Catia La Mar is a city and port in the municipality of Vargas, in the State of Vargas,

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 ...

. It is Maiquetia's neighbor to the west. Catia la Mar is about 10 minutes from Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela's main airport). Named after the 16th-century

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a S ...

Catia, contemporary of

Guaicaipuro Cacique Guaicaipuro was a legendary native (indigenous) Venezuelan chief of both the Teques and Caracas tribes. Though known today as Guaicaipuro, in documents of the time his name was written Guacaipuro.http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/handle/ ...

, founded in 1558 by Francisco Fajardo with the name of "La Villa de Catia", currently called Catia la Mar. The city hosts a naval academy and university, a fishing port called La Zorra, and several beaches (Costa Dorada, Playa La Zorra, Playa Candilejas, Puerto Viejo). Its main neighborhoods are Atlantida, Playa Grande, Páez, Ezequiel Zamora, La Lucha, and La Soublette. According to the 2011 population census, the city had 85,366 inhabitants, making it the most populous of the 11 parishes in Vargas State. The city was affected by the 1999

Vargas tragedy The Vargas tragedy was a natural disaster that occurred in Vargas State, Venezuela on 14–16 December 1999, when torrential rains caused flash floods and debris flows that killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed thousands of homes, and l ...

References

Cities in Vargas (state) Port cities in Venezuela Port cities in the Caribbean {{venezuela-geo-stub

See also

References