Trinidad, officially La Santísima Trinidad (), is a city in
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, capital of the department of
Beni. The population is 130,000 (2010 official estimate). While historically a peripheral city in Bolivia, Trinidad is today an important center for the Bolivian Bovine industry and has enjoyed a modest economic boom in recent years and has an
HDI index of above 0.700.
While technically on the periphery of the
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...
, Trinidad is a wet monsoonal location that is connected by the Mamoré river to the greater Amazon Basin. While wet enough to be a rainforest in total annual precipitation, dry monsoonal weather separates the year into dry and wet seasons as is common throughout much of the greater Amazon basin, particularly to the southeast.
Trinidad is a growing city of medium size, and while not an important national center, has grown in importance for the local economy of the Bolivian orient north of
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department.
Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...
.
The city is also home to the
Bolivian Navy
The Bolivian Navy () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. As of 2018, the Bolivian Navy had approximately 5,000 personnel. Although Bolivia has been landlocked since the War of the Pacific and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1904), B ...
flotilla.
History
The city was founded in 1686 by Father Cipriano Barace.
In 1769, the town moved to its current location, 9 miles away, due to flooding. The original city was on the
Mamoré River, but flooding and disease forced a move on the location of the city. It is located in the province of Cercado, one of Beni’s eight provinces.
Languages
Camba
Camba is a word historically used in Bolivia to refer to the indigenous population in the eastern tropical region of the country, or to those born in the area of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando. Nowadays, the term "Camba" is used predominantly t ...
Spanish is the primary vernacular
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
spoken in the town. Trinitário, a
Moxo dialect, is the main indigenous language spoken.
[Danielsen, Swintha; Terhart, Lena (2014). Paunaka. In Mily Crevels; Pieter Muysken (eds.). ''Lenguas de Bolivia'', vol. III: Oriente, pp. 221-258. La Paz: Plural Editores.]
Infrastructure
One of the more notable features of the city is the open drains that surrounds every block of buildings. These are linked together by lidded ditches and thence to the local river. These are necessary due to the heavy rainfall that occurs between December and May.
City
Trinidad, located at the southern edge of the Amazon basin on the
Llanos de Moxos, is hot and humid most of the year. This region of the country is heavily forested and many large rivers (all tributaries of the Amazon) run through
Beni. Like most cities in Bolivia, it is built around a central plaza with a large Catholic cathedral as its centerpiece. Trinidad was originally a small Jesuit town but is now a large city with over 100,000 inhabitants. Its mission-style church was demolished and rebuilt in 1923. Despite these changes, many of the original religious relics, paintings and statues are still housed in the cathedral, which faces the main plaza.
Climate
Under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, Trinidad has a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...
(''Am'') with a lengthy rainy season and a short dry season. The area receives ample rainfall, but is divided sharply between wet and dry seasons. Trinidad is technically Bolivia's wettest departmental capital, with over more rain falling than in the capital
La Paz
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
(which receives around ).
Tourism
The city is surrounded by rivers, lakes and lagoons. There are many river tours and restaurants and resorts around the city’s main lagoons. Trinidad is also one of the first five Jesuit mission towns established and these are now part of the Misiones tour includes visits to San Javier, Loreto, San Pedro and San Ignacio de Moxos as well. Trinidad and San Ignacio de Moxos both take part in the International Baroque Music Festival every two years in Bolivia.
Trinidad has two singular museums. The Museo Itícola (Fish Fauna Museum) is the third largest of its kind in South America and houses over 400 specimens of fish species found in the region’s lakes and lagoons. It is located on the UAB University campus. Visitors can see tiny fish, piranhas, and a preserved pink river dolphin (full sized floating in formaldehyde). The Kenneth Lee Ethno-Archeological Museum has exhibits of pottery, utensils and tools, textiles and other implements used by the Moxos culture.
Of interest to ornithologists, the highly endangered
blue-throated macaw (''Ara glaucogularis'') in the surrounding countryside. Expeditions to see these can be locally arranged.
Transportation
The city is served by
Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport.
Gallery
File:Catedral_de_la_Santísima_Trinidad.JPG, Trinidad Cathedral, in Bolivia
File:Rio_Ibare.jpg, Ibaré River, Beni
File:Trinfountain.jpg, Square in Trinidad, Bolivia
File:José_Ballivián_Segurola.JPG, Monument in Trinidad
File:TrinidadBolivia.jpg, Trinidad Cathedral
File:Santisima.TrinidadBn.jpg, Trinidad, Bolivia
Notable people
*
Jeanine Áñez (born 1967), former President
*
Hugo Dellien (born 1993), tennis player
*
Murkel Dellien (born 1997), tennis player
*
Asunta Limpias de Parada (1915–1995), composer, writer, singer, and pianist
*
Alan Loras (born 1986), footballer
*
Limbert Méndez (born 1982), footballer
*
Osvaldo Peredo (1941–2021), physician and revolutionary leader
*
Cristian Reynaldo (born 1978), football manager and former player
*
Carolina Ribera (born 1990), dentist and daughter of President Jeanine Áñez
*
Rolando Ribera (born 1983), footballer
*
Erwin Rivero (born 1957), biochemist, pharmacist, and politician
*
Estefany Rivero (born 1996), architect, model and beauty pageant titleholder
*
Farides Vaca (born 1969), librarian and politician
*
Pedro Zabála (born 1983), footballer
References
External links
{{Authority control
Populated places in Beni Department
Populated places established in 1686
1686 establishments in the Spanish Empire
Jesuit Missions of Moxos