Altagracia de Orituco

• Name — Altagracia de Orituco • Official Name — Nuestra Señora de Altagracia de Orituco • Nickname — La Sultana del Guárico • Type — Town • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Venezuela • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Guárico • Subdivision Type2 — Municipality • Subdivision Name2 — José Tadeo Monagas Municipality • Established Title — Founded • Established Date — 1 March 1676 • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Pedro Solórzano Jerez (PSUV) • Area Total Km2 — 20 • Elevation M — 406 • Elevation Max M — 497 • Elevation Min M — 315 • Population Total — 68295 • Population As Of — 2011 • Population Demonym — Gracitano • Time Zone — VET • Utc Offset — −4 • Postal Code — 2320 • Area Code — 0238 • Website — www.orituco.com

On 1 March 1676, the land that would constitute an indigenous doctrina (mission) town, later named Nuestra Señora de Altagracia, was officially granted. The settlement was effectively established on 1 March 1694, when the adjudication of land to relocate a group of the Guaiqueri nation was completed. The Guaiqueri had previously belonged to the encomienda of Captain Joseph Salvador de Medina until 1687, when that social and economic regime was abolished and the indigenous people were freed from personal service. The territorial concession was made publicly and officially in the "Valley of San Miguel de Orituco" by mandate of the Governor of Venezuela, maestre de campo Francisco de Berroterán, who authorized the council (cabildo) of San Sebastián de los Reyes to carry out the proceedings. They were executed by Captain Nicolás García Mujica (identified by some sources as Nicolás Garmendia Mujica), royal ensign and ordinary mayor. The settlement was subsequently constituted as a doctrina town, with the assent of Diego de Baños y Sotomayor, Bishop of Venezuela. Altagracia de Orituco arose as a consequence of the abolition of the personal-service encomienda system, the historical fact considered determinant in the origin of this new indigenous town. Father Juan de Barnuevo, then chaplain of the Valley of San Miguel del Rosario, mentioned the population of Altagracia in the first half of 1697.

The first part of the name comes from the Virgin of Altagracia, and the second from the Orituco River on whose banks the town has been situated since its origins. The formation of the toponym is a consequence of a process begun in the last decades of the 17th century, when prevailing Catholicism influenced the naming of the Guaiquerí indigenous community as Nuestra Señora de Altagracia. During the 18th century the town was commonly referred to as Nuestra Señora de Altagracia or simply Altagracia; the qualifier de Orituco was added in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, becoming the standard form as the use of Nuestra Señora diminished in republican-era usage, partly due to the separation of church and state. Orituco is a Hispanicized word derived from the Quechua Uritucu, formed from Uritu (a word used by Incaic indigenous peoples to name parrots, including macaws, parrots and parakeets) and the augmentative particle Cu/Co. Thus Uritu-cu means "many parrots". The river and territory had already been identified with the word Orituco in July 1634, according to documents related to the ecclesiastical visit conducted by Licenciado Domingo de Ibarra. Alexander von Humboldt used both Orituco and Uritucu in 1800 to identify the same river during his travels in what is now Guárico.

Average annual temperatures range between 22 °C and 31 °C. In the rainy season (May to October) temperatures can drop to around 21 °C, while in the dry season (November to April) they can reach up to 32 °C, frequently in March.

Most of the area is surrounded by valleys. To the north, low mountains and hills of the Venezuelan Coastal Range are present.

The principal rivers are the Orituco, the Memo, and the Macaira. The main water supply for José Tadeo Monagas Municipality is the Guanapito Reservoir.

Vegetation consists of grasses combined with shrubs and trees covering most of the area. Two variants of forest occur: forest at the foot of the cordillera and along riverbanks, and gallery forest, with rich woods such as mahogany. Other species include the moriche palm, the samán, the cují negro (Prosopis juliflora) and the chaparro (Byrsonima crassifolia).

Animal species include the scarlet ibis (corocoro), the peafowl, the curassow (paují), and the chirindera. In streams and morichales, species such as catfish (es), coporo, giant otter, deer, ocelot (cunaguaro) and jaguar are found.

Local mineral resources include silica sand, coal, cement materials, natural gas, petroleum, gypsum and zinc.

In recent years, Altagracia de Orituco has been transformed from a traditional urban center into a town with varied activities aimed at meeting the regional demand for goods and services. The surrounding zones, including San Rafael de Orituco, San Francisco Javier de Lezama, Libertad de Orituco and Paso Real de Macaira, depend on it as their regional hub. Banks with branches in the locality include Banesco, Banco de Venezuela and the Banco Bicentenario (two branches). Altagracia previously had a branch of BBVA Provincial, which closed in 2021 after 34 years of operation. The branch was the site of a notable hostage-taking incident in 2008.

Guatopo National Park was created on 31 March 1958 by Decree No. 122, published in Gaceta Oficial No. 25,624. It comprises the mountainous region of the interior range between Santa Teresa del Tuy and Altagracia de Orituco, with an extent of 122,464 ha. Its vegetation is tropical rainforest and semi-humid formations, and its wild fauna is rich in mammals. It has four major recreational installations: Agua Blanca, Santa Crucecita, Quebrada de Guatopo and Hacienda La Elvira. The park lies in the Acevedo, Independencia and Lander municipalities of Miranda State and the Monagas Municipality of Guárico.

The main source for the supply and treatment of water for the Orituco zone, especially the valleys. The reservoir, built of cement, stone and sand, has gates that are constantly monitored from a control point; manual backup operation is available in the event of failure.

A natural monument located in the San Francisco de Macaira parish of José Tadeo Monagas Municipality, created on 12 December 1978 by Decree No. 2,988 (published in Gaceta Oficial No. 2,417 of 7 March 1979) and covering 99 ha. The area features limestone massifs with caves crossed by small watercourses and deep vertical cliffs. Its main attraction is the limestone formation, of great paleontological and environmental value, comprising three massifs that house numerous caves crossed by fluvial torrents. The vegetation is mainly semi-deciduous forest and semi-deciduous scrub, within the montane forest region of the Venezuelan Coastal Range.

The Monument to Concord, popularly known as the "Cruz de Peña de Mota", is a masonry monument located on the hill north of the town known as Cerro de Peña de Mota. It was inaugurated on 19 April 1910, commemorating the centenary of the 19 April 1810 declaration of independence, and has become a traditional symbol of the city.

The main square has an area of approximately 10,000 m². The first bust of the Liberator was donated by General Manuel Sarmiento, a native son who was then president of Guárico State; it was brought to the town in an ox-drawn cart. It was replaced in 1924 by a marble bust, inaugurated on 5 July of that year for the celebration of Independence Day. After many meetings, residents finally appointed a Development Board composed of engineer Rodulfo Pérez Vargas and citizens Fernando G. Acosta and Horacio Ruiz. In January 1907 the local government issued a resolution authorizing Pérez Vargas to design and begin construction; the masonry was completed by 1908, with only the railings (commissioned in Caracas) still outstanding. The plaza was finally inaugurated on 1 January 1912. In 1966, during the government of Raúl Leoni of Acción Democrática, municipal authorities demolished the plaza and built a new one of the era's "modern" style, with steel and concrete; the marble bust of the Liberator was replaced by a bronze statue.

Also called the Cathedral, this is the main church of the town and seat of the parish of Nuestra Señora de Altagracia. It has a bell tower and houses the image of Our Lady of Altagracia, patroness of the town, whose festival is celebrated in January. Saint Michael the Archangel, co-patron of the town, is officially celebrated with a civic parade, fair queen election, toros coleados and traditional events. During Holy Week the church hosts religious activities including the Holy Wednesday procession of the Nazarene.

Located in the eastern area of the town, this church serves the José Francisco Torrealba community (Camoruco). The chapel was begun in November 1966 when the area had around 300 families, sponsored by Father José Madrazo, then vicar of the Nuestra Señora de Altagracia parish. The chapel was completed in mid-1970, with the first patronal festival of Our Lady of Sorrows held on 15 September 1970. On 15 September 2006 it was canonically erected as a parish by Monsignor Ramón José Aponte Fernández, second bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Valle de la Pascua. Father Pedro Pablo Aguilar became its first parish priest. Among notable visits to the parish was that of Pietro Parolin, then Apostolic Nuncio in Venezuela and current Cardinal Secretary of State of Vatican City, on 20 March 2011.

• Seat of the Municipal Mayor's Office of José Tadeo Monagas, a republican-era construction. • Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, built in 1904 and rebuilt after a collapse in 1907. • Manuel Ríos Square, a public space of approximately 500 m². • Saladillo Commercial Zone (also known as the Rómulo Gallegos Boulevard or El Chala), opened in June 1992. • Dr. José Francisco Torrealba Hospital.

• Unidad Educativa Ramón Buenahora (1930), now known as the Ramón Buenahora Educational Complex • Unidad Educativa José Francisco Torrealba (1973) • Unidad Educativa Altagracia (1979), renamed Liceo Juan Crisóstomo Falcón in 2024 • Unidad Educativa Filósofo Andrés Bello (2019)

• Colegio Padre Juan de Barnuevo • Colegio Nuestra Señora de Altagracia (formerly Madre Candelaria) • Colegio San Pablo Apóstol • Colegio Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda • Colegio Capitán Manuel Simón Ríos Hernández (founded 2023) • Colegio Batalla de La Victoria

• Rómulo Gallegos National Experimental University (UNERG) – Altagracia de Orituco Nucleus • National Open University • Simón Rodríguez National Experimental University • Bolivarian University of Venezuela • Llanos Technological University Institute

Local cuisine includes pisillo de venado (shredded venison), carne en vara, queso de mano, beef and chicken stews, palo a pique, and Creole sweets such as dulce de lechosa, jellies, preserves, catalinas, mango juice, carato, bollo pelón, coconut conserves, cachapa, bollo verde, papelón con limón, cane juice and pabellón.

Altagracia de Orituco features distinctive musical and folkloric traditions: • Parrandas de negros: Musical ensembles that improvise verses and interpret the marisela and guaraña on religious holidays such as Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, the Virgin of Carmen, Saint Rose, Saint Ramón and the Marys. Each group typically comprises six men sharing tenor, tenorete and singer rolls, wearing cardboard hats with bows and shiny paper. One member dresses as La Falsa (a man feigning a female voice). • Baile de los negros kimbánganos: A ritual brought to Venezuela by African enslaved peoples during the 17th-century colonial period, who began to venerate Saint John as patron. The celebration involves a wake and Mass for the saint accompanied by drum, guitar, cuatro and maracas. • Burning of Judas: An old tradition held on Easter Sunday, with fundraising in each sector to dress the effigy. Once made, the Judas is paraded on a donkey, cart, bicycle or car. In the afternoon before the burning, traditional games are played and a "testament" naming local personalities is drafted. • Velorio de Cruz: A religious and social festival held in May, in which renowned reciters chant fulías accompanied by cuatro, guitar, maracas, harp and tambora music. • La Burriquita: A folk dance whose main character wears a costume representing both donkey and rider at once, dancing to the rhythm of joropo with pirouettes and braying. • Joropo: The national music, sung and danced throughout Venezuela. It includes corridos, galerones, golpes and pasajes, played with cuatro, maracas and harp. • Coleo: A popular manifestation elevated to a sporting discipline. It originated in colonial times with the work of llaneros on the great cattle ranches. • Espigas del Orituco Children's Folkloric Festival: An annual event held for 25 years, fostering local cultural appreciation among students; categories include solo voice, declamation, oral narration, joropo, folkloric dance, poster, artisan craft, contrapunteo, musical instrument performance, folkloric research and folkloric theatre.

The guaraña is a musical piece composed of quatrains of improvised verses with consonant rhyme, accompanied by a hummed chorus of three voices. The marisela consists of quatrains of octosyllabic verse in the modality of sextets, representing a greeting, permission and a courtship. The tambor orituqueño is a harmonic rhythm produced by luceros singing and the strike of the jinca, accompanied by palm-wood drum, deer-skin drum and maracas, two singers and an eight-member chorus. A notable representative of orituqueño and Venezuelan folklore was the singer and composer Ramón Infante, born in Altagracia de Orituco on 22 March 1936 and killed in a traffic accident in February 1988. His most popular composition was El Vals de Altagracia, considered the town's second anthem.

The Catholic Church is the predominant religion, having been a pioneer and protagonist in the history of the civil parish. The town is the birthplace of Madre Candelaria de San José (Susana Paz-Castillo Ramírez, 1863–1940), co-founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Mother Candelaria, who was beatified by the Catholic Church on 27 April 2008 at a Mass celebrated at the Estadio Universitario in Caracas by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.

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