Oruro, Bolivia
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Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population of 264,683 (2012 calculation), about halfway between La Paz and Sucre in the
Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...
, approximately above sea level. It is Bolivia's fifth-largest city by population, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra, El Alto, La Paz, and Cochabamba. It is the capital of the Department of Oruro and the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Oruro The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oruro ( la, Dioecesis Orurensis) is a diocese located in the city of Oruro in the Ecclesiastical province of Cochabamba in Bolivia. History * November 11, 1924: Established as Diocese of Oruro from the Metropolitan ...
. Oruro has been subject to cycles of boom and bust owing to its dependence on the mining industry, notably
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
, tungsten (wolfram),
silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
and copper.


History

The city was founded on November 1, 1606, by Don Manuel Castro de Padilla as a silver-mining center in the Urus region. At the time it was named Real Villa de San Felipe de Austria, after the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
monarch Philip III. It thrived for a while, but it was eventually abandoned as the silver mines became exhausted. Oruro was reestablished by European Bolivians in the late nineteenth century as a
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
mining center. It was named after the native tribe ''Uru-Uru.'' For a time, the La Salvadora tin mine was the most important source of tin in the world. Gradually, as this resource became less plentiful, Oruro again went into a decline. Its economy is still based on the mining industry.


Economy

While traditionally based upon mining, Oruro has become increasingly popular for tourism since the late 20th century. In the early 21st century, Oruro's economy grew through trade and economic connections with
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, especially for exporting products to Pacific markets. It transported products by road through Chile to the Pacific port of
Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...
to open new connections to external markets; it also used the rail connection through
Uyuni Uyuni (Aymara, ''uyu'' pen (enclosure), yard, cemetery, ''-ni'' a suffix to indicate ownership, "the one that has got a pen", "the one with a pen") is a city in the southwest of Bolivia. Uyuni primarily serves as a gateway for tourists visiting t ...
to the port at
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...
for exports. Thanks to increased road building, Oruro has become important as a waystation on the overland route of goods from the Atlantic
port of Santos The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world ...
, Brazil, through
Puerto Suárez Puerto Suárez is an inland river port and municipality in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. It is located 10 km west of the border with Brazil. Location ''Puerto Suárez'' is located in the province of Germán Busch, Santa Cruz Department a ...
and Santa Cruz to the capital, La Paz. The city is served by the Oruro Airport.


Culture and education

Despite its economic decline, the city attracts numerous tourists to its Carnaval de Oruro, considered one of the great folkloric events in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
for its masked "
diablada The Diablada, also known as the Danza de los Diablos ( en, Dance of the Devils), is an Andean folk dance performed in the Altiplano region of South America, characterized by performers wearing masks and costumes representing the devil and other ...
" and Anata. The Oruru Carnival was discovered in 1559, when the Augustinian priests were on the land, the festival is in honor of the Virgin of Candlemas. The
Oruro Symphony Orchestra The Oruro Symphony Orchestra ( es, Orquesta Sinfónica de Oruro) is a symphony orchestra based in Oruro, Bolivia. Under the directorship of Jesús Elías (2006–2008), they perform at the Teatro de la Casa Municipal de Cultura in Oruro. Bac ...
is based in the city. Aymara painter and printmaker
Alejandro Mario Yllanes Alejandro Mario Yllanes (1913–1960) was an Aymara painter and printmaker from Bolivia. He disappeared from the public spotlight in 1946, after he was awarded, but did not claim, the Guggenheim Fellowship.Raynor, VivienART; Works by a Vanished B ...
(1913–1960) was born here.Raynor, Vivien
ART; "Works by a Vanished Bolivian Painter"
''New York Times.'' 5 April 1992 (retrieved 2 May 2009)
The
Universidad Técnica de Oruro The Oruro Technical University ( es, Universidad Técnica de Oruo, UTO), or UTO, is one of ten public universities in Bolivia. It is located in the city of Oruro Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population o ...
, noted for its engineering school, is located in Oruro.


Climate

Oruro lies north of the salty lakes Uru Uru and Poopó. It is three hours (by bus) from La Paz. Located at an altitude of 3709 meters above sea level, Oruro is well known for its cold weather. Warmer temperatures generally take place during August, September and October, after the worst of the winter chills and before the summer rains. From May to early July, night time temperatures combined with cool wind can bring the temperature down to about -20 °C. Summers are warmer, and, although it is an arid area, it has considerable rainfall between November and March. The
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
describes the climate as a cold
subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
, bordering on a
cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, abbreviated Cwb and
Bsk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...
. Due to the warm days and dry winters, snow is not a frequent occurrence as much as the bitter cold (especially at night); however, flurries can fall usually once every few years, most recently July 4, 2015. The other three most recent snowfalls were those of 13 June 2013, 1 September 2010 (with accumulation), as well as one in 2008.


Main attractions

* Museo Patiño, former residence of "tin baron"
Simón Iturri Patiño Simón Iturri Patiño (1 June 1862 – 20 April 1947) was a Bolivian industrialist who was among the world's wealthiest people at the time of his death. With a fortune built from ownership of a majority of the tin industry in Bolivia, Patiño ...
*Museo Mineralógico (Mineralogical Museum): has exhibits of precious stones, minerals, and fossils *Museo Etnográfico Minero (Ethnographical Mining Museum): housed in a mine tunnel, depicts methods of Bolivian mining *Museo Nacional Antropológico Eduardo López Rivas (National Anthropological Museum): displays tools and information on the Chipaya and Uru tribes, and about Carnaval de Oruro. *Churches:
Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Catedral may refer to: * Catedral (Buenos Aires Underground), a station * Catedral (district), a district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica * Cerro Catedral, a mountain and ski resort in Argentina * Cerro Catedral (U ...
, Santuario de la Virgen del Socavón, Iglesia de Cunchupata *Inti Raymi, a mine


Education

Because of a high proportion of German-speaking residents, many of whom came as immigrants to work in the mines, the area once had a German school, ''Deutsche Schule Oruro''.Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672
().
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...
(West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 18/51.


Gallery

File:Poopo 1991.jpg,
Lake Poopó __NOTOC__ Lake Poopó ( es, Lago Poopó ) was a large saline lake in a shallow depression in the Altiplano Mountains in Oruro Department, Bolivia, at an altitude of approximately . Because the lake was long and wide (), it made up the eastern ...
, Bolivia File:Una_vista_a_los_edificios_que_tiene_la_Ciudad_de_Oruro.png, Downtown Oruro, Bolivia File:Superposiciones,_Oruro,_Bolivia_-_panoramio.jpg, Oruro, Bolivia File:Catedral_de_Oruro_-_Vista_Lateral.jpg, Oruro Cathedral File:Taitas.jpg, Taitas de Oruro File:Monumento_a_la_Virgen_del_Socavón_de_noche.jpg, ''Monumento a la Virgen Candelaria'', Oruro, Bolivia File:Plaza10deFebrero.jpg, Plaza 10 de Febrero, Oruro


Twin towns – sister cities

*
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
, Peru *
Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...
, Chile * Calama, Chile


Notable people from Oruro

* Elsa Cladera de Bravo (1922–2005), trade union leader * Hilda Mundy (1912–1980), Bolivian writer, poet & journalist


See also

* Jach'a Ch'ankha * Qala Qala


References


External links


Oruro's full information about hotels, history, carnival, tourism, pictures, videos, and news

Weather in Oruro




Oruro's Carnival]
Oruro's Carnival


{{Authority control Populated places in Oruro Department Tin mines in Bolivia Populated places established in 1606 1606 establishments in the Spanish Empire Populated places in the Altiplano eo:Oruro