HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central
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 ...
in a valley in the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
. It is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
of the
Cochabamba Department Cochabamba (, , ), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the " granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products from ...
and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630,587 according to the 2012 Bolivian census. Its name is from a compound of the Quechua words ''qucha'' "lake" and ''
pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...
'', "open
plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
." Residents of the city and the surrounding areas are commonly referred to as ''cochalas'' or, more formally, ''cochabambinos''. It is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" or "The Garden City" because of its spring-like temperatures all year round. It is also known as "La Llajta," which means "town" in Quechua. It is the largest urban center between the higher capital of
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 ...
and
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 ...
in the tropical plains of the east. It sits south-west of the Tunari mountains, and north of the foothills of the Valle Alto. In antiquity, the area featured numerous lakes, which gave the city its name. Many of these lakes have since disappeared to urban development, but Coña Coña and Alalay lakes are extant examples. It has been a populated settlement since the Pre-Inca period, and is today an important cultural, educational, political, and commercial centre.


History


Pre-Inca and Inca

The valley of Cochabamba has been inhabited for thousands of years due to its fertile productive
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
s and mild
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
.
Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
evidence suggests that the initial inhabitants were of indigenous ethnic groups:
Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...
, Tupuraya, Mojocoya,
Omereque Omereque is a location in the Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. It is the seat of the Omereque Municipality, the third municipal section of the Narciso Campero Province. The archeological site Fuerte de Samaipata is about 115 km ...
, and
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
inhabited the valley at times before the Spanish arrived. The name Cochabamba is a Spanish spelling of the Quechua compound noun qucha pampa (literally 'lake plain', phonemically /qutʃa pampa/, phonetically �qɔtʃa ˈpampa. Under the
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
Empire, the area was conquered by
Topa Inca Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (), also Topa Inga Yupangui, erroneously translated as "noble Inca accountant" (before 14711493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–1493) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pac ...
(ruled 1471–1493). His son
Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (; Cuzco Quechua: ''Wayna Qhapaq'' ) (before 14931527) was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui,Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; 2015, originally published in Sp ...
turned Cochabamba into a large production enclave or state farm to serve the Incas. The local population was possibly depleted during the Inca conquest and Huayna Capac imported 14,000 people, called mitimas, to work the land. The principal crop was
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
which could not be grown in much of the high and cold heartland of the Inca Empire. The maize was stored in 2,400 storehouses (
qollqa A qullqa ( "deposit, storehouse"; (spelling variants: ''colca, collca, qolca, qollca'') was a storage building found along Inca road system, roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. These were large stone buildings wit ...
s) in the hills overlooking the valley or transported by
llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...
caravan to storage sites in Paria,
Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...
, of other Inca administrative centres. Most of the maize was probably used to sustain the Inca army during its campaigns.


Spanish and Bolivian

The first Spanish inhabitant of the valley was Garci Ruiz de Orellana in 1542. He purchased the majority of the land from local tribal chiefs Achata and Consavana through a title registered in 1552 at the Imperial City of
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
. The price paid was 130 pesos. His residence, known as the House of Mayorazgo, still stands in the Cala Cala neighbourhood. The city, called Villa de Oropesa, was founded on 2 August 1571 by order of
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa Francisco Álvarez de Toledo ( Oropesa, 10 July 1515 – Escalona, 21 April 1582), also known as ''The Viceroyal Solon'', was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru. Often regarded as the "best of P ...
. It was to be an agricultural production centre to provide food and wood for the mining towns of the relatively nearby
Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...
region, particularly
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
which became one of the largest and richest cities in the world during the 16th and 17th centuries — funding the vast wealth that ultimately made Spain a world power. In fact, anthropologist Jack Weatherford and others have cited the city of Potosí as the birth of capitalism because of the money and materialism it provided Spain. Thus, with the
silver mining Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires the use of complex technologies. In ...
industry in Potosí at its height, Cochabamba thrived during its first centuries. However, the city entered a period of decline during the 18th century as mining began to wane. In 1786, King
Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...
renamed the city the 'loyal and valiant' Villa of Cochabamba. This was done to commend the city's pivotal role in suppressing the indigenous rebellions of 1781 in Oruro by sending armed forces to Oruro to quell the uprisings. Since the late 19th century it has again been generally successful as an agricultural centre for Bolivia. The 1793 census shows that the city had a population of 22,305 persons. There were 12,980
mestizos ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to ...
, 6,368 Spaniards, 1,182 indigenous natives, 1,600
mulattos ( , ) is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the word is (). The use of this term began in the United States shortly ...
and 175 African
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
s. In 1812, Cochabamba was the site of a riot against the Spanish Army. On May 27, thousands of women took up arms against the Spanish. According to historian Nathaniel Aguirre: "From Cochabamba, many men have fled. Not one woman. On the hillside, a great clamour. Cochabamba's plebeian women, at bay, fight from the centre of a circle of fire. Surrounded by five thousand Spaniards, they resist with battered tin guns and a few arquebuses; and they fight to the last yell, whose echoes will resound throughout the long war for independence. Whenever his army weakens, General Manuel Belgrano will shout those words which never fail to restore courage and spark anger. The general will ask his vacillating soldiers: Are the women of Cochabamba present?''" To celebrate their bravery, Bolivia now marks May 27 as Mother's Day. In 1900, the population was 21,886. Besides a number of schools and charitable institutions, the Catholic diocese has 55 parishes, 80 churches and chapels, and 160 priests.


Water War

In 1998, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to give Bolivia a loan of $138 million to control inflation and promote economic growth. However, it only agreed to do so on the condition that Bolivia sell "all remaining public enterprises," including its national oil refineries and the local water company, SEMAPA. In 1999, a group of private investors, specifically the Bechtel Corporation with headquarters in San Francisco, California, United States of America, came together under the name of Aguas del Tunari and bought the rights for the privatization of the city's water. In that same year, the World Bank (WB) refused to subsidize the water to help lower the cost for the people. Then in 2000, the people of Cochabamba began to protest as water priced hiked to a 50% increase that the majority could not afford. The Coalition for the Defense of Water and Life, and its leader Oscar Olivera, started a demonstration in ''La Plaza 14 de Septiembre'' also known as ''La Plaza Principal.'' The march was meant to be peaceful, but after two days the police used tear gas against the protestors and injured about 175 people and killed 1 and blinded two. Soon after, news reports were made about the protests and the violence. The Defense of Water and Life held an unofficial referendum and 96% of 50,000 people wanted Aguas del Tunari's contract to terminate, but the government refused. The protests only grew and the entire world began to watch forcing Bechtel to leave its contract and return SEMAPA to the public. Bechtel as well tried to sue the Bolivian government for $50 million but it withdrew its claim shortly after. This event was soon labelled as the Water Wars and became a driving force for anti-globalization projects such as the UN's decision to make water sanitation a human right and the privatisation of water as unethical in 2010. Additionally, the Water Wars would help spark the next revolt against the privatisation of natural gases from 2003 to 2005 which would lead to the removal of two presidents, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Carlos Mesa, and the rise of President Evo Morales in 2006. In January 2007, city dwellers clashed with mostly rural protestors, leaving four dead and over 130 injured. The first democratically elected Prefect of Cochabamba,
Manfred Reyes Villa Manfred Armando Antonio Reyes Villa Bacigalupi is a Bolivian politician, businessman, and former military officer. He was the mayor of the city of Cochabamba from 1994 to 2000, and became the elected Prefect of the Department of Cochabamba fr ...
, had allied himself with the leaders of Bolivia's Eastern Departments in a dispute with President
Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come ...
over regional autonomy and other political issues. The protestors blockaded the
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
s, bridges, and main roads, having days earlier set fire to the departmental seat of government, trying to force the resignation of Reyes Villa. Citizens attacked the protestors, breaking the blockade and routing them, while the police did little to stop the violence. Further attempts by the protestors to reinstate the blockade and threaten the government were unsuccessful, but the underlying tensions had not been resolved. In July 2007, a monument erected by veterans of January's protest movement in honour of those killed and injured by government supporters was destroyed in the middle of the night, reigniting racial conflicts in the city. In August 2008, a nationwide referendum was held. The prefect of Cochabamba, Manfred Reyes Villa, was not confirmed by the voters, and he was removed from the position.


Climate

Cochabamba is known for its "Eternal Spring". Neither experiencing the humid heat of Santa Cruz nor the frigid winds of
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 ...
, Cochabamba experiences a
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 se ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''BSk''), bordering on a
subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cwb''). The characteristic of the climate is an extended dry season that runs from May until October with a wet season that generally begins in November with the principal rains ending in March.


People and culture

Cochabamba is known as the heart of Bolivia and the gastronomic capital. Traditional cuisine includes: salteñas, chuño, tucumanas, pique macho, silpancho, anticucho, sopa de mani, chicharrón, charke, fricasé, rellenos de papa and many more dishes. The international street art festival known as the BAU (Bienal de Arte Urbano) has been hosted in Cochabamba every two years since 2011. The festival is organized by , a local cultural centre. In 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 the painting was done in the Villa Coronilla, and Geronimo de Osorio neighbourhoods. In 2019 the festival focused on the neighbourhood Esperanza, on the edge of the Alalay Lake. The festival has featured internationally renowned artists such as Blu (Italy) and Inti (Chile). Commensurate with other large cities in the Andean highlands of South America, Cochabamba is a city of contrasts. Its central commercial districts, Zona Norte, is bounded b
Plaza Colón
an
Plaza 14 de Septiembre
are generally equipped with modern urban amenities and are where the majority of the city's formal business and commercial industries are based. La Cancha, the largest open-air market in South America, is also an active place where locals can buy a range of items. An active nightlife is centered aroun
Calle España
and along the broad, tree-lined boulevard
El Prado
In contrast, the Zona Sur, a remote area adjacent to the Wilstermann International
Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
is visibly impoverished, with adobe homes and unpaved roads, which is often the first impression visitors acquire while commuting into the city. In 2009, the government under President Evo Morales created a new constitution that declared Spanish and 36 other indigenous languages as the official languages of the country. However, the most widely spoken languages in Cochabamba are Spanish and Quechua. Although the Spanish that is spoken in the Cochabamba region is generally regarded as rather conservative in its phonetics and vocabulary, the use of Quechua terminology (''wawa''
hild Hild or Hildr may refer to: * Hildr or Hild is one of the Valkyries in Norse mythology, a personification of battle * Hild or Hilda of Whitby is a Christian saint who was a British abbess and nun in the Middle Ages * Hild (Oh My Goddess!), the ult ...
and ''wistupiku'' outh or twist lips has been widely incorporated into its standardized form. As with most cities around the globe, English is increasingly spoken and understood, particularly among business-minded indigenous and repatriated Cochabambinos. English-language instruction has become incorporated into some private schools and universities but is not taught universally, therefore a vast majority of the population does not speak English. About four-fifths of the population of Bolivia identifies as Catholic. Like other cities that share the same ethnic group quadrants like
Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...
or Cuenca, Cochabamba's demographics consist of the following visible groups in order of prevalence: Indigenous (mostly of Quechua and Aymara ethnicity) people,
Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
, or mixed Indigenous and Spanish European, and people of Spanish (
Criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...
) and other European descent. As well as a fairly significant population of
Afro-Bolivians Afro-Bolivians (), also known as Black Bolivians (), are Bolivians who have predominantly or total Sub-Saharan African ancestry and therefore the descriptive "Afro-Bolivian" may refer to historical or cultural elements in Bolivia thought to eman ...
. By 2013, the human development index of the Metropolitan region of Cochabamba was 0.801 as a result of a 35% growth in the last 20 years.


Government

Cochabamba, formally the municipality of Cercado, is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
of
Cochabamba department Cochabamba (, , ), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the " granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products from ...
. The city government is divided into
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
and
legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
branches. The mayor of Cochabamba is the head of the city government, elected by general election for a term of five years. The mayor heads an executive branch, which includes six sub-mayors and a variety of departments comprising 950 functionaries. The 11-member municipal council is the legislative branch. The current mayor is Manfred Reyes Villa of the Súmate Movement, elected in 2021 for a 5-year term.


Economy

File:Cochabamba Edificio Los Tiempos y Cine Center.jpg, Cine Center Cochabamba, Ramon Rivero Avenue, Bolivia File:Vista_de_Cochabamba_desde_el_Cerro_San_Pedro.jpg, Cochabamba seen from Cerro San Pedro, Bolivia File:Ciudad_de_Cochabamba.jpg, Cochabamba, Bolivia The area where Cochabamba is situated is commonly referred to as the granary of
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 ...
. Its climate is milder than that of the Altiplano region to the west and thus permits extensive agriculture, including grains, potatoes, and coffee in the highlands and sugar cane,
cocoa bean The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao tree ...
s, tobacco, and fruit in the Chapare tropical lowlands of the South American Amazon region, an area that had been one of the country's main
coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...
-leaf-producing regions. Cochabamba is also the industrial hub of Bolivia, producing cars, cleaning products, cosmetics, chemicals, and cement. The economy of Cochabamba is characterized by producing goods and services. Recently, the software industry is becoming increasingly important. International companies like GOJA and Assuresoft also have subsidiaries in Cochabamba. Due to this industry growth, Cochabamba is called the "Silicon Valley of Bolivia", with a high demand for professionals immersed in technological careers such as Systems Engineering, Telecommunications and Information Technology. The airline Boliviana de Aviación has its headquarters in Cochabamba. The defunct airline
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), internationally known as LAB Bolivian Airlines, was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. It was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca, a ...
(LAB Airlines) had its management offices on the grounds of Jorge Wilstermann Airport in Cochabamba. In Cochabamba construction has been rapidly increasing in the last couple of years with more than 750 construction sites per year. Narcotrafic is now controlled in Cochabamba, which used to be related to cocaine dealers several years ago.


Urban transport

The metropolitan area of Cochabamba (Vinto, Tiquipaya, Quillacollo, Colcapirhua, Cochabamba and Sacaba) has an extensive transportation system, which cover all the districts. There are almost 70 bus and minibus lines, from A to Z, and dozens of minibuses and fixed-route trufis (T.RU.FI, or "taxi con ruta fija") taxi lines. Most lines have GPS system for monitoring and regulation of hour (line 1, line 16, line L, Line 3V, line 20, line 30, etc.). The T.RU.FI service has at least 60 lines; they are identified by signs on the roof of the vehicle showing the route from the initial stop until the final stop, which is also indicated by the line number to which it belongs. The busiest bus lines are: *Line "Q" (CBBA-QLLO) *Line "W" (CBBA-QLLO) *Line "3V" *Line "B" (Airport) *Line "K" *Line "X-10" *Line "36" *Line "1" *Line "30" *Line "13" *Line "Z-12" (CBBA-TIQUIPAYA) And the busiest trufi taxi lines are: *Taxi Trufi "110" *Taxi Trufi "260" (Cochabamba-Quillacollo Line) *Taxi Trufi "270" (Cochabamba-Quillacollo Line) *Taxi Trufi "103" (Green line and White Line) *Taxi Trufi "106" (Tiquipaya Line) *Taxi Trufi "130" (Circular) *Taxi Trufi "209" (Circular) (Cochabamba-Quillacollo Line) *Taxi Trufi "123" *Taxi Trufi "224" (Sacaba Line) *Taxi Trufi "240" (Sacaba Line) *Taxi Trufi "244" (Sacaba Line) *Taxi Trufi "115"


Light rail

Construction on an
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
network known as ''Mi Tren'' linking Cochabamba with Suticollo, El Castillo and San Simon University began in 2017. Opening of the Red Line and first phase of the Green Line took place September 13, 2022.


Basic services

*EMSA, the municipal sanitation company, is responsible for the pickup, transportation, storage and removed from urban waste produced. EMSA covers 88% of the city and collects 400 tonnes of waste produced per day. Through the municipal government of Cochabamba, special containers made available throughout the city for the storage of solid waste common. The municipality's sole disposal facility, the K'ara K'ara waste dump (Botadero K'ara K'ara), has been the centre of a long-running controversy over pollution of the air and groundwater; it is frequently blockaded by neighbouring residents demanding changes.


Media


Print media

There are several newspapers in Cochabamba: * Los Tiempos * Opinión * La Voz * Gente


Radio stations

The main radio stations scattered across the department and the capital are: * Estrella FM 93,1 * Centro Ltda. * Mega DJ * Milenio * La Voz del Juno * Kancha Parlaspa * Bandera Tricolor * Cochabamba * Gaviota Dorada * Del Valle * San Rafael * La Voz del Valle - Punata * Continental * Oro * Triunfo Morena * Epoca * La Verdad F.M.100.7 * M&D Comunicaciones * Universal * Fantástico 97.1 * Panorama FM 90.9 * Punata radio Panorama FM 88.9 * FM-100 Clásica * FM Stereo 98.7 – La voz de América * Bethel FFM 95.5 * Ritmo 97.5 * La Triple Nueve 99.9 * La Fabrica de la Musica 107.1 * Magnal de Capinota * Radios Fides Cochabamba, Punata y Chapare * CEPRA Pongo Khasa 1,390 AM * Sonido Lider 95.9 FM * Pio XII FM 97.9 * Mundial * Porvenir * Radio Cosmos de Bolivia * CEPRA - Centro de Producción Radiofónica * CEPRA - Radio Morochota * Enlace * Radio HIT 105.7 *
Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...
Bolivia


Television channels

In the capital and throughout the department there are many television channels that broadcast on local, provincial, national or international all day or part of it. The transmission towers that transmit channels nationally and internationally are in the high Cala Cala, Villa Moscu or Villa Taquiña. * Canal 2: Canal 2 Cochabamba Corazón de América (local)
Canal 4:
Red ATB (national)
Canal 5:
Red Bolivisión (national)
Canal 7:
Bolivia TV (Channel of the State)
Canal 9:
Red Uno de Bolivia (national)
Canal 11:
: TVU (local)
Canal 13:
Red Unitel (national)
Canal 15:
Cristo Viene la Red (Religious Channel)
Canal 17:
sko TV (local)
Canal 18:
Radio Televisión Popular (RTP) (national) * Canal 20: Piñami de Comunicaciones (provincial)
Canal 21:
Tele C (local)
Canal 24:
Red ADVenir Internacional (Christian Channel/International) * Canal 26: Metro TV (local)
Canal 27:
Sistema Cristiano de Comunicaciones (local) * Canal 30: 30 TV (local) * Canal 36: Cadena A (national)
Canal 39:
Univalle TV (local)
Canal 42:
Red PAT (national)
Canal 45:
Abya Yala Television (national) * Canal 48: Red Unitepc (local) * Canal 51: MTV Cochabamba(local) * Canal 57: RTL Canal de Noticias(local) * Canal 47: TV Culturas (Channel of the State)


Education

The city is the home of the University of San Simón (UMSS, for "Universidad Mayor de San Simón"), one of the largest and most prominent public universities in Bolivia. UMSS is the second best university in Bolivia according to QS World University Rankings in 2013 but measured by the web metric scores as the first one during 2013–2017. Among the private universities in Bolivia ranking in the top ten are the Universidad Privada Boliviana (a prestigious business university), Universidad del Valle (a strong university in medicine with a large enrollment of international students) and Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo". Other universities include Escuela Militar de Ingenieria "Antonio Jose de Sucre", Universidad Simón I. Patiño, Universidad de Aquino Bolivia, Universidad Adventista de Bolivia, Universidad Privada Domingo Savio and Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana (UPAL). Cochabamba became the second recipient city of Brazilian students in Bolivia after the city of Santa Cruz, due to the affordable and good living conditions of the city. Also, Cochabamba is the home of one of the best schools of Bolivia, Colegio San Agustín.


Airport

Cochabamba is served by the modern Jorge Wilstermann International Airport (
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
code CBB), which handles domestic and international flights. It houses the headquarters of Boliviana de Aviación ( BOA) Bolivia's national airline and, in the past, of
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), internationally known as LAB Bolivian Airlines, was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. It was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca, a ...
, Bolivia's former national airline. Other domestic airlines that serve the airport include
Línea Aérea Amaszonas Línea Aérea Amaszonas S.A. operating as Amas Bolivia (legally as ''Compañía de Servicios de Transporte Aéreo Amaszonas S.A.'') was a regional airline based in Bolivia, headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra with its administrative center ...
, Ecojet and Transporte Aéreo Militar.


Neighborhoods

Cochabamba is a steadily emerging market within the Bolivian real estate industry. Since 2010, it became the city with the most surface area in construction in Bolivia overpassing Santa Cruz and La Paz. There are many middle and large buildings under construction by 2012. An annual mild climate, abundant greenery, mountain vistas, and a progressive local economy are factors that have contributed to the city's appeal to Bolivian nationals, expatriates and foreigners alike. Historic and affluent neighbourhoods such as Cala Cala, El Mirador, and Lomas de Aranjuez showcase some of the city's most distinguished residences. *Queru Queru - North *La Recoleta - North *Cala Cala - North *Lomas de Aranjuez - North *El Mirador - North *Las Brisas - North *Sarco - Northwest *Mayorazgo - Northwest *Barrio Profesional - Northwest *America Oeste - Northwest *Colquiri - Northwest *Muyurina - Northeast *Tupuraya - Northeast *Hippodromo - West *Villa Busch - West *Temporal - North *La Chimba - Southwest *Aeropuerto - Southwest *Ticti Norte - Fringe North *Jaihuayco - South *Zona sud - South *Ticti - South *Valle Hermoso - South


Metropolitan area

Cochabamba is connected with the following towns and cities: * Quillacollo * Sacaba * Vinto * Colcapirhua * Tiquipaya * Cliza * Tarata * Ironcollo * Punata


Additional notes of interest

* Cochabamba is also mentioned in the documentary '' The Corporation'', about their fight against the privatisation of water by a foreign-owned company, against which the people protested and won. The privatisation had gone to such an extent that even rainwater was not allowed to be collected. Read Cochabamba protests of 2000. * Cochabamba has been confirmed to be the seat of a future South American Parliament when it is formed by UNASUR. UNASUR has yet to determine what the composition of the Parliament will be, but existing treaties all agree it will meet in Cochabamba. * Cochabamba was the first place rugby union in Bolivia was formally established. * Cochabamba was featured as a location in the story in the 1983 film, '' Scarface''. Powerful drug lord
Alejandro Sosa Alejandro "Alex" Sosa is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1983 American crime film '' Scarface'' and the 2006 video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. He is an international Bolivian drug lord and the chief supplier of co ...
resided there, governed large coca plantations and owned cocaine labs whereupon further refining, would be shipped to Tony Montana in Florida. * Cochabamba is the setting of the 2010 movie '' También la lluvia'' (''Even the rain''), which takes place during the water war of 2000. It depicts a crew making a movie about the colonization of Latin America when the protests against privatization erupt. The film stars Mexican actor
Gael García Bernal Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and filmmaker. He is known for his performances in the films ''Amores perros'' (2000), ''Y tu mamá también'' (2001), ''Bad Education (2004 film), Bad Education'' (2004), ''The Mot ...
, and received positive reviews. * Cochabamba is also the site of several major spammers, as confirmed by the watchdog group Spamhaus.Spamhaus Blacklist, 2015


Notable residents


Business people

* Simón Iturri Patiño (1862–1947), mining magnate * Arturo Murillo, hotelier and politician ;Educators and intellectuals * Jaime Escalante, professor and teacher whose life was dramatized in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver * Renato Prada Oropeza, professor, semiologist, writer * Thäddeus Haenke (1761–1816), botanist * Romina Pérez, sociologist and academic


Musicians

* Katia Escalera, Soprano * Jaime Laredo, (b. 1941), classical violinist * Los Kjarkas, Cochabambino folk music group


Literature

* Nataniel Aguirre (1843–1888), author * Adela Zamudio (1874–1925), author and poet * Jesús Lara (1898–1975), author and poet * Gaby Vallejo Canedo (1941), author, professor of Literature * Edmundo Paz Soldán, author * Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz (1931–1980), author and politician * Javier del Granado (1913–1996), poet laureate * Julia Urquidi (1926–2010), writer, remembered as
Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...
's first wife * Renato Prada Oropeza (1937–2011), novelist and poet * Sara Ugarte de Salamanca, poet who had the memorial built to the heroines on 1812 * Óscar Únzaga de la Vega (1916–1959), journalist and historian


Other

*
Oscar Olivera Oscar Olivera Foronda (born 1955) is a Bolivian union leader who was one of the main leaders of the protesters against the water privatization in Bolivia. The result of these protests was an event known as the Cochabamba Water War. He was also one ...
(1955), environmental activist * Richard T. James (1918) inventor of the
slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented and developed by American naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943 and successfully demonstrated at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia on November 27, 1945. It can perform a number of tricks, ...
toy


Twin towns – sister cities

Cochabamba is twinned with: *
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
Italy, since 2008 * Córdoba, Argentina, since 1989 *
Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...
, China, since 1990 *
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, Uruguay since 2005 * Viedma, Argentina, since 2009 *
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
, Venezuela, since 2009


See also

* World People's Conference on Climate Change *
2000 Cochabamba protests The Cochabamba Water War, also known as the Bolivian Water War, was a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia's fourth largest city, between December 1999 and April 2000 in response to the Water privatization, privatization of ...
* Freternindad Folklórica y Cultural Caporales Universitarios de San Simon *
2018 South American Games The 2018 South American Games was a multi-sport event that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It was the 11th edition of the ODESUR South American Games. A total of 373 sporting events are scheduled to be contested across a variety of sports. ...


Notes


References

* * *


External links


Weather in Cochabamba

The History of Cochabamba

Cbba.info
Map of Cochabamba City {{Authority control Populated places established in 1571 Populated places in Cochabamba Department 1571 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1571 establishments in South America