El Hatillo Municipality, Miranda
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| El Hatillo Municipality, Miranda | |||||
| Santa Rosalía de Palermo Church | |||||
| |||||
| El Hatillo Municipality in Miranda State | |||||
| Coordinates: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Venezuela | ||||
| State | Miranda | ||||
| Seat | El Hatillo Town | ||||
| Founded | June 12 1784 | ||||
| Incorporated | November 9 1991 | ||||
| Mayor | Alfredo Catalán Schick | ||||
| Political party | Project Venezuela | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - City | 114 km² (44 sq mi) | ||||
| Elevation | 1136 m (3730 ft) | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - City (2001) | 54,225 | ||||
| - Density | 475.66/km² (1,232.39/sq mi) | ||||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||||
| Postal codes | 1083 and 1061 | ||||
| Area code(s) | 212 | ||||
| Website: http://www.elhatillo.gov.ve | |||||
El Hatillo Municipality (Spanish: Municipio El Hatillo) is an administrative division of the State of Miranda, Venezuela, and along with Baruta, Chacao, Libertador and Sucre, it is one of Caracas' five municipalities. It is located in the southeast area of Caracas and in the northwest part of Miranda.
The seat of the municipal government is El Hatillo Town, founded in 1784 by Don Baltasar de León, who also participated in the development of the region. Although the town had its origins during the Spanish colonization, it was not until 1991 when the municipality was established. In 2000, the year after a new constitution was introduced in Venezuela, some of the powers of the municipality were delegated to a mayor's office called Alcaldía Mayor which also took control over the other four municipalities of Caracas.
El Hatillo still preserves some of its colonial architecture,<ref name=spanishabroad>Spanish Abroad, Inc.. Southern suburbs. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.</ref> including an 18th century parish church, therefore, it is a place of interest for visitors to the city. The municipality receives a part of its income from tourism; music festivals, art expositions and other cultural events are held in the municipality. Even though commercial areas are growing fast, agriculture still remains as an economic income in the rural areas of the municipality, which still represent the southern part of El Hatillo.
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[edit] History
In the 16th century, when the Spanish colonization in the area began, El Hatillo was inhabited by the indigenous tribe Mariches, descendants of the Caribs. Cacique Tamanaco was the leader of these tribes at the time. He is known for resisting the Spanish colonization, but very little is written about the origins of the Mariches. As the colonization developed, the indigenous habitants were killed. By orders of Caracas' founder Diego de Losada, Tamanaco was also murdered.<ref name=nuevaesparta>Universidad Nueva Esparta. Historia. Retrieved on 2006-03-28.</ref>
Around 1752,<ref name=baltasarnote>Some sources affirm that Don Baltasar's actual year of arrival to El Hatillo was 1753.</ref> Don Baltasar de León García<ref name=baltasarnote2>Baltasar is sometimes spelled Balthasar, Balthazar or Baltazar.</ref> arrived to El Hatillo from Cádiz, Spain, after completing his years as a prisoner at La Carraca for participating with his father in an insurgency against the Guipuzcoana Company. Don Baltasar founded El Hatillo Town, and he was one of the most significant contributors to its development at the time. Don Baltasar focused on making El Hatillo a strong, united and independent community.<ref name=buro>Lara Mendoza, Beatriz. "El Hatillo: Un pueblo colonial anclado en la gran metrópoli", El Aragüeño, 2003-11-28. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.</ref> Don Baltasar tried to establish the place as a different parish from Baruta. On June 12, 1784, he accomplished this when the governor and the bishop agreed to declare the autonomy of El Hatillo in front of 180 Canary-descendant families, and under the direction of Don Baltasar. This date is currently accepted as the foundation of El Hatillo Town.<ref name=historyalcaldia>Alcaldía El Hatillo (2004). Municipio El Hatillo: Historia. Retrieved on 2006-03-28.</ref>
That same year, Don Baltasar and his brother-in-law donated their properties to urbanize the town. An engineer took care of the job, which included grid streets and a parish church,<ref name=historyalcaldia/> built in honor to Santa Rosalía de Palermo, who had supposedly saved Baltasar from a plague that killed his father in prison.<ref name=starosalia>GD Solutions C.A. (2002). Valores religiosos. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.</ref> In 1803, at the age of 79, Don Baltasar unexpectedly died due to a horse accident.<ref name=catalogo0405>Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural (2005). Catalogo del Patrimonio Cultural Venezolano 2004-2005. Caracas: Ministerio de la Cultura. ISBN 980-6448-53-7.</ref>
In 1809, Manuel de Escalona achieved the separation of El Hatillo from Petare, another suburb of Caracas, making it a different Tenientazgo de Justicia. On April 19, 1810, Escalona incorporated the town to the movement of independence, becoming another important person in the municipality.<ref name=caracasvirtual>Caracas Virtual (2004). El Hatillo. Retrieved on 2006-03-28.</ref>
Ana Francisca Pérez García, Don Baltasar's wife, was also a significant woman in El Hatillo. She was caring with children, elders and ill citizens. Ana Francisca donated a considerable amount of money for the construction of a hospital in Petare after the 1812 earthquake. This hospital is currently known as the Pérez de León de Petare Hospital.<ref name=caracasvirtual/>
One of the most ambitious urbanizing projects in El Hatillo since its foundation was La Lagunita. In the 1950s and 1960s La Lagunita S.A. constructed a "functional, futuristic and comfortable" residential zone. To encourage people to settle in the area, each parcel included a membership to Lagunita Country Club, which was officially born in 1964. Famous Brazilian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx contributed to this project, constructed in the 4.3 million m² hacienda that once belonged to the Venezuelan ex-president Eleazar López Contreras.<ref name=lalagunita>Concalpro Group. Breve historia de la urbanización La Lagunita. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref> La Lagunita has since become one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in El Hatillo.
Although El Hatillo was independent from Petare since 1809, it became part of Sucre Municipality at some point, which is where Petare is located. It is unclear how so happened, but on November 19, 1991, Miranda's Legislative Assembly gave El Hatillo full autonomy, making it an independent municipality. This decision was issued in Gaceta Oficial on January 17, 1992.<ref name=gaceta>Instituto Nacional de Estadística (2003). División Político Territorial de Venezuela, 2003. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.</ref> In 1993, Mercedes Hernández de Silva was elected the first mayor of El Hatillo, who took charge until 1996, when Flora Aranguren was elected mayor. On 2000, Alfredo Catalán Schick was elected, and then re-elected in 2004 for another four-year term.<ref name=historyalcaldia/>
[edit] Geography
El Hatillo Municipality is located at the northwest corner of the State of Miranda and at the southeast area of the city of Caracas. It is one of the state's 21 municipalities. El Hatillo is also within the jurisdiction of the Alcaldía Mayor, which has power over three other adjacent municipalities of Miranda, and over Libertador Municipality in the Capital District. These five municipalities make up the city of Caracas. El Hatillo has a land size of 114 km², being the third largest municipality in the capital.
The municipality's natural boundary at the south is formed by the Turgua range, which spans east-west, separating El Hatillo from the Baruta and Paz Castillo municipalities. Parallel to Turgua is located the Sabaneta range, and in between is Prepo stream. North of Sabaneta is Tusmare stream, to which Prepo serves its waters before ending in Guaire river.
In the north of the municipality La Guairita stream flows until its mouth meets Guaire in northeast El Hatillo. Guaire then serves as the east limit of the municipality, separating it from Sucre and then Paz Castillo in the southeast end of El Hatillo. La Guairita serves as the north boundary bertween El Hatillo and the municipalities of Baruta and Sucre. Limiting Baruta at the west, the boundaries of the municipality follow El Volcán, Pariaguán, La Mata and other high points until they meet Turgua range at southeast El Hatillo.<ref name=aves>Blanco Dávila, Alberto. El Hatillo. Destino Ecoturístico para observadores de aves. Fonpromitur.</ref><ref name=geography>Alcaldía El Hatillo (2004). Municipio El Hatillo: Geografía. Retrieved on 2006-03-29.</ref>
The tallest peak in El Hatillo is Picacho de El Volcán, at 1,490 meters over sea level, where many radio, television and telecommunication antennas serve Caracas. Despite its name, which in Spanish means "Peak of The Volcano", the mountain has no recorded volcanic history. Other significant mountains in El Hatillo are Gavilán (1,148 m), Topo de El Paují (1,245 m) and Topo de Piedras Pintadas (1,196 m).<ref name=geography/>
[edit] Environment
El Hatillo has a slightly cooler weather than downtown Caracas, which is caused by the higher altitude of the municipality. The average temperatures are between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius (70-75°F). In the highest elevations of the municipalities the temperature can decrease to 18 °C (64 °F) and the atmosphere may have constant fog. The mean precipitation is 997.3 millimeters a year; annual values can range from 800 mm to 1500 mm. The average humidity index is 75%, and like in the rest of the country, the months of May through November belong to the rainy season while all other months correspond to the dry season. The winds are north alizé trade winds.<ref name=aves/><ref name=catalogo0405/>
The vegetation of El Hatillo is formed by dense forests in most of the municipality. Trees occupy 30% of the surface along water bodies. Smaller plants like shrubs take around 9% and herbs occupy a similar percentage. In 1972, the forests of El Hatillo were declared protected zone of the metropolitan area of Caracas.<ref name=aves/> The municipality is home for a wide range of bird species, with more than two hundred of these animals registered, including various types of sparrowhawks, eagles, falcons, and owls. This has encouraged birdwatching in the area, an activity that is promoted by the authorities of Miranda, who have also supported conservation of the species.
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2001 census made by the National Institute of Statistics, El Hatillo Municipality has a population of 54,225 inhabitants.<ref name=census>Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Primeros Resultados XIII Censo General de Población y Vivienda. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> 2000 data from the same institute states that 9.52% of El Hatillo's population are from ages 15 to 19. Regarding gender, for every 100 females there are 94.2 males. The unemployment rate (2000) is 22.7%. The main cause of death (1999) is cancer, followed by heart diseases and violent deaths.<ref name=ine>Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Aspectos Sociales y Demográficos. Retrieved on 2006-07-18.</ref>
Prior to the Spanish colonization, El Hatillo was inhabited by Mariches, a native tribe related to the Caribs. In the 16th century the indigenous inhabitants were killed by the explorers. When the development in El Hatillo began, Spaniards coming from the Canary Islands settled in the area. Similarly, families from Madeira, Portugal, immigrated to El Hatillo.<ref name=catalogo0405/> With the progressive demographic increase, El Hatillo is not exclusive to any particular ethnic group.
[edit] Neighborhoods
Even though there are no defined limits for the neighborhoods of El Hatillo, the government website divides the municipality into urban and rural. Concentrated in the northern region of the municipality, the urban neighborhood are El Hatillo Town, El Calvario, La Lagunita, Alto Hatillo, La Boyera, Las Marías, Oripoto, Los Pomelos, Los Naranjos, Los Geranios, La Cabaña, Cerro Verde and Llano Verde, Colinas, Vista El Valle, Los Olivos, and El Cigarral. The rural localities of the municipality are located in southern El Hatillo. These are La Unión, Corralito, Turgua, La Hoyadita, Sabaneta, La Mata, Caicaguana, and Altos de Halcón.<ref name=geography/>
[edit] Economy
The economy of El Hatillo Municipality can be broken down in three sectors:<ref name=catalogo0405/> the commercial sector, which has been growing along with the demographic increase and is primarily represented by shopping malls and stores around the urban areas of the municipality; agricultural, in the southern half of the municipality and existing since the founding of El Hatillo; and tourism, which contributes significantly to El Hatillo's income and is promoted by the government.
El Hatillo is a day visit for people in Caracas; the municipality is close to downtown, therefore, the place has been focused for tourism. Plaza Bolívar and its surroundings are very well maintained, additionally, the municipality government offers bus trips around the narrow streets of the town, showing people the colonial architecture.<ref name=tourism>Alcaldía El Hatillo (2004). Turismo. Retrieved on 2006-03-29.</ref> Handcrafted souvenirs are sold well. Hansi, a very popular shop offers all kinds of handcrafted products. There are at least three cultural centers in the municipality that attract tourists and residents to music festivals and art expositions. See activities and recreation below for more information.
Businesses in the municipality are almost strictly commercial. This fact has been taken as a cause of the high traffic in El Hatillo; those seeking employment within the municipality will have a better chance of finding one under commercial activities, but for office jobs, citizens need to look outside El Hatillo. This status of office underdevelopment has been attributed to several issues, there is no room for large scale office constructions, and for terrains available, the costs go very high.<ref name=officedeficit>"En contra", El Universal, 2001-11-31. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>
Due to the increasing population, extensive shopping malls have been recently built in the municipality. Neighborhoods like La Lagunita, Los Naranjos and El Hatillo Town now offer large scale shopping malls with multiplex movie theaters, and the old typical houses of El Hatillo Town have been converted to shops, while preserving their colonial look. El Hatillo also receives income from agriculture.<ref name=catalogo0405/>
[edit] Law and government
- See also: Alfredo Catalán Schick#Career as a mayor
The law of Venezuela specifies that municipal governments have four main functions. The executive function is managed by the mayor, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, formed by seven councillors. This entity in charge of the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptrolling tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller's office, which is in charge of the revision of accountancy. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, whose job is of managing projects for the development of the municipality.<ref name=authorities>Comisión de Legislación. Municipio El Hatillo. Estado Miranda (2006). Autoridades Municipales. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref><ref name=podermunicipal>Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela. Poder Público Municipal. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref>
The president of the Municipal Council is Leandro Pereira, supported by the political party Justice First. All but one of the seven councillors belong to parties opposed to President Hugo Chávez's administration.<ref name=councillors>Comisión de Legislación. Municipio El Hatillo. Estado Miranda (2006). Concejales. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref> Additionally to the authorities mentioned before, there is a Legislative Commission, currently presided by councillor Salvador Pirrone. The commission's job is to assist the municipality in legal matters, like the creation of new laws and decrees.
In March 8, 2000, the year after a new constitution was introduced in Venezuela, it was decreed in Gaceta Oficial N° 36,906<ref name=gaceta2000>República Bolivariana de Venezuela (2000). Gaceta Oficial N° 36,906. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.</ref> that the Metropolitan District of Caracas would be created, and that some of the powers of El Hatillo would be delegated to the Alcaldía Mayor, which would also start governing the Baruta, Libertador, Sucre and Chacao municipalities. Venezuelan municipalities are subdivided in parishes. Unlike other municipalities, El Hatillo only has one, the Santa Rosalía de Palermo Parish, sometimes denoted as Santa Rosalía de El Hatillo Parish or simply El Hatillo parrish.
El Hatillo has had three mayors so far. From 1993 until 1996, Mercedes Hernández de Silva was the first mayor of the municipality. Following that, Flora Aranguen served from 1996 until 2000. That same year, Alfredo Catalán was elected mayor. In 2004 he was reelected; his term is set to end in 2008.<ref name=historyalcaldia/>
[edit] Crime
Relatively to the rest of Caracas, El Hatillo has the lowest crime rate. Data from 2003 shows that 53,555 crimes occurred within the five municipalities of Caracas, but only 418 of these happened in El Hatillo. This means that that around 0.78% of Caracas' crimes took place within El Hatillo. Considering that El Hatillo's population is significantly lower that its sister municipalities, we end up with the following results. Combining crime data from 2003 and population from 2001, El Hatillo has a rate of 7.7 crimes for every one thousand citizens, while the average of the five municipalities is of 19.38 for every one thousand habitants.<ref name=mijcrime>Ministerio de Interior y Justicia (2003). Delitos registrados en el área metropolitana de Caracas, según municipio y parroquia. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.</ref><ref name=census/>
[edit] Education
El Hatillo offers free public education. There is a total of seventeen primary education schools, in which eleven are public and six are private. Nineteen preschools exist, ten public and nine private. Data for secondary education is incomplete. It is only known that five private secondary schools exist in the municipality, but the number of public schools of this kind is unavailable. Note that the the data presented shows each educational stage separately, but a one facility may contain preschool, primary and secondary education.<ref name=educationine>Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Estado Miranda. Recursos educativos por dependencia, según municipios y nivel educativo impartido, 2000/2001. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref>
The municipality has only one higher education facility, Nueva Esparta University. This three ha institution located in Los Naranjos began as a project with the creation of Nueva Esparta school in 1954, but it was not until 1989 when the university was constructed. This university is privately owned.<ref name=catalogo0405/>
[edit] Culture
The most significant icon of El Hatillo culture is Santa Rosalía de Palermo. Today, the church of El Hatillo Town is named after this saint, and the only parish in the municipality also has her name. The locals believe that Rosalía takes care of the people. The community is largely Catholic; handcrafted products in shops are religious, and the municipality holds the Santa Rosa de Lima Seminary, formerly San José Seminary.<ref name=catalogo0405/> Like in the rest of Venezuela, in El Hatillo, the images of Jesus and Mary have become part of the art and culture.
Don Baltasar de León is remembered for founding and developing El Hatillo, so is his wife Ana Francisca. Manuel Escalona is recognized for including El Hatillo in the movement of the independence in the 19th century, as in the whole nation Simón Bolívar is considered a hero.
[edit] Heritage
Santa Rosalía de Palermo is the patron saint of El Hatillo, she was born in Palermo, Italy in 1130. Rosalía was first recognized in 1624 when a horrible plague haunted Palermo. Santa Rosalía appeared to many, and she became the patron of Palermo for saving many from the plague.<ref name=rosaliawikipedia>Wikipedia contributors (2006). Santa Rosalia. Retrieved on 2006-07-24.</ref>
Years later, El Hatillo's founder believed too that Santa Rosalía protected him from an infection. During the Guipuzcoana scandal in Venezuela, Baltasar's father Juan Francisco de León and his sons were held prisoner in Cádiz. Juan Francisco died as a consequence of smallpox, but Don Baltasar completed his years in prison and then moved to El Hatillo, bringing the legacy of Santa Rosalía de Palermo to El Hatillo, saying that she protected him from the pestilence that killed his father in Cádiz.<ref name=starosalia/>
Since then, a part of El Hatillo's culture has grown around Santa Rosalía, she is believed to be the one who takes care of the people, she supposedly protects El Hatillo from any pandemic that could hit the area. Don Baltasar's most evident inclusions of Rosalía into El Hatillo happened twice. First in 1776, when El Calvario chapel was built and dedicated to the saint, and then in 1784, when a bigger parish church was constructed, which was named Iglesia Santa Rosalía de Palermo.<ref name=caracasvirtualrosalia>Caracas Virtual (2004). Santa Rosalía de Palermo. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref>
[edit] Art
The Cultural and Social Center El Hatillo, El Hatillo Art Center and El Hatillo Atheneum are the places where most artistic activities take place. Every year the municipality is home for the International Music Festival of El Hatillo. In 2006 Dave Samuels inaugurated the event at El Hatillo Art Center. Samuels was followed by Simón Díaz, Steve Smith, Serenata Guayanesa, Mike Stern and other famous musicians.<ref name=musicanalitica>Analtica (2006). La música está de moda en El Hatillo. Retrieved on 2006-07-18.</ref> Since 1999 another musical festival has been held in the municipality, El Hatillo Jazz Festival, which brings many visitors to the municipality to hear the notes from the best national Jazz artists.<ref name=jazzfestival>"Este viernes comienza el Jazz Festival El Hatillo 2005", Globovisión, 2005-10-26. Retrieved on 2006-07-18.</ref> The 8th version of the event, celebrated between October and November 2006, also brought to El Hatillo internationally known musicians.<ref name=8thjazzfestival>"Destacados músicos reeditan éxito del Festival Jazz y gastronomia", La Voz, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.</ref>
El Hatillo's art culture is rich with handcrafted products. Pottery in particular is a very common souvenir for tourists, and there are individuals devoted to this art in the municipality. The Turgua Group is an artist collective formed by up to twenty potters and blacksmiths. Guillermo Cuellar, an internationally known potter, founded this group in 1992, and the group has two exhibitions a year, which have now expanded to jewelry, photography, woodwork, drawing and weaving.<ref name=grupoturgua>MiPunto.com (2004). Grupo Turgua. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.</ref><ref name=guillermocuellar>Akar Design (2006). Grupo Turgua. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.</ref><ref name=catalogo0405/>
In May 2005, the local government and the Japanese Embassy organized the Japan Cultural Week, an exposition held in the Art Center featuring bonsai, origami, kimonos, martial arts, anime and other manifestations of the Japanese culture. The event offered free workshops for learning these Japanese arts.<ref name=japanweek>Infocentro (2005). Semana cultural de Japón en El Hatillo. Retrieved on 2006-07-18.</ref> Continuing cultural promotion in the municipality, in October 2005 the III Salón de Fotografía El Hatillo was organized, a photography contest for children, amateur and professional photographers.<ref name=photocontest>Analtica (2005). III Salón de Fotografía El Hatillo. Retrieved on 2006-07-18.</ref>
The cuisine industry in El Hatillo has grown along with the commercial development of the municipality. An article in Estampas—a weekly Venezuelan magazine published with the newspaper El Universal—released in September 2006 an article describing the culinary arts of El Hatillo. Estampas notes that El Hatillo offers the usual Venezuela cuisine, as well as new gastronomic developments. The TV chef Yuraima Blanco, opened in El Hatillo the Culinary Art Gallery, a place where people can "relax" and enjoy all kinds of food. There also exist the typical cachapa restaurants and cafés, as well as places with fusion of foreign and national food. According to Estampas, a restaurant called "Mauricio's" uses Swiss and French food and mixes it with Caribbean gastronomy. El Hatillo also offers all kinds of confectionery, such as churros, pastry and ice cream.<ref name=estampasfood>de los Ángeles Herrera, María (2006-09-3). "Redescubra los sabores de El Hatillo". Estampas: 18-24. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.</ref>
[edit] Sports
Laguntia Country Club is one of the most important sport facilities in the municipality. Although it offers tennis and swimming, the club is best known for its golf course. Designed by Dick Wilson, the club first opened in 1959 with a temporary headquarter, and it was officially born in 1964. The club was home for the 1974 WGC-World Cup. Lagunita Country Club served as an important piece to the development of La Lagunita neighborhood, an ambitious urban project, which in the present has become one of the wealthiest areas of Caracas.<ref name=lalagunita/><ref name=lagunitacc>Tekware. Golf Courses of South America. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref>
Hiparión is another club located in El Hatillo. According to the Venezuelan Census of Cultural Heritage, this equestrianism facility from the 1930s was originally used for horse trips, but it later became a place for the training and caring of horses. The Club Hiparión is internationally known for its training purposes.<ref name=catalogo0405/>
[edit] Tourism and recreation
The hub of activity in El Hatillo is Bolívar Plaza (Spanish: Plaza Bolívar), a garden square encompassing the central block in the town of El Hatillo. Constructed in 1785, the Plaza was originally called Plaza Mayor or Plaza del Mercado. In 1911, a bust honoring Manuel Escalona was placed in the square, which was renamed in his honor. In 1952, the bust was replaced with a statue of Simón Bolívar, and the plaza was again renamed, after the Venezuelan hero.<ref name=catalogo0405/> Across from the Bolívar Square is the 18th-century Santa Rosalía de Palermo Church, which was declared a National Historic Monument in 1960.<ref name=caracasvirtual/>
Between El Hatillo and La Lagunita is the smaller Manuel Escalona Plaza (Spanish: Plazoleta Manuel Escalona), another urban monument displaying the bust of Escalona that formerly occupied Bolívar Square. Sucre Plaza (Spanish: Plaza Sucre)—graced since 1915 with a ceiba tree at its center—is in the southern part of town; this was historically where people tied their mules while frequenting The Four Corners, and it is also known as Plaza La Ceiba. The Four Corners (Spanish: Las Cuatro Esquinas) was a convenient social gathering spot in El Hatillo, comprising a general store, hardware shop, gambling place and bar.<ref name=gdpatrimonios>GD Solutions C.A. (2002). Patrimonios de El Hatillo. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.</ref>
La Lagunita is the site of one of the 15 Romanian Orthodox Churchs in the world since the widespread destruction of churches by the Ceacescu regime in Romania: the San Constantino and Santa Elena Romanian Orthodox Church. Only two of these churches are outside Romania, the other being in Switzerland. The building is an architectural work from the 16th century, brought from Romania, made completely from oak and fir woods, and detailed with more than 40,000 individually placed and carved tiles.<ref name=variedades>Rusé Martín Galano. "El Hatillo y Ávila Mágica", Variedades, March 2006, pp. 58-61.</ref>
For children, the Caicaguana hacienda in La Lagunita houses the Expanzoo, where visitors can see and touch exotic animals. The zoo is recognized for offering unique employment opportunities; the workers are from families with few resources, and the staff include the mentally ill.<ref name=expanzoo>Angela Couret (2003). Expanzoo... Un sueño que ya es realidad. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.</ref> The Baby Zoo is a place for children to interact with animals; visitors can feed and touch the animals, ride horses and hire the location for special events.<ref name=variedades/> The Morro la Guairita National Park in El Cafetal—commonly known as the Indian Caves (Spanish: Cuevas del Indio)—is a system of 22 natural openings in the mountain, and the only place in Caracas where rock climbing is allowed. Guided tours are available, and views of El Ávila can be enjoyed while ascending the park.<ref name=catalogo0405/>
[edit] Transportation
The methods of transportation in the municipality are basically private vehicles and road public transportation. The geographic features of El Hatillo have made it hard to extend the Caracas Metro to southeast Caracas. A long range line of the metro known as Line 5 (Magneta) has been proposed, but likely due to the geographic characteristics of southeast Caracas, it has not been constructed. The municipality's latest urban planning has been unorganized. News archives show that at least since 1998, neighbors have been complaining about the dense traffic caused by new residential and commercial constructions. New or enhanced alternative roads that will definitely fix the problem have not been finished. A south beltway suggested 25 years ago has not been constructed due to high costs.<ref name=traffic1998>"El sureste seguirá atrapado en una vía", El Universal, 1998-03-20. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> However, as of January 2006, a new route that will connect La Lagunita with Macaracuay—a neighborhood in northeast Caracas—is under construction and it is planned to be finished in 2010. According to Catalán, 23% of El Hatillo's inhabitants will eventually use this transit way. The estimated cost of this road is of US$19,572,000 after conversion.<ref name=newroute>"El Hatillo tendrá otra salida", El Universal, 2006-01-19. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref>
Even though local solutions, such as the ones mentioned above, may improve the traffic congestions that affect El Hatillo, the traffic issue is a large scale problem that affects the whole city. It is estimated that one million vehicles transit Caracas on a daily basis, making the transportation networks "collapse."<ref name=trafficcongestion>"Un millón de carros saturan Caracas", El Universal, 2006-11-06. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref> The average speed of automobiles is 15 Km/h.<ref name=trafficcongestion/> Several causes for this problem have been given. According to the Venezuelan Society of Transportation Engineers, an organized city should give 20% of its public spaces to transportation; in Caracas, less than 12% of these areas are given for transit purposes.<ref name=trafficcongestion/> From 2001 to 2006, 250 thousand new cars were sold in Caracas. Only in 2004, 50 thousand vehicles were sold. In 2005, this number increased to 60 thousand, and as of November 2006, 70 thousand cars have been sold during the year.<ref name=trafficcongestion/> Public transportation is not fully reliable, an average trip in the city using mass transit takes around ninty minutes.<ref name=trafficnumbers>"Cifras que hablan del caos vehicular", El Universal, 2006-11-06. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>
[edit] See also
</div>[edit] Notes and references
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Alcaldía Municipio El Hatillo (Spanish) - Official municipality website
- El Hatillo. Pueblo de techos rojos (Spanish) - MiPunto.com
- El Hatillo - Virtual tour
- El Hatillo: Un pueblo colonial anclado en la gran metrópoli (Spanish) - Buró de Convenciones y Visitantes de Venezuela
- Alcaldía El Hatillo (Spanish) - Nueva Esparta University
- El Hatillo (Spanish) - CaracasVirtual.com
</b> </b>
| Sub-divisions of Caracas |
|---|
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City-wide authority: Alcaldía Mayor (Mayor: Juan Barreto) Municipalities: Baruta (Mayor: Henrique Capriles Radonski) | Chacao (Mayor: Leopoldo López) | El Hatillo (Mayor: Alfredo Catalán) | Libertador (Mayor: Freddy Bernal) | Sucre (Mayor: José Vicente Rangel Ávalos) |
</b> </b>
es:Municipio El Hatillo (Miranda, Venezuela) ja:エルアティジョ市 pt:El Hatillo (município)
