Los Guayos is a town in

Carabobo State , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, northwest of the Valencia Lake. It is the capital of the Los Guayos Municipality and is part of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

's metropolitan area.

Etymology

Los Guayos owes its name to a phonetic alteration of the Indian word "''uayos''", a kind of rubber substance obtained from the bark of the huayales tree. This area was originally inhabited by

Caribs “Carib” may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an indigenous pe ...

Indians.

Geography

The town of Los Guayos is part of the Los Guayos municipality. It has now almost merged with other towns in the area. The Caracas-Valencia motorway lies immediately to the North-Northeast of Los Guayos. The Los Guayos River runs from the northeast to the southeast of the town.

History

* On 20 February 1694, Don Francisco Berroterán, governor of

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

, declared Los Guayos a "town of Indians". The area was formerly inhabited by part of the Indian tribe of the Guayos. * On 6 June 1710, the priest, Mariano de Martí, made Los Guayos a parish. * In 1751, inhabitants of Los Guayos joined the national uprising led by Francisco de León against the Compañía Guipuzcoana. * In 1812,

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...

left a troop in the town of Los Guayos to defend the road against Spanish forces while he pursued his campaign in the Valencia region. The troop engaged in a battle with the Spaniards and was about to win the battle when one of its officers deserted to the enemy. The troop then dispersed.

Interesting locations

The colonial church of San Antonio de Padua, or church of Los Guayos, is one of the oldest churches in Venezuela. Its first building dates back to 1650, when it was the church for the Indians of the area. The bell tower, with two adjacent areas, dates back to 1779.

Postal code

* Los Guayos proper: 2003 * Vivienda Popular Los Guayos: 2001

External links