Portoviejo (), also known as San Gregorio de Portoviejo, is a city in
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, and the capital of the
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Manabí from the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
coast. It is still known as the city of the "Royal
Tamarind
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabacea ...
Trees" due to former Tamarind plantains in the area.
It serves as the main political and economical centre of the
Portoviejo River
The Portoviejo River is a river of the southern coast of Ecuador.
See also
*List of rivers of Ecuador
The rivers of Ecuador are an important part of the nation's geography and economy. Most of the over 2,000 rivers and streamsTerry have headwate ...
valley, which also includes the cantons of
Santa Ana and
Rocafuerte
Rocafuerte is a town in the Rocafuerte Canton within the Manabí province of Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which liter ...
, where about are cultivated every year.
The city, which was affected by economic crisis in the eighties and nineties, is now recovering but severe budget limitations and a huge unemployment rate present difficulties for local authorities.
Founded on March 12, 1535, it is one of the oldest cities in Ecuador and is the sixth largest of the country.
Portoviejo is important for the cultivation of
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
, cattle and fishing and has a thriving agricultural-processing industry, with good road connections to
Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on ...
and
Guayaquil
, motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America
, pushpin_re ...
.
History
Founded March 12, 1535, near the coast, by the Spanish captain Francisco Pacheco as "Villa Nueva de San Gregorio de Portoviejo", it was moved inland to its present site in 1628 due to Indian attacks.
On April 16 and 17, 2016, a large
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
with a moment magnitude of 7.8 struck the region. Portoviejo sustained over 300 fatalities and building damage.
Gastronomy
The city has a rich agricultural and maritime industry, employing over 50% of the population, as well as a flourishing gastronomic sector. The gastronomic sector is now regarded as the main post-disaster, referring to the 2016 earthquake, cultural industry, providing employment opportunities and reducing poverty for local inhabitants.
In 2018, Portoviejo's gastronomy was declared as intangible heritage of Ecuador, a certificate granted by the Ministry of Culture and Cultural Heritage on October 18, 2018, to commemorate the 198 years of independence of Portoviejo.
In October 2019, the flavor of the Manabi capital was recognized as part of the Creative Cities Network, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Portoviejo received this recognition when World Cities Day was commemorated, as reported by the Municipal Autonomous Decentralized Government of Portoviejo. The inhabitants of Manabi recover their culture, through gastronomy and the conservation of ancestral recipes; points considered to be part of the Creative Cities, in the Gastronomy category. Portoviejo is the first city in Ecuador to obtain this recognition.
Among the main ingredients used in portovejense food are peanuts, bananas, cheese, corn, and yucca.
A typical meal might consist of Biche de Pescado, Shrimp, Corviche,
Bolón de verde,
Encebollado
Encebollado ( Spanish: ''cooked with onions'') is a fish stew from Ecuador, where it is regarded as a national dish. Although known throughout Ecuador, the dish is most popular in the country's coastal region. It is served with boiled cassava and ...
, Cebiche de Pollo, Aguado de gallina, or Cangrejada among others.
Points of Interest
The many parks within the city include Mamey Ecological Park which includes a large animal reserve, The Forest Park located in the north of the city, and Central Park Vicente Amador Flor.
The
Jardín botánico de Portoviejo, a preserved area, botanical garden, arboretum, orchid garden, palmetum and rescue area in the northeast of the city serves as a place for leisure, as well as biological and agricultural studies within the Manabí region. It consists of a combined total area of 50 hectars, owned by the Technical University of Manabí, located in Portoviejo.
The Parque Arqueológico Cerro Jaboncillo, an archeological site and museum is located outside of the city.
Situated near the city center is the
Metropolitan Cathedral of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
A nearby village,
Sosote, is known for its
tagua
''Phytelephas'' is a genus containing six known species of dioecious palms (family Arecaceae), occurring from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, and Peru. They are commonly known as ivory palms, ...
workshops, a traditional Ecuadorian handicraft.
Education
The ''Technical University'' ''of Manab''í (UTM) located in Portoviejo, was founded in 1952, having an estimated acceptance rate of 72%. It is locally known as Universidad Técnica de Manabí.
The ''Private University of San Gregorio Portoviejo'' is the second university of the city, founded in the year 2000 with an estimated acceptance rate of 51%.
Transportation
The city is located on the E30 road connecting from
Manta, Manabí to the capital of the
Cotopaxi Province
Cotopaxi () is one of the provinces of Ecuador. The capital is Latacunga. The province contains the Cotopaxi Volcano, an intermittent volcano with a height of .
Cantons
The province is divided into 7 cantons. The following table lists each ca ...
,
Latacunga
Latacunga (; Quechua: Latakunga) is a plateau town of Ecuador, capital of the Cotopaxi Province, south of Quito, near the confluence of the Alaquez and Cutuchi rivers to form the Patate, the headstream of the Pastaza. At the time of census 2 ...
, as well as the 39A.
In 2014, Portoviejo served a bus system of 129 buses on 12 routes throughout the entire city.
The
local airport was closed by order of president
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...
in 2011. Currently it is only used for the city's police helicopter operations, as well as for artistic events and trade fairs at Christmas time. In 2016, the airport served as a shelter for those affected by the April 16 earthquake. The nearest currently operating airport,
Eloy Alfaro International Airport
Eloy Alfaro International Airport is a combination civilian airport and military air base on the Pacific coast near Manta, a city in the Manabí Province of Ecuador. The airport, also known as Eloy Alfaro Air Base, is named in honor of Eloy Alfar ...
is instead located in the city of Manta 26 kilometres (16 mi) to the west.
Notable people
Vicente Amador Flor
Vicente Amador Flor Cedeño (July 19, 1903 - December 3, 1975) was an Ecuadorian poet known for his poems about his native city Portoviejo
Portoviejo (), also known as San Gregorio de Portoviejo, is a city in Ecuador, and the capital of the Prov ...
(July 19, 1903 - December 3, 1975), a poet known for writing poems about the city.
Nathalie Cely (28 December 1965- ), the former Minister of Production of Ecuador and former Ecuadorian Ambassador to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.
Lucila Santos Trujillo
Lucila Santos Trujillo (9 July 19284 May 2020) was First Lady of Ecuador to Otto Arosemena from 16 November 1966 to 31 August 1968.
Biography
Santos was born in Portoviejo, the daughter of Atanasio Santos Chávez, Governor of Manabí Province ...
(1925/1928 – 4 May 2020), former
first lady of Ecuador
First ladies and gentlemen of Ecuador are the wives and husbands of the presidents of Ecuador. There has been only one first gentleman of Ecuador to date, Eduardo Peña Triviño, the husband of former acting president Rosalía Arteaga Serrano.
...
.
Gallery
File:Portoviejo - Catedral.JPG, The Catedral Metropolitana de Portoviejo.
File:Iguana iguana Portoviejo 01.jpg, Green Iguana in the Botanical Garden at Portoviejo.
File:Lombards Museum 1000.jpg, alt=Tagua, Ecuadorian handicraft, Tagua
''Phytelephas'' is a genus containing six known species of dioecious palms (family Arecaceae), occurring from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, and Peru. They are commonly known as ivory palms, ...
, Ecuadorian handicraft.
File:Vista aérea de Portoviejo.jpg, Aerial view of Portoviejo.
Climate
Portoviejo has a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSh'') with consistently very warm to hot conditions all year round. The advance and retreat of the cold
Humboldt Current
The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...
means there are two seasons: a lengthy
dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...
from May to December and a short
wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
from January to April. The wet season is quite erratic owing to the
El Niño Southern Oscillation
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
.
in
El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date ...
years rainfall may be several times the long-term mean.
Twin cities
*
Baracaldo
Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo ha ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Manabí Province
Populated places established in 1535
Provincial capitals in Ecuador
1535 establishments in the Spanish Empire