El Hatillo Municipality, Miranda
Encyclopedia
El Hatillo Municipality is an administrative division
of the State of Miranda, Venezuela
; along with Baruta
, Chacao, Libertador
and Sucre
, it is one of the five municipalities
of Caracas
, the capital of Venezuela. It is located in the southeastern area of Caracas, and in the northwestern part of the State of Miranda.
The seat
of the municipal government is El Hatillo Town
, founded in 1784 by Don Baltasar de León
, who was instrumental in the area's development. Although the town had its origins during the Spanish colonization
, the municipality was not established until 1991. In 2000—the year after a new constitution
was enacted in Venezuela—some of the municipality functions were delegated to a consolidated mayor's office called Alcaldía Mayor, which also has some authority over the other four municipalities of Caracas.
El Hatillo preserves some of its colonial architecture, including an 18th century parish church
and a unique Romanian Orthodox Church
. The municipality also has a rich artistic culture, with at least two important musical festivals celebrated yearly, and numerous holiday celebrations reflecting the heritage of El Hatillo. The culture, the pleasant temperature, the rural landscape, and the gastronomy
of the municipality have made it a place of interest for visitors
to the city, and a desirable place to live. The municipality receives a part of its income from tourism, an activity that is promoted by the government.
Although commercial areas are growing rapidly, agriculture
remains a foundation of the economy in the rural
areas of the southern part of El Hatillo. The business sector remains mostly underdeveloped, causing heavy employee movement in and out of the municipality—a problem that has made the transportation infrastructure of El Hatillo very congested.
in the area began, El Hatillo was inhabited by indigenous tribe
s of Mariches, descendants of the Caribs. Cacique Tamanaco
was the leader of these tribes, known for resisting
the Spanish colonization. As the colonization developed, the indigenous inhabitants were killed; by order of Caracas' founder Diego de Losada
, Tamanaco was also murdered.
In 1752, Don Baltasar de León García
arrived to El Hatillo from Cádiz
, Spain, having just completed a prison term at La Carraca, Spain, for opposing (with his father) the monopoly rules of Guipuzcoana Company
, which was in charge of maintaining exclusive trade between Spain and Venezuela. Don Baltasar founded El Hatillo Town, becoming one of the most significant contributors to its early development. Don Baltasar focused on making El Hatillo a strong, united and independent community, aiming to establish the area as a distinct parish
from Baruta, on which El Hatillo depended. He accomplished this on June 12, 1784, when the governor and the bishop
agreed to declare El Hatillo autonomous and under the direction of Don Baltasar, in front of 180 Canary
-descendant families; this date is accepted as the foundation date of El Hatillo Town.
That same year, Don Baltasar and his brother-in-law
donated their properties to the town, and an engineer assisted in the urban planning, which included grid streets
and a parish church
. The church was built to honor Santa Rosalía de Palermo
, who Baltasar believed had saved him from a plague that killed his father in prison. In 1803, at the age of 79, Don Baltasar was unexpectedly killed in a horse accident.
In 1809, landlord
and Lieutenant Colonel
Manuel Escalona achieved the separation of El Hatillo from Petare
, another suburb of Caracas, making it a different Tenientazgo de Justicia—a type of administrative division at the time. On April 19, 1810, Escalona enjoined the town to the movement of independence under Simón Bolívar
, becoming another important person in the history of the municipality.
Ana Francisca Pérez García, Don Baltasar's wife, was a noteworthy woman in El Hatillo, attending to community children, elders and ill citizens. She donated a considerable amount of money for the construction of a hospital in Petare after the 1812 earthquake
; this hospital is currently known as the Pérez de León de Petare Hospital.
One of the most ambitious urbanization projects in El Hatillo since its founding was the neighborhood called La Lagunita. In the 1950s and 1960s, La Lagunita S.A. constructed a "functional, futuristic and comfortable" residential zone. To encourage people to settle in the area, each parcel included a membership to Lagunita Country Club, which was officially opened in 1964. Brazil
ian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx
contributed to this project, constructed on the 4.3 million m² hacienda
that once belonged to former Venezuelan president, Eleazar López Contreras
. La Lagunita has since become a wealthy neighborhood of El Hatillo.
Although El Hatillo has been independent from Petare since 1809, it later became part of Sucre Municipality, where Petare is located. On November 19, 1991, Miranda's Legislative Assembly gave El Hatillo full autonomy, making it an independent municipality; this decision was issued in Gaceta Oficial on January 17, 1992. In 1993, Mercedes Hernández de Silva was elected the first mayor
of El Hatillo. Since 2000, the Alcaldía Mayor manages some of the functions of the municipality.
in the Capital District
. These five municipalities make up the city of Caracas. El Hatillo has a land size of 114 square kilometres (44 sq mi)—the third largest municipality in the capital.
The municipality's natural southern boundary is the Turgua range, spanning east to west and separating El Hatillo from the Baruta and Paz Castillo municipalities. Parallel to Turgua in the north is the Sabaneta range; the Prepo stream runs between the two ranges. North of the Sabaneta range, the Prepo stream feeds into the Tusmare stream, which ends in the Guaire river.
La Guairita stream flows into the Guaire in northeastern El Hatillo. The Guaire river is the eastern limit of the municipality, separating it from Sucre and Paz Castillo in the southeastern sector of El Hatillo. La Guairita serves as the northern boundary between El Hatillo and the municipalities of Baruta and Sucre. Limiting Baruta to the west, the boundaries of the municipality follow El Volcán
, Pariaguán, La Mata and other peaks until they meet Turgua range in southeastern El Hatillo.
The tallest peak
in El Hatillo is Picacho de El Volcán
(Spanish for "Peak of the Volcano"), at 1,490 meters (4,888 ft) above sea level, from where radio, television and telecommunication antennas serve Caracas. Despite its name, the mountain has had no recorded volcanic history. Other significant mountains in El Hatillo are Gavilán at 1148 metres (3,766.4 ft), Topo de El Paují at 1245 metres (4,084.6 ft) and Topo de Piedras Pintadas at 1196 metres (3,923.9 ft).
. The mean precipitation
is 997.3 millimeters a year (39 inches); annual values can range from 800 to 1,500 millimeters (32 in to 59 in). The average humidity
index is 75%; similar to the rest of Venezuela, the rainy season is May through November, while all other months are considered the dry season. The winds are north alizé trade winds.
Concentrated near water bodies, the vegetation
in most of El Hatillo is dense forest
s, occupying around 30% of the surface. Smaller plants like shrub
s take around 9% and herb
s occupy a similar percentage. In 1972, the forests of El Hatillo were declared a protected zone of the metropolitan area of Caracas.
The municipality is home to a wide range of bird
species
, with more than two hundred registered, including sparrowhawks
, eagle
s, falcon
s, and owl
s. Birdwatching
in the area is promoted by the authorities of Miranda, who have also supported conservation of these species.
settled in the area. Families from Madeira
, Portugal
also immigrated to El Hatillo, working largely in agriculture in La Unión neighborhood. As of 2001, 86% of the inhabitants of El Hatillo were born in Venezuela; the largest group not born in Venezuela was from Colombia
with 4.2% of the population, followed by Spain with 2.0%, Italy with 1.0%, the United States with 1.0%, and Portugal with 0.8%.
In the 2001 National Institute of Statistics census
, El Hatillo Municipality had 54,225 inhabitants, but demographics show a rapidly rising population. With the progressive demographic increase, El Hatillo's population is no longer exclusive to any particular ethnic group. In 2001 there were 997 births in El Hatillo, equivalent to a rate of 18.4 births per one thousand citizens. The death rate for that same year was 2.9 per one thousand citizens. 2001 data shows that there is an average of 28.2 years of potential life lost
. The main cause of death according to 1999 data was cancer
, followed by heart disease
and murder
.
Data for 2000 shows that the largest age group to be 15-19 year-olds, representing 9.5% of El Hatillo's population; for every 100 females there are 94.2 males. The unemployment
rate in 2001 was 6.1%, ranking fourth lowest among the twenty-one municipalities in Miranda.
As of 2001, there were 18,878 homes in El Hatillo, of which 13,545 were occupied; the remaining homes were either unoccupied, occasionally used, under construction, or for sale. An average of four people made up each household. Regarding wealth
, 74.7% of the population was above poverty level, 21.5% was poor
, and 3.8% were extremely poor
. According to the 2001 census, each household
in the municipality received an average of 1,316,906 Venezuelan bolívar
es (1316.906 bolívares fuertes) per month, equal to US$1,832 at the time, or US$21,984 per year.
and rural
. Concentrated in the northern region of the municipality, the urban neighborhoods are El Hatillo Town, El Calvario, La Lagunita, Alto Hatillo, La Boyera, Las Marías, Oripoto, Los Pomelos, Los Naranjos, Los Geranios, La Cabaña, Cerro Verde, Llano Verde, Colinas, Vista El Valle, Los Olivos, and El Cigarral. The rural localities of the municipality are located in southern El Hatillo; these are La Unión, Corralito, Turgua, La Hoyadita, Sabaneta, La Mata, Caicaguana, and Altos de Halcón.
sector, which has been growing along with the population increase and is primarily represented by shopping malls and retail stores around the urban areas; agricultural, in the southern half of the municipality and existing since the founding of El Hatillo; and tourism
, which contributes significantly to El Hatillo's income and is promoted by the government.
El Hatillo is an accessible day visit destination for people from Caracas; the municipality is only 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of downtown Caracas but in the mountains removed from the congested Caracas valley; thus, development has focused on day tourism. The central town square—Plaza Bolívar—and its surroundings are well maintained, and the municipal government offers bus trips around the narrow streets for viewing the colonial architecture of the town. Handcrafted souvenir
s and products are popular purchases, offered at local artisan shops, and there are numerous restaurants. There are at least three cultural centers in the municipality that attract tourists and residents to music festivals and art expositions.
To support the increasing population, numerous shopping malls have been built in the municipality. Neighborhoods like La Lagunita, Los Naranjos and El Hatillo Town now offer large scale shopping malls with multiplex movie theaters. Since the 1980s, the older typical houses of El Hatillo Town have been converted to shops and restaurants, while preserving their colonial architecture.
Employment possibilities within El Hatillo—a bedroom community
of Caracas—are reduced; businesses in the municipality are almost strictly commercial, and the economy has not expanded in other directions. Office space underdevelopment has resulted from a lack of land for large scale office construction, making it costly to locate large offices or businesses in the area. Those seeking employment in offices or larger businesses must look outside of El Hatillo, contributing to the high traffic to, from, and in El Hatillo.
, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven councillors, charged with the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller
's office, which oversees accountancy
. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality.
El Hatillo has had four mayors through 2008. Mercedes Hernández de Silva was the first mayor of the municipality, serving from 1993 until 1996. Succeeding her, Flora Aranguen was Mayor from 1996 until 2000. That same year, Alfredo Catalán was elected mayor and reelected in 2004. On November 23 Myriam Do Nascimento was elected mayor.
The 2007 president of the Municipal Council is Leandro Pereira, supported by the political party
Justice First
. All but one of the seven councillors belong to political parties opposed to President Hugo Chávez
's administration. There is also a Legislative Commission, presided over by councillor Salvador Pirrone in 2007. The commission's job is to assist the municipality in legal matters, such as the creation of new laws and decrees.
On March 8, 2000—the year after a new constitution was introduced in Venezuela—it was decree
d that the Metropolitan District of Caracas would be created, and that some of the powers of El Hatillo Municipality would be delegated to the Alcaldía Mayor, which would also govern the Baruta, Libertador, Sucre and Chacao municipalities. Each of the five municipalities is divided into parishes; El Hatillo has only one, the Santa Rosalía de Palermo Parish, sometimes called Santa Rosalía de El Hatillo Parish or simply El Hatillo Parish.
In December 2006, as a part of a constitutional reform, Chávez proposed a reorganization of the municipal powers. Chávez mentioned his reform plans again in his January 2007 presidential inauguration, suggesting a new form of subdivision—communal cities—in which mayors and municipalities would be replaced by communal powers.
force in El Hatillo is the municipal police, sometimes referred to as Poli-Hatillo. Other police forces can also intervene in the municipality, including the Metropolitan Police, and the Miranda State Police.
facility—Nueva Esparta University, a 30,000 square meters (323,000 sq ft) institution located in Los Naranjos. Nueva Esparta school was founded in 1954, but the private university was not constructed until 1989.
El Hatillo offers free public education
, with a total of seventeen primary education
schools; eleven are public and six are private. Nineteen preschools exist: ten public and nine private. Data for secondary education
is incomplete; there are five private secondary schools in the municipality, but the number of public secondary schools is unavailable. Government data shows each educational stage separately, but an individual facility may contain preschool, primary and secondary education. The 2001 census shows enrollment of 8,525 students during the 2000–2001 school year; by the end of the school year, 8,149 had passed.
. The church adjacent to the plaza in the center block of El Hatillo Town is named after this saint
, and the only parish in the municipality also carries her name. The community is largely Catholic
; local shops carry many religious handcrafted products, and the municipality is the site of the Santa Rosa de Lima
Seminary
, formerly San José Seminary. In El Hatillo—and throughout Venezuela— images of Jesus
and Mary are part of the art and culture.
Don Baltasar de León and his wife, Ana Francisca, are remembered for founding and developing El Hatillo. Manuel Escalona is recognized for including El Hatillo in the 19th century independence movement; as in the rest of Venezuela, Simón Bolívar
is considered
a hero
.
, Italy—is the patron
saint
of El Hatillo. Rosalía was recognized in 1624 when her remains were discovered in a cave, brought to the Cathedral of Palermo, and displayed through the streets of Palermo during a plague. Within three days, the plague ended; Rosalía was credited with saving many from the plague and proclaimed patron saint of the city.
Years later, El Hatillo's founder also believed that Santa Rosalía had protected him from an infection. During the Guipuzcoana scandal in Venezuela, Baltasar's father, Juan Francisco de León, and his sons were held prisoners in Cádiz
. Juan Francisco died as a consequence of smallpox
, but Don Baltasar completed his years in prison and then moved to El Hatillo. Baltasar brought the legacy of Santa Rosalía de Palermo to El Hatillo, believing she protected him from the pestilence
that killed his father in Cádiz.
Part of El Hatillo's culture has grown around Santa Rosalía; she is believed to be the one who takes care of the people and protects El Hatillo from any pandemic
that could hit the area. Don Baltasar's most evident inclusion of Rosalía into El Hatillo's culture occurred at least twice: first in 1776, when El Calvario chapel was built and dedicated to the Saint; and then in 1784, when a bigger parish church
named Iglesia Santa Rosalía de Palermo was constructed.
, the New Year
, Carnival
, and Easter
, El Hatillo has a number of celebrations unique to the region. Since the 1766 founding of El Hatillo, a week-long festival honoring Santa Rosalía de Palermo (Spanish: Fiestas Patronales en honor a Santa Rosalía de Palermo) is held in September featuring parades, Catholic masses
, and traditional games, concluding with the traditional release of balloons accompanied by fireworks. On Holy Thursday
, an image of the crucified Christ
is decorated with flowers and paraded around El Hatillo's Plaza Bolívar in the Jesus Christ Procession
. Since 1938, Carnival has been celebrated in El Hatillo with dancing, parades, and the election of a Carnival Queen in Plaza Bolívar. The founding of El Hatillo is commemorated on June 12 with organized activities including traditional games, mass, and balloons. A tradition having religious and agricultural significance has been celebrated every May since the beginning of the twentieth century. The third Sunday of May is the festival of Dama antañona, in which residents pay homage to the women of El Hatillo, with typical food and gifts.
inaugurated the annual International Music Festival of El Hatillo at the El Hatillo Art Center; Samuels was followed by Simón Díaz
, Steve Smith
, Serenata Guayanesa
, Mike Stern
and other notable musicians. Since 1999, the El Hatillo Jazz Festival has attracted visitors to the municipality to hear national and foreign jazz
artists.
El Hatillo's art culture is rich with handcrafted products. Pottery
is a common souvenir
for tourists, and there are many artisans devoted to ceramics and pottery in the municipality. The Turgua Group is an artist collective
of almost twenty potters and blacksmiths, founded in 1992 by Guillermo Cuellar, an internationally known potter. The group has two exhibitions a year, which have expanded from pottery exposition to jewelry, photography
, woodwork, drawing
and weaving
.
In May 2005, the local government collaborated with the Japanese Embassy to organize Japan Cultural Week, an exposition held in the Art Center featuring bonsai
, origami
, kimonos, martial arts
, anime
and other manifestations of the Japanese culture. The event offered free workshops for learning these Japanese arts. Continuing cultural promotion in the municipality, the III Salón de Fotografía El Hatillo—a photography contest for children, amateur
and professional photographers—was organized in October 2005.
— described the culinary art
s of El Hatillo, noting that El Hatillo offers the usual Venezuelan table, as well as new gastronomic developments. The TV chef Yuraima Blanco opened the Culinary Art Gallery in El Hatillo, where diners can enjoy a variety of food. There are also typical cachapa
restaurants and cafés, as well as other restaurants with a fusion of foreign and national food. According to Estampas, a well-known local restaurant called "Mauricio's" mixes Swiss and French food with Caribbean
gastronomy. El Hatillo also offers many varieties of confectionery
, such as churros, pastry
and ice cream
. There are a variety of other restaurants in El Hatillo, offering such diverse cuisine as German and Thai
food.
. Designed by Dick Wilson, the club began with temporary headquarters in 1959, opening officially in 1964. Lagunita Country Club played an important role in the development of La Lagunita neighborhood—an ambitious urban project, which has become one of the wealthiest areas of Caracas.
Hiparión is another club located in El Hatillo; according to the Venezuelan Census of Cultural Heritage, this equestrian
facility from the 1930s was originally used for horse trips, but it later became a place for the training and caring of horses. The Club Hiparión is internationally known for its equestrian training.
Located at the highest point of the Municipality lies El Volcan, a small mountain of about 1500 meters from sea level. This mountain has a Downhill course that has about 500 meters of vertical drop, it is used by hundreds of riders a day during dry and wet weather, mostly on weekends. The course is open to the public and riding is neither specifically allowed nor prohibited by law. The trails are also used by hikers all week long. Shuttles are about 10 Venezuelan bolivars per trip, they run from the parking lot of a Farmatodo drug store in La Boyera, up to the summit using public avenues and paved roads, taking from 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on traffic on the area. The course apart from being used mostly for recreational purpose, also has been used for irregularly scheduled downhill races due to the lack of organization in the riders community.
honoring Manuel Escalona was placed in the square, which was renamed in his honor. In 1952, the bust was replaced with a statue of Simón Bolívar, and the plaza was again renamed after the Venezuelan hero. Across from the Bolívar Square is the 18th century Santa Rosalía de Palermo Church, which was declared a National Historic Monument in 1960.
Between El Hatillo and La Lagunita is the smaller Manuel Escalona Plaza (Spanish: Plazoleta Manuel Escalona), another urban monument displaying the bust of Escalona that formerly occupied Bolívar Square. Sucre Plaza (Spanish: Plaza Sucre)—graced since 1915 with a ceiba
tree at its center—is in the southern part of town; this was historically where people tied their mules while frequenting The Four Corners, and it is also known as Plaza La Ceiba. The Four Corners (Spanish: Las Cuatro Esquinas) was a convenient social gathering spot in El Hatillo, comprising a general store, hardware shop, gambling place and bar.
La Lagunita is the site of the San Constantino and Santa Elena Romanian Orthodox Church. The building is an architectural work from the 16th century, brought from Romania, made completely from oak
and fir
woods, and detailed with more than 40,000 individually placed and carved
tiles. It is one of only 15 churches of its type remaining in the world, and one of only two outside of Romania, the other being in Switzerland.
For children, the Caicaguana hacienda
in La Lagunita houses the Expanzoo, where visitors can see and touch exotic animals. The zoo is recognized for offering unique employment opportunities; the workers are from families with few resources, and the staff include the mentally ill. The Baby Zoo is another place for children to interact with animals; visitors can feed and touch the animals, ride horses and rent the location for special events. More interaction with nature can be experienced by visiting the Morro la Guairita park in El Cafetal—commonly known as the Indian Caves (Spanish: Cuevas del Indio)—a system of 22 natural openings in the mountain, and the only place in Caracas where rock climbing
is permitted. Guided tours are available, and views of El Ávila
can be enjoyed while ascending the park.
to southeast Caracas, so the main transportation methods in the municipality are private vehicles and road public transportation. An extension of the Metro—Line 5—has been proposed, but construction has not been initiated as of 2007; phase 2 of Line 4 is still under construction. Urban planning
in the municipality has been unorganized; news archives show that at least since 1998, neighbors have been complaining about the dense traffic caused by new residential and commercial construction, yet new or enhanced alternative roads to resolve the traffic problems have not been completed. A south beltway suggested 25 years ago has not been constructed due to its high cost. However, as of January 2006, a new route that will connect La Lagunita with Macaracuay—a neighborhood in northeast Caracas—is under construction and is planned to be completed in 2010; according to Mayor Catalán, 23% of El Hatillo's inhabitants will eventually use this transit way. Its cost was estimated in early 2006 as US$19,572,000.
Local solutions—such as the proposed Metro extension line and the road connecting La Lagunita and Macaracuay—may improve the traffic congestion
around El Hatillo, but the traffic issue affects all of Caracas. It is estimated that one million vehicles transit Caracas daily, causing a collapse of the transportation network. Automobiles travel at an average speed of 15 km/h (9 mph) on the streets and highways of Caracas. There are numerous factors contributing to the traffic problem in Caracas. According to the Venezuelan Society of Transportation Engineers, a city should allocate 20% of its public area to transportation; in Caracas, less than 12% is allocated. In 2004, fifty thousand new vehicles were sold in Caracas. In 2005, sixty thousand more were sold, and as of November, 2006, seventy thousand more had been sold. In five years, 250 thousand more cars are circulating in Caracas on roadways that have not increased proportionally to the increase in the number of cars. Further, public transportation is not fully reliable; an average trip in the city using mass transit takes around ninety minutes.
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
of the State of Miranda, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
; along with Baruta
Baruta Municipality
Baruta Municipality belongs politically to the Greater Caracas Municipality in Venezuela. It is located geographically in the South-East section of the city. Its western limit is the Los Chaguaramos neighborhood and limits to the east with the Colinas de Los Ruices neighborhood, in the Sucre...
, Chacao, Libertador
Libertador Municipality (Venezuelan Capital District)
The Libertador Bolivarian Municipality is the only administrative division of the Venezuelan Capital District and along with the municipalities of Baruta, Chacao, El Hatillo and Sucre forms the Metropolitan District of Caracas. It is located in the western portion of Caracas. It is landlocked by...
and Sucre
Sucre Municipality, Miranda
The Sucre Municipality is one of the 21 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Miranda and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 640,762. The city of Petare is the shire town of the Sucre...
, it is one of the five municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, the capital of Venezuela. It is located in the southeastern area of Caracas, and in the northwestern part of the State of Miranda.
The seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of the municipal government is El Hatillo Town
El Hatillo Town, Miranda
El Hatillo Town is the seat of El Hatillo Municipality in Miranda, Venezuela....
, founded in 1784 by Don Baltasar de León
Don Baltasar de León
Don Baltasár de León García was the founder of El Hatillo Town, Miranda and he was the most important contributor to the development of it in the 16th century....
, who was instrumental in the area's development. Although the town had its origins during the Spanish colonization
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
, the municipality was not established until 1991. In 2000—the year after a new constitution
Constitution of Venezuela
||The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that had been created by popular referendum. Adopted in December 1999, it replaced the 1961 Constitution - the longest...
was enacted in Venezuela—some of the municipality functions were delegated to a consolidated mayor's office called Alcaldía Mayor, which also has some authority over the other four municipalities of Caracas.
El Hatillo preserves some of its colonial architecture, including an 18th century parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
and a unique Romanian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
. The municipality also has a rich artistic culture, with at least two important musical festivals celebrated yearly, and numerous holiday celebrations reflecting the heritage of El Hatillo. The culture, the pleasant temperature, the rural landscape, and the gastronomy
Gastronomy
Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...
of the municipality have made it a place of interest for visitors
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
to the city, and a desirable place to live. The municipality receives a part of its income from tourism, an activity that is promoted by the government.
Although commercial areas are growing rapidly, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
remains a foundation of the economy in the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas of the southern part of El Hatillo. The business sector remains mostly underdeveloped, causing heavy employee movement in and out of the municipality—a problem that has made the transportation infrastructure of El Hatillo very congested.
History
In the 16th century, when the Spanish colonizationSpanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
in the area began, El Hatillo was inhabited by indigenous tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s of Mariches, descendants of the Caribs. Cacique Tamanaco
Tamanaco
Tamanaco was a native Venezuelan chief, who as leader of the Mariches and Quiriquires tribes led during part of the 16th century the resistance against the Spanish conquest of Venezuelan territory in the central region of the country, specially in the Caracas valley...
was the leader of these tribes, known for resisting
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
the Spanish colonization. As the colonization developed, the indigenous inhabitants were killed; by order of Caracas' founder Diego de Losada
Diego de Losada
Diego de Losada was a Spanish conquistador and the founder of Santiago de León de Caracas, the current capital of Venezuela.Losada was born in Rionegro del Puente, in what is now the province of Zamora. He reached Puerto Rico in 1533....
, Tamanaco was also murdered.
In 1752, Don Baltasar de León García
Don Baltasar de León
Don Baltasár de León García was the founder of El Hatillo Town, Miranda and he was the most important contributor to the development of it in the 16th century....
arrived to El Hatillo from Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, Spain, having just completed a prison term at La Carraca, Spain, for opposing (with his father) the monopoly rules of Guipuzcoana Company
Guipuzcoana Company
The Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas was a Spanish trading company in the 18th century, operating from 1728 to 1785, which had a monopoly on Venezuelan trade...
, which was in charge of maintaining exclusive trade between Spain and Venezuela. Don Baltasar founded El Hatillo Town, becoming one of the most significant contributors to its early development. Don Baltasar focused on making El Hatillo a strong, united and independent community, aiming to establish the area as a distinct parish
Parish (subnational entity)
A parish is an administrative division used by several countries. In the British Isles it is known as a civil parish to distinguish it from the ecclesiastical parish.-External links:* Editorial in The Guardian, 2011-05-16....
from Baruta, on which El Hatillo depended. He accomplished this on June 12, 1784, when the governor and the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
agreed to declare El Hatillo autonomous and under the direction of Don Baltasar, in front of 180 Canary
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
-descendant families; this date is accepted as the foundation date of El Hatillo Town.
That same year, Don Baltasar and his brother-in-law
Brother-in-law
A brother-in-law is the brother of one's spouse, the husband of one's sibling, or the husband of one's spouse's sibling.-See also:*Affinity *Sister-in-law*Brothers in Law , a 1955 British comedy novel...
donated their properties to the town, and an engineer assisted in the urban planning, which included grid streets
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
and a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
. The church was built to honor Santa Rosalía de Palermo
Santa Rosalia
Saint Rosalia , also called La Santuzza or "The Little Saint", is the patron saint of Palermo, Italy, El Hatillo, Venezuela, and Zuata, Anzoátegui, Venezuela.-Legend:...
, who Baltasar believed had saved him from a plague that killed his father in prison. In 1803, at the age of 79, Don Baltasar was unexpectedly killed in a horse accident.
In 1809, landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
and Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Manuel Escalona achieved the separation of El Hatillo from Petare
Petare
Petare is a city in Miranda, Venezuela, and is part of the urban area of Caracas. It is the located in the Sucre Municipality, one of the five divisions of Caracas. The city was founded in 1621 under the name of San Jose de Guanarito...
, another suburb of Caracas, making it a different Tenientazgo de Justicia—a type of administrative division at the time. On April 19, 1810, Escalona enjoined the town to the movement of independence under Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
, becoming another important person in the history of the municipality.
Ana Francisca Pérez García, Don Baltasar's wife, was a noteworthy woman in El Hatillo, attending to community children, elders and ill citizens. She donated a considerable amount of money for the construction of a hospital in Petare after the 1812 earthquake
1812 Caracas earthquake
The 1812 Caracas earthquake took place in Venezuela on March 26, 1812 at 4:37 p.m. It measured 7.7 on the Richter magnitude scale. It caused extensive damage in Caracas, La Guaira, Barquisimeto, San Felipe, and Mérida...
; this hospital is currently known as the Pérez de León de Petare Hospital.
One of the most ambitious urbanization projects in El Hatillo since its founding was the neighborhood called La Lagunita. In the 1950s and 1960s, La Lagunita S.A. constructed a "functional, futuristic and comfortable" residential zone. To encourage people to settle in the area, each parcel included a membership to Lagunita Country Club, which was officially opened in 1964. Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect whose designs of parks and gardens made him world famous. He is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil...
contributed to this project, constructed on the 4.3 million m² hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
that once belonged to former Venezuelan president, Eleazar López Contreras
Eleazar López Contreras
José Eleazar López Contreras was President of Venezuela . López was a general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez's collaborators.Eleazar López was the only child of Col. Manuel Maria López and Catalina Contreras...
. La Lagunita has since become a wealthy neighborhood of El Hatillo.
Although El Hatillo has been independent from Petare since 1809, it later became part of Sucre Municipality, where Petare is located. On November 19, 1991, Miranda's Legislative Assembly gave El Hatillo full autonomy, making it an independent municipality; this decision was issued in Gaceta Oficial on January 17, 1992. In 1993, Mercedes Hernández de Silva was elected the first mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of El Hatillo. Since 2000, the Alcaldía Mayor manages some of the functions of the municipality.
Geography
El Hatillo Municipality lies at the southeast area of the city of Caracas and at the northwest corner of the State of Miranda; it is one of the state's 21 municipalities. El Hatillo is also within the jurisdiction of the Alcaldía Mayor, which has power over three adjacent municipalities of Miranda, and over Libertador MunicipalityLibertador Municipality (Venezuelan Capital District)
The Libertador Bolivarian Municipality is the only administrative division of the Venezuelan Capital District and along with the municipalities of Baruta, Chacao, El Hatillo and Sucre forms the Metropolitan District of Caracas. It is located in the western portion of Caracas. It is landlocked by...
in the Capital District
Venezuelan Capital District
The Capital District of Venezuela is a federal district corresponding to the capital Caracas. It has an area of 433 km² and there is only one administrative division , Libertador, which contains about half City of Caracas. It is the seat of the federal government and the head of the public...
. These five municipalities make up the city of Caracas. El Hatillo has a land size of 114 square kilometres (44 sq mi)—the third largest municipality in the capital.
The municipality's natural southern boundary is the Turgua range, spanning east to west and separating El Hatillo from the Baruta and Paz Castillo municipalities. Parallel to Turgua in the north is the Sabaneta range; the Prepo stream runs between the two ranges. North of the Sabaneta range, the Prepo stream feeds into the Tusmare stream, which ends in the Guaire river.
La Guairita stream flows into the Guaire in northeastern El Hatillo. The Guaire river is the eastern limit of the municipality, separating it from Sucre and Paz Castillo in the southeastern sector of El Hatillo. La Guairita serves as the northern boundary between El Hatillo and the municipalities of Baruta and Sucre. Limiting Baruta to the west, the boundaries of the municipality follow El Volcán
Picacho de El Volcán
Picacho de El Volcán is the tallest peak in El Hatillo Municipality . In the Spanish language it means "Peak of The Volcano." The mountain has no recorded volcanic history. Many radio, television and telecommunication antennas serve Caracas -- Venezuea's capital city—from the top of this peak....
, Pariaguán, La Mata and other peaks until they meet Turgua range in southeastern El Hatillo.
The tallest peak
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in El Hatillo is Picacho de El Volcán
Picacho de El Volcán
Picacho de El Volcán is the tallest peak in El Hatillo Municipality . In the Spanish language it means "Peak of The Volcano." The mountain has no recorded volcanic history. Many radio, television and telecommunication antennas serve Caracas -- Venezuea's capital city—from the top of this peak....
(Spanish for "Peak of the Volcano"), at 1,490 meters (4,888 ft) above sea level, from where radio, television and telecommunication antennas serve Caracas. Despite its name, the mountain has had no recorded volcanic history. Other significant mountains in El Hatillo are Gavilán at 1148 metres (3,766.4 ft), Topo de El Paují at 1245 metres (4,084.6 ft) and Topo de Piedras Pintadas at 1196 metres (3,923.9 ft).
Environment
El Hatillo, at a higher altitude than the neighboring municipalities of Caracas, has slightly cooler weather than nearby downtown Caracas. The average temperature is between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius (70–75 °F). At the highest elevations, the temperature can decrease to 18 °C (64 °F) and the atmosphere may have constant fogFog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
. The mean precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
is 997.3 millimeters a year (39 inches); annual values can range from 800 to 1,500 millimeters (32 in to 59 in). The average humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
index is 75%; similar to the rest of Venezuela, the rainy season is May through November, while all other months are considered the dry season. The winds are north alizé trade winds.
Concentrated near water bodies, the vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
in most of El Hatillo is dense forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, occupying around 30% of the surface. Smaller plants like shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s take around 9% and herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s occupy a similar percentage. In 1972, the forests of El Hatillo were declared a protected zone of the metropolitan area of Caracas.
The municipality is home to a wide range of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, with more than two hundred registered, including sparrowhawks
American Kestrel
The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...
, eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s, falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
s, and owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s. Birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
in the area is promoted by the authorities of Miranda, who have also supported conservation of these species.
Demographics
In the 16th century, the indigenous Mariches were killed by the explorers; when the development of El Hatillo began, Spaniards from the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
settled in the area. Families from Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
also immigrated to El Hatillo, working largely in agriculture in La Unión neighborhood. As of 2001, 86% of the inhabitants of El Hatillo were born in Venezuela; the largest group not born in Venezuela was from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
with 4.2% of the population, followed by Spain with 2.0%, Italy with 1.0%, the United States with 1.0%, and Portugal with 0.8%.
In the 2001 National Institute of Statistics census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, El Hatillo Municipality had 54,225 inhabitants, but demographics show a rapidly rising population. With the progressive demographic increase, El Hatillo's population is no longer exclusive to any particular ethnic group. In 2001 there were 997 births in El Hatillo, equivalent to a rate of 18.4 births per one thousand citizens. The death rate for that same year was 2.9 per one thousand citizens. 2001 data shows that there is an average of 28.2 years of potential life lost
Years of potential life lost
Years of potential life lost or potential years of life lost , is an estimate of the average years a person would have lived if he or she had not died prematurely. It is, therefore, a measure of premature mortality. As a method, it is an alternative to death rates that gives more weight to deaths...
. The main cause of death according to 1999 data was cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, followed by heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Data for 2000 shows that the largest age group to be 15-19 year-olds, representing 9.5% of El Hatillo's population; for every 100 females there are 94.2 males. The unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
rate in 2001 was 6.1%, ranking fourth lowest among the twenty-one municipalities in Miranda.
As of 2001, there were 18,878 homes in El Hatillo, of which 13,545 were occupied; the remaining homes were either unoccupied, occasionally used, under construction, or for sale. An average of four people made up each household. Regarding wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
, 74.7% of the population was above poverty level, 21.5% was poor
Poor
Poor is an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.People with the surname Poor:* Charles Henry Poor, a US Navy officer* Charles Lane Poor, an astronomer* Edward Erie Poor, a vice president of the National Park Bank...
, and 3.8% were extremely poor
Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, as defined in 1996 by Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World, is:"The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become...
. According to the 2001 census, each household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
in the municipality received an average of 1,316,906 Venezuelan bolívar
Venezuelan bolívar
The bolívar fuerte is the currency of Venezuela since 1 January 2008. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos and replaced the bolívar at the rate of Bs.F. 1 = Bs...
es (1316.906 bolívares fuertes) per month, equal to US$1,832 at the time, or US$21,984 per year.
Neighborhoods
Although there are no defined limits for the neighborhoods of El Hatillo, the government website divides the municipality into urbanUrban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
and rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
. Concentrated in the northern region of the municipality, the urban neighborhoods are El Hatillo Town, El Calvario, La Lagunita, Alto Hatillo, La Boyera, Las Marías, Oripoto, Los Pomelos, Los Naranjos, Los Geranios, La Cabaña, Cerro Verde, Llano Verde, Colinas, Vista El Valle, Los Olivos, and El Cigarral. The rural localities of the municipality are located in southern El Hatillo; these are La Unión, Corralito, Turgua, La Hoyadita, Sabaneta, La Mata, Caicaguana, and Altos de Halcón.
Economy
The economy of El Hatillo Municipality consists of three sectors: the commercialCommerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
sector, which has been growing along with the population increase and is primarily represented by shopping malls and retail stores around the urban areas; agricultural, in the southern half of the municipality and existing since the founding of El Hatillo; and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, which contributes significantly to El Hatillo's income and is promoted by the government.
El Hatillo is an accessible day visit destination for people from Caracas; the municipality is only 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of downtown Caracas but in the mountains removed from the congested Caracas valley; thus, development has focused on day tourism. The central town square—Plaza Bolívar—and its surroundings are well maintained, and the municipal government offers bus trips around the narrow streets for viewing the colonial architecture of the town. Handcrafted souvenir
Souvenir
A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...
s and products are popular purchases, offered at local artisan shops, and there are numerous restaurants. There are at least three cultural centers in the municipality that attract tourists and residents to music festivals and art expositions.
To support the increasing population, numerous shopping malls have been built in the municipality. Neighborhoods like La Lagunita, Los Naranjos and El Hatillo Town now offer large scale shopping malls with multiplex movie theaters. Since the 1980s, the older typical houses of El Hatillo Town have been converted to shops and restaurants, while preserving their colonial architecture.
Employment possibilities within El Hatillo—a bedroom community
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
of Caracas—are reduced; businesses in the municipality are almost strictly commercial, and the economy has not expanded in other directions. Office space underdevelopment has resulted from a lack of land for large scale office construction, making it costly to locate large offices or businesses in the area. Those seeking employment in offices or larger businesses must look outside of El Hatillo, contributing to the high traffic to, from, and in El Hatillo.
Law and government
Venezuelan law specifies that municipal governments have four main functions: executive, legislative, comptroller, and planning. The executive function is managed by the mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven councillors, charged with the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
's office, which oversees accountancy
Accountancy
Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality.
El Hatillo has had four mayors through 2008. Mercedes Hernández de Silva was the first mayor of the municipality, serving from 1993 until 1996. Succeeding her, Flora Aranguen was Mayor from 1996 until 2000. That same year, Alfredo Catalán was elected mayor and reelected in 2004. On November 23 Myriam Do Nascimento was elected mayor.
The 2007 president of the Municipal Council is Leandro Pereira, supported by the political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
Justice First
Justice First
Justice First Movement is a centrist political party in Venezuela.-History:Primero Justicia was created in 1992 as a Civil Association by a group of university students who were concerned about what they saw as a deterioration of judicial power in the country and joined their efforts to...
. All but one of the seven councillors belong to political parties opposed to President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
's administration. There is also a Legislative Commission, presided over by councillor Salvador Pirrone in 2007. The commission's job is to assist the municipality in legal matters, such as the creation of new laws and decrees.
On March 8, 2000—the year after a new constitution was introduced in Venezuela—it was decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
d that the Metropolitan District of Caracas would be created, and that some of the powers of El Hatillo Municipality would be delegated to the Alcaldía Mayor, which would also govern the Baruta, Libertador, Sucre and Chacao municipalities. Each of the five municipalities is divided into parishes; El Hatillo has only one, the Santa Rosalía de Palermo Parish, sometimes called Santa Rosalía de El Hatillo Parish or simply El Hatillo Parish.
In December 2006, as a part of a constitutional reform, Chávez proposed a reorganization of the municipal powers. Chávez mentioned his reform plans again in his January 2007 presidential inauguration, suggesting a new form of subdivision—communal cities—in which mayors and municipalities would be replaced by communal powers.
Crime
Relative to the other Caracas municipalities, El Hatillo has the region's lowest crime rate. Data from 2003 shows that 53,555 crimes occurred within the five municipalities of Caracas, but only 418 (about 0.78%) took place within El Hatillo. El Hatillo's population is significantly lower than its sister municipalities; viewing 2003 crime data relative to 2001 census data, El Hatillo had an annual rate of 7.7 crimes for every one thousand citizens, while the average of the five Caracas municipalities was 19.4 for every one thousand citizens. The main policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force in El Hatillo is the municipal police, sometimes referred to as Poli-Hatillo. Other police forces can also intervene in the municipality, including the Metropolitan Police, and the Miranda State Police.
Education
The municipality has one higher educationHigher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
facility—Nueva Esparta University, a 30,000 square meters (323,000 sq ft) institution located in Los Naranjos. Nueva Esparta school was founded in 1954, but the private university was not constructed until 1989.
El Hatillo offers free public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
, with a total of seventeen primary education
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
schools; eleven are public and six are private. Nineteen preschools exist: ten public and nine private. Data for secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
is incomplete; there are five private secondary schools in the municipality, but the number of public secondary schools is unavailable. Government data shows each educational stage separately, but an individual facility may contain preschool, primary and secondary education. The 2001 census shows enrollment of 8,525 students during the 2000–2001 school year; by the end of the school year, 8,149 had passed.
Culture
The most significant icon in the culture of El Hatillo is Santa Rosalía de PalermoSanta Rosalia
Saint Rosalia , also called La Santuzza or "The Little Saint", is the patron saint of Palermo, Italy, El Hatillo, Venezuela, and Zuata, Anzoátegui, Venezuela.-Legend:...
. The church adjacent to the plaza in the center block of El Hatillo Town is named after this saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
, and the only parish in the municipality also carries her name. The community is largely Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
; local shops carry many religious handcrafted products, and the municipality is the site of the Santa Rosa de Lima
Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima, , the first Catholic saint of the Americas, was born in Lima, Peru.-Biography:Saint Rose of Lima was born in the city of that name, the daughter of Gaspar Flores, a harquebusier from San German, Puerto Rico, and his wife, Maria de Oliva, who was a native of Lima. She was part of a...
Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, formerly San José Seminary. In El Hatillo—and throughout Venezuela— images of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and Mary are part of the art and culture.
Don Baltasar de León and his wife, Ana Francisca, are remembered for founding and developing El Hatillo. Manuel Escalona is recognized for including El Hatillo in the 19th century independence movement; as in the rest of Venezuela, Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
is considered
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
a hero
Libertadores
Libertadores refers to the principal leaders of the Latin American wars of independence from Spain. They are named that way in contrast with the Conquistadors, who were so far the only Spanish peoples recorded in the South American history...
.
Heritage
Santa Rosalía de Palermo—born in PalermoPalermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Italy—is the patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of El Hatillo. Rosalía was recognized in 1624 when her remains were discovered in a cave, brought to the Cathedral of Palermo, and displayed through the streets of Palermo during a plague. Within three days, the plague ended; Rosalía was credited with saving many from the plague and proclaimed patron saint of the city.
Years later, El Hatillo's founder also believed that Santa Rosalía had protected him from an infection. During the Guipuzcoana scandal in Venezuela, Baltasar's father, Juan Francisco de León, and his sons were held prisoners in Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
. Juan Francisco died as a consequence of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, but Don Baltasar completed his years in prison and then moved to El Hatillo. Baltasar brought the legacy of Santa Rosalía de Palermo to El Hatillo, believing she protected him from the pestilence
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
that killed his father in Cádiz.
Part of El Hatillo's culture has grown around Santa Rosalía; she is believed to be the one who takes care of the people and protects El Hatillo from any pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
that could hit the area. Don Baltasar's most evident inclusion of Rosalía into El Hatillo's culture occurred at least twice: first in 1776, when El Calvario chapel was built and dedicated to the Saint; and then in 1784, when a bigger parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
named Iglesia Santa Rosalía de Palermo was constructed.
Regional celebrations
In addition to the nationwide activities celebrating ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, the New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
, Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
, and Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, El Hatillo has a number of celebrations unique to the region. Since the 1766 founding of El Hatillo, a week-long festival honoring Santa Rosalía de Palermo (Spanish: Fiestas Patronales en honor a Santa Rosalía de Palermo) is held in September featuring parades, Catholic masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, and traditional games, concluding with the traditional release of balloons accompanied by fireworks. On Holy Thursday
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...
, an image of the crucified Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
is decorated with flowers and paraded around El Hatillo's Plaza Bolívar in the Jesus Christ Procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
. Since 1938, Carnival has been celebrated in El Hatillo with dancing, parades, and the election of a Carnival Queen in Plaza Bolívar. The founding of El Hatillo is commemorated on June 12 with organized activities including traditional games, mass, and balloons. A tradition having religious and agricultural significance has been celebrated every May since the beginning of the twentieth century. The third Sunday of May is the festival of Dama antañona, in which residents pay homage to the women of El Hatillo, with typical food and gifts.
Art
The Cultural and Social Center El Hatillo, El Hatillo Art Center, and El Hatillo Atheneum are the local centers of artistic activity. In 2006, Dave SamuelsDave Samuels
Dave Samuels is an American vibraphone player who has worked with various jazz and fusion artists, such as Spyro Gyra. Currently, he plays in an ensemble called The Caribbean Jazz Project, a Grammy-winning jazz-Latin music group...
inaugurated the annual International Music Festival of El Hatillo at the El Hatillo Art Center; Samuels was followed by Simón Díaz
Simón Díaz
Simón Narciso Díaz Márquez is a singer and Grammy Award winning composer of Venezuelan music.- Career :Díaz has endeavored to recover the folklore and musical traditions of the llanos, the Venezuelan plains...
, Steve Smith
Steve Smith (musician)
Steve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
, Serenata Guayanesa
Serenata Guayanesa
Serenata Guayanesa is a vocal and instrumental quartet that plays typical Venezuelan folk music. It is one of the two best known groups playing this music .-Origins of the group:...
, Mike Stern
Mike Stern
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
and other notable musicians. Since 1999, the El Hatillo Jazz Festival has attracted visitors to the municipality to hear national and foreign jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artists.
El Hatillo's art culture is rich with handcrafted products. Pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
is a common souvenir
Souvenir
A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...
for tourists, and there are many artisans devoted to ceramics and pottery in the municipality. The Turgua Group is an artist collective
Artist collective
An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims...
of almost twenty potters and blacksmiths, founded in 1992 by Guillermo Cuellar, an internationally known potter. The group has two exhibitions a year, which have expanded from pottery exposition to jewelry, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, woodwork, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
and weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
.
In May 2005, the local government collaborated with the Japanese Embassy to organize Japan Cultural Week, an exposition held in the Art Center featuring bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
, origami
Origami
is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...
, kimonos, martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and other manifestations of the Japanese culture. The event offered free workshops for learning these Japanese arts. Continuing cultural promotion in the municipality, the III Salón de Fotografía El Hatillo—a photography contest for children, amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
and professional photographers—was organized in October 2005.
Cuisine
The cuisine industry in El Hatillo has grown along with the commercial development of the municipality. A September 2006 article in Estampas—a weekly Venezuelan magazineMagazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
— described the culinary art
Culinary art
Culinary art is the art of preparing and cooking foods. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking. A culinarion is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are...
s of El Hatillo, noting that El Hatillo offers the usual Venezuelan table, as well as new gastronomic developments. The TV chef Yuraima Blanco opened the Culinary Art Gallery in El Hatillo, where diners can enjoy a variety of food. There are also typical cachapa
Cachapa
Cachapas are a traditional Venezuelan dish made from corn. Like arepas, they are popular at roadside stands. They can be made like pancakes of fresh corn dough, or wrapped in dry corn leaves and boiled...
restaurants and cafés, as well as other restaurants with a fusion of foreign and national food. According to Estampas, a well-known local restaurant called "Mauricio's" mixes Swiss and French food with Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
gastronomy. El Hatillo also offers many varieties of confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
, such as churros, pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
and ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
. There are a variety of other restaurants in El Hatillo, offering such diverse cuisine as German and Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
food.
Sports
Lagunita Country Club is one of the most important sports facilities in the municipality. The club offers tennis and swimming, but it is best known for its golf course, the home of the 1974 WGC-World CupWGC-World Cup
The World Cup is a men's golf tournament contested by teams of two representing their country. Only one team is allowed from each country. The players are selected on the basis of the Official World Golf Ranking, although not all of the first choice players choose to compete...
. Designed by Dick Wilson, the club began with temporary headquarters in 1959, opening officially in 1964. Lagunita Country Club played an important role in the development of La Lagunita neighborhood—an ambitious urban project, which has become one of the wealthiest areas of Caracas.
Hiparión is another club located in El Hatillo; according to the Venezuelan Census of Cultural Heritage, this equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
facility from the 1930s was originally used for horse trips, but it later became a place for the training and caring of horses. The Club Hiparión is internationally known for its equestrian training.
Located at the highest point of the Municipality lies El Volcan, a small mountain of about 1500 meters from sea level. This mountain has a Downhill course that has about 500 meters of vertical drop, it is used by hundreds of riders a day during dry and wet weather, mostly on weekends. The course is open to the public and riding is neither specifically allowed nor prohibited by law. The trails are also used by hikers all week long. Shuttles are about 10 Venezuelan bolivars per trip, they run from the parking lot of a Farmatodo drug store in La Boyera, up to the summit using public avenues and paved roads, taking from 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on traffic on the area. The course apart from being used mostly for recreational purpose, also has been used for irregularly scheduled downhill races due to the lack of organization in the riders community.
Tourism and recreation
The hub of activity in El Hatillo Town is Bolívar Plaza (Spanish: Plaza Bolívar), a garden square encompassing the central block in the town of El Hatillo. Constructed in 1785, the Plaza was originally called Plaza Mayor or Plaza del Mercado. In 1911, a bustBust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
honoring Manuel Escalona was placed in the square, which was renamed in his honor. In 1952, the bust was replaced with a statue of Simón Bolívar, and the plaza was again renamed after the Venezuelan hero. Across from the Bolívar Square is the 18th century Santa Rosalía de Palermo Church, which was declared a National Historic Monument in 1960.
Between El Hatillo and La Lagunita is the smaller Manuel Escalona Plaza (Spanish: Plazoleta Manuel Escalona), another urban monument displaying the bust of Escalona that formerly occupied Bolívar Square. Sucre Plaza (Spanish: Plaza Sucre)—graced since 1915 with a ceiba
Ceiba
Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central America, South America, The Bahamas, Belize and the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia...
tree at its center—is in the southern part of town; this was historically where people tied their mules while frequenting The Four Corners, and it is also known as Plaza La Ceiba. The Four Corners (Spanish: Las Cuatro Esquinas) was a convenient social gathering spot in El Hatillo, comprising a general store, hardware shop, gambling place and bar.
La Lagunita is the site of the San Constantino and Santa Elena Romanian Orthodox Church. The building is an architectural work from the 16th century, brought from Romania, made completely from oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
woods, and detailed with more than 40,000 individually placed and carved
Stone carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....
tiles. It is one of only 15 churches of its type remaining in the world, and one of only two outside of Romania, the other being in Switzerland.
For children, the Caicaguana hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
in La Lagunita houses the Expanzoo, where visitors can see and touch exotic animals. The zoo is recognized for offering unique employment opportunities; the workers are from families with few resources, and the staff include the mentally ill. The Baby Zoo is another place for children to interact with animals; visitors can feed and touch the animals, ride horses and rent the location for special events. More interaction with nature can be experienced by visiting the Morro la Guairita park in El Cafetal—commonly known as the Indian Caves (Spanish: Cuevas del Indio)—a system of 22 natural openings in the mountain, and the only place in Caracas where rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
is permitted. Guided tours are available, and views of El Ávila
Cerro El Ávila
The El Ávila National Park covers part of the mountainous region of the coastal area of north-central Venezuela. The area's highest elevation is Pico Naiguatá, at 2.765 meters above sea level...
can be enjoyed while ascending the park.
Transportation
The mountainous terrain and geographic features of El Hatillo have made it difficult to extend the Caracas MetroCaracas Metro
The Caracas Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It is constructed and operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who headed the project for more than thirty years since the early planning...
to southeast Caracas, so the main transportation methods in the municipality are private vehicles and road public transportation. An extension of the Metro—Line 5—has been proposed, but construction has not been initiated as of 2007; phase 2 of Line 4 is still under construction. Urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
in the municipality has been unorganized; news archives show that at least since 1998, neighbors have been complaining about the dense traffic caused by new residential and commercial construction, yet new or enhanced alternative roads to resolve the traffic problems have not been completed. A south beltway suggested 25 years ago has not been constructed due to its high cost. However, as of January 2006, a new route that will connect La Lagunita with Macaracuay—a neighborhood in northeast Caracas—is under construction and is planned to be completed in 2010; according to Mayor Catalán, 23% of El Hatillo's inhabitants will eventually use this transit way. Its cost was estimated in early 2006 as US$19,572,000.
Local solutions—such as the proposed Metro extension line and the road connecting La Lagunita and Macaracuay—may improve the traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
around El Hatillo, but the traffic issue affects all of Caracas. It is estimated that one million vehicles transit Caracas daily, causing a collapse of the transportation network. Automobiles travel at an average speed of 15 km/h (9 mph) on the streets and highways of Caracas. There are numerous factors contributing to the traffic problem in Caracas. According to the Venezuelan Society of Transportation Engineers, a city should allocate 20% of its public area to transportation; in Caracas, less than 12% is allocated. In 2004, fifty thousand new vehicles were sold in Caracas. In 2005, sixty thousand more were sold, and as of November, 2006, seventy thousand more had been sold. In five years, 250 thousand more cars are circulating in Caracas on roadways that have not increased proportionally to the increase in the number of cars. Further, public transportation is not fully reliable; an average trip in the city using mass transit takes around ninety minutes.
External links
- El Hatillo - Virtual tour
- El Hatillo. Pueblo de techos rojos - MiPunto.com
- El Hatillo: Un pueblo colonial anclado en la gran metrópoli - Buró de Convenciones y Visitantes de Venezuela
- Alcaldía El Hatillo - Nueva Esparta University
- El Hatillo - CaracasVirtual.com