The Torres Municipality is one of the eight

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(

municipio ' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or ...

s) that makes up the

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 ...

n state of

Lara Lara may refer to: Places * Lara (state), a state in Venezuela *Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia * Lara, Antalya, an urban district in Turkey * Lara, Victoria, a township in Australia * Lara de los In ...

and, according to a 2011 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 185.275. The town of Carora is the

shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of the Torres Municipality.http://www.ine.gob.ve/secciones/division/Lara.zip

History

The town of Carora was founded twice. The first time was in 1569 by ''Juan de Tejo'', but it was evacuated because of attacks by local natives. It was founded again in 1572 by ''Juan de Salmanca''. Carora has one of the most beautiful and well-conserved colonial zones in

. This is visible in the streets and the colonial houses of this part of Carora. One of the interesting characteristics of the colonial zone is that most of the houses are still occupied by descendants of the original owners. The cathedral of ''San Juan Bautista'' (

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

) was constructed at the beginning of 1600, with a very simple facade. In the inner part it is decorated with wood pillars and forged iron lights, in addition to a gold and wooden altar. Other sites of interest in Carora are: The ''José Zubillaga Perera Library'', the birthplace of the Venezuelan hero ''Juan Jacinto Lara'', and Lara House, the Fine arts Center. Also the Chapel of ''El Calvario'', an example of the colonial baroque architecture. Also in the historic zone is the well-known Torres Club. Founded in 1898, this is in a colonial house. It has a restaurant and a " Healthcare center", which is only for members, but can usually be visited by tourists.

Economy

*Agricultural potential: The main commercial activity of the region is cattle ranching, specifically dairy farming. Other agriculture products of the region are

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

and

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

. The former has the greater area under cultivation. In the case of the grapes cultivated in the Valley of ''Altagracia'', these represents 86% of the crop cultivated in the

Lara state Lara State ( es, Estado Lara, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Barquisimeto. Lara State covers a total surface area of and, in 2015, had a census population of 2,019,211. Toponymy The state is named after a notable ...

. This activity is tied to the wine industry. That has acquired a national reputation with some of best wines of the country. There is a possibility of extending the Center-West railway network to Carora, which would contribute to consolidating the industrial zone. Commerce in Carora, has a high proportion of small and larger retailers, and an institute for the control of this sector, the ACIC, has been created. *Touristic potential: The city includes two different types of landscapes, one dry with

Xerophile A xerophile () is an extremophilic organism that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Water activity (aw) is measured as the humidity above a substance relative to the humidity above ...

vegetation, and another with subhumid characteristics. The latter, the Carora's historic zone and the ''Cerro Saroche'' national park, has a great touristic potential.

Demographics

The Torres Municipality, according to a 2011 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 185,275. This amounts to 10.4% of the state's population. The municipality's population density is .http://www.ine.gob.ve/sintesisestadistica/estados/lara/cuadros/Poblacion4.xls

Government

The municipality is divided into 17

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es; Trinidad Samuel, Antonio Díaz, Camacaro, Castañeda, Cecilio Zubillaga, Chiquinquirá, El Blanco, Espinoza de los Monteros, Lara, Las Mercedes, Manuel Morillo, Montaña Verde, Montes de Oca, Torres, Heriberto Arroyo, Reyes Vargas, and Altagracia.

Education

Colleges and universities in Carora include the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (Lisandro Alvarado Center-West University) or UCLA, is a public institution in

Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; guc, Watkisimeeta) is a city in Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of the country, recognized as the f ...

, created on September 22, 1962, under

Romulo Betancourt Romulo may refer to: People with the given name Romulo Italian * Rômulo (footballer, born 1987), Brazilian-born football player * Romulo Cincinato (1502 – circa 1593), painter Portuguese * Rómulo (footballer, born 1976), football player M ...

, with the name of ''Experimental Center of Superior Studies''. It began with four schools:

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, agronomy,

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

and

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

. In 1967, the name changed to ''Center-West University'', continuing the educational and administrative activities of the ''Experimental Center of Superior Studies''. On April 2, 1979, the Venezuelan government rename the institution as Lisandro Alvarado Center-West University.

Culture

Carora has been the birthplace of notable people: guitarists

Alirio Diaz Alirio is a given name of uncertain origin, perhaps from a popular form of Latin Hilarius. Notable people with this name include: * Alirio Díaz (1923–2016), Venezuelan classical guitarist and composer * Alirio Palacios (1938–2015), Venezuel ...

and Rodrigo Riera; historians Gillermo Moron, Ismael Silva Montañes, Ambrosio Perera; health scientist Dr. Pastor Oropeza; and lawyers Ambrosio Oropeza, Juan Oropeza, Antonio Oropeza and Jose "Cheito" Herrera Oropeza, one of the writers of the 1961 Venezuelan Constitution.

References

External links

torres-lara.gob.ve
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres Municipality Municipalities of Lara (state)