda Central
• Gorilas de San Mateo.
• Jokilis y Gorilas de la Colonia Tovar.

• Museo Aeronáutico de Maracay: Military and civil aeronautical technology museum created in 1963 in the spaces where the Aragua Air Base and the first Military Aviation School in the country used to operate.

• Museum of Anthropology and History of Maracay: Museum of archaeological findings of the states of Aragua and Carabobo that were found as of 1889 during the government of General Guzmán Blanco, when the main towns and cities began to be built.

Mario Abreu Museum of Contemporary Art (MACMA): with an important collection of plastic arts from the 20th century.

• CADAFE Museum: this museum is located in the parish of Choroní, in the Girardot municipality.
• Colonia Tovar History and Craftwork Museum: one of the most important and interesting attractions of Colonia Tovar is its museum. In it, its creator, the city's chronicler, Professor Néstor Rojas, has put a great deal of his life into showing visitors and residents a piece of the history of the Colony.
• Museo Nacional de Suelos CENIAP: This museum is located in El Limón de Maracay. It has more than 600 soil micromonolites and 11 macromonolites from 20 states in Venezuela. A micromonolite is a small representation of a soil profile accompanied by information regarding the profile (horizons and characterization) and information regarding the collection site of the samples (climate, landscape, use, etc.).

• Teatro Ateneo de Maracay: the original name was the "Teatro Circo Maracay" the work was sent to build by General Juan Vicente Gomez to the meridian Epifanio Balza Davila, its architecture is based on the Art Deco style, but due to the bad temper of General Gomez this does not have a particular style.
• Maracay Opera House: the work was entrusted to the architect Luis Malaussena, who together with Carlos Raúl Villanueva developed the monumental project full of sobriety within its spectacular nature where horizontal lines predominate while some free spaces compensate for the heaviness of this predominance.

The state of Aragua is famous within Venezuela, especially for the variety and beauty of its beaches, natural monuments, extensive green areas, and for the Colonia Tovar, a territory colonized by the Germans.

Henri Pittier National Park is the oldest park in the country, since it is the first national park decreed in Venezuela, originally created in 1937 with the name of Rancho Grande and renamed in 1953 with the name of that Swiss geographer, botanist and ethnologist, who arrived in Venezuela in 1917 and classified more than 30 thousand plants in the country. The park has an irregular and abrupt topography. Its geological constitution is basically of metamorphic igneous rock. Likewise, there are rocky coastal environments. Its altitude ranges from sea level to 2430 m at Cenizo peak. Orchids, ferns, and climbing vines abound.

Pico Codazzi Natural Monument is one of the highest peaks of the Coastal Range and is characterized by rainforest vegetation on its slopes. It takes its name from the Italian naturalist-cartographer and geographer Agustín Codazzi, who arrived in Venezuela in 1827. It was he who promoted the mobilization of German farmers to that area, giving rise to the Colonia Tovar.

• Onoto Hot Springs
• Villa de Cura Hot Springs.
• Bay of Cata.
• Bay of Turiamo
• Choroní.
• Ocumare.

• Ensenada de Café.
• Chuao.
• Cuyagua.
• Ensenada Juan Andrés.
• Ensenada Puerto Maya.
• Lake of Valencia.
• Tasajera Mountains.
• Manantial La Peñita and El Banco.
• Codazzi Peak.
• Aroa.

• Sindoni Tower.
• Ateneo de Maracay Theatre.
• House of Culture of Maracay.
• Culture House of La Victoria.
• Casona de Santa Rita.
• Colonia Tovar.
• Institute of Anthropology and History of the State of Aragua
• Aeronautical Museum.
• Archaeology Museum.
• Museum of Fine Arts.
• History Museum.
• Military History Museum.
• Casa del Ingenio San Mateo
• Ornithological Museum.
• Maracay Opera House.
• Zoo of Maracay.
• El Limón Tower

The Tigres de Aragua, a team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, represents the state and plays in Maracay. Aragua F.C. is a soccer club In Maracay.

• Aragua Fútbol Club
• Toros de Aragua
• Aragua Voleibol Club
• Tigres de Aragua
• Proyecto Alcatraz Rugby Club

• TVS
• TeleAragua
• TVR
• ICT TV
• NOVA TV
• Aragua TV

The main newspapers are:

• El Aragüeño.
• El Siglo.
• El Periodiquito.
• El Clarín de La Victoria.
• Ciudad MCY.

• Aragueña 99.5 FM
• Rutas 90.7 FM

• States of Venezuela
• Dancing devils of Corpus Christi
• Tren de Aragua, notorious international gang believed to have started in Tocorón prison in the state

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Aragua.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aragua.

• Ciudad Maracay. Information about Maracay and Aragua State
• (in Spanish) INE, Population statistics for Aragua