Dungeon (Venezuela)

Calabozo is a city in Venezuela located in the Guárico state, capital of the Francisco de Miranda municipality and former capital of the state. It has a population of 168,605 inhabitants for the year 2020. It is located in the central-west of the Guárico state, and is one of the main rice producers in the country. In addition, it has the largest irrigation system in Venezuela.

Calabozo, is a largely colonial city and is linked to its modern urban areas, being the largest colonial town in the country, and is located 105 m above sea level. n. m., on the banks of the Guárico River in the high central plain. Its location is on the banks of the Ing. Generoso Campilongo Reservoir, an important work both of its time and today, being the largest in Venezuela and one of the largest in Latin America.

This city has some of the richest soils in Venezuela, which are used to grow rice, corn, onions, etc.

History

History and facts

In March 1723, the Andalusian Capuchin missionaries Bartolomé de San Miguel and Fray Salvador de Cádiz gathered 520 Indians from the banks of the Orinoco from the Guaiquerí, Mapoyes, Tamanacos, Otomacos, Abaricotos and Güires nations in two towns called the Santísima Trinidad de Calabozo and Our Lady of the Angels of Calabozo. Each indigenous group formed a separate neighborhood and between both towns there was a league of distance. At the request of the missionaries, the governor granted permission on November 26, 1723 to erect a Spanish village nearby, in turn authorized by the bishop on the following December 15.

On February 1, 1724, a cross was raised and blessed the site of the town of Our Lady of Candelaria de Calabozo. The landowners of the area hindered both the Indians and the Spanish from settling, until in 1726 the governor ordered and distributed the plots and granted 5 leagues around the town for the neighbors. At this time it was called Villa de Todos los Santos de Calabozo. A royal decree of February 15, 1738 confirmed the foundation, since the landowners even harassed through the governor, so that the lands where the town was located would be returned to them; As a result of this, on September 14, 1741, the governor ordered that the lands be returned to those. On August 14, 1744, Father Antonio de Jaén and 62 neighbors asked the Council of the Indies to replace the town. On July 6, 1751, he granted what corresponded to this and the Missions of the Santísima Trinidad and Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, a league around each one. The title of town was confirmed by royal decree of April 20, 1774.

On March 16, 1780 it was visited by Bishop Mariano Martí; The church was being built and according to him it was not one of the richest or poorest towns in the province. He had herds of cattle, mules and horses that supplied Caracas. On this occasion Martí founded the first school in Calabozo. Its first council was formed on January 1, 1776 with ordinary mayors, from the brotherhood, royal lieutenant, mayor and aldermen. It had 428 houses and 3,448 inhabitants.

Alexander von Humboldt arrived in Calabozo in mid-March 1800 and stayed in the area for several days. He related that at that time the city had barely 5,000 inhabitants and he was amazed to find batteries, electrometers, electrophores, etc., made by Carlos del Pozo y Sucre who knew no other instruments than his own and had no one to consult.

Calabozo has always had an honorable participation in the historical processes of Venezuela, it was a key player in the war of independence, it was the first capital of the Guárico State in 1848 when the leader and President of the Republic José Tadeo Monagas founded the Guárico State, demarcating it from Caracas. In 1934, the capital was definitively lost by decision of the then dictator Juan Vicente Gómez, who moved Barbacoas, Taguay and other settlements that belonged to Guárico to belong to the Aragua State, and San Juan de los Morros, which belonged to Aragua, suddenly became part of the State. Guárico State and therefore becomes the new capital of the Guárico State.

On July 31, 1811, the city council, in agreement with the Junta of Caracas, proclaims absolute independence and on August 15, it receives the priest José Cortés de Madariaga, who returned from Bogotá, where he was sent by the government to sign a treaty of friendship, alliance and federative union; Such efforts are antecedents of Simón Bolívar's diplomatic action years later. Dungeon will be the center of military action on the plain during the War of Independence. One day in the power of the republicans, another in the power of the royalists.

The city will suffer the ravages of prolonged violence. José Tomás Boves, who had been confined there since 1808, will make Dungeon his headquarters. In the Center campaign, it was taken by the Liberator, who temporarily forced General Pablo Morillo to retreat, in the battle of February 12, 1818. Before the Carabobo campaign of 1821, Calabozo was cantonment of royalist troops. The National College was founded in 1839. It had its first printing press in 1842. On February 4, 1848, José Antonio Páez rose up in Calabozo against the government of José Gregorio Monagas. In 1863 it became the seat of the bishopric of his name; Its first bishop was Salustiano Crespo, who died there. In 1864, General Zoilo Medrano took Calabozo and became the first president of the Guárico state. Between 1877 and 1878 the German doctor Carl Sachs lived there, who carried out studies on the tremor (Gimnotus electricus).

Dungeon Battle

On February 12, 1818, Bolívar and Páez with a united army of 3,500 soldiers, fell by surprise on Calabozo, where General Pablo Morillo was entrenched.

At the height of the action, Morillo used his last resources by ordering three companies of the Navarra Battalion to help his battered comrades, but José Antonio Páez's cavalry destroyed them, winning the battle.

The royalist leader, with his beaten army, is reduced to the city of Calabozo. Bolívar ordered a siege to the city and offered a pardon to Morillo, who ended up evacuating Calabozo two days later and moved to El Sombrero. The battle of Calabozo, given this day, was disastrous for the royalist leader, who lost almost all of his cavalry and one by one the brave infantry.

News

In 2018, looting took place in Calabozo.

Symbols

Shield

The coat of arms of the Villa de Calabozo is from the city of Calabozo, on August 19, 1773, the Council of the Indies fully accepted the opinion of the Prosecutor and He ordered his resolution to be submitted to His Majesty for consultation. He also determined that the representative of the Villa present for his approval a design of the currency or coat of arms.

Hymn

Heroic Villa

Chorus

Oh titanic missionary action

primigenia Cádiz-San Miguel

in February a summer month

bloomed on a pretty orchard!

I Verse

Protected by All Saints

Villa Heroica you have seen grow

Lulled by all the songs

brave sons, lancers of yesterday.

Eblazoned the past that you exhibit

monuments of colonial gift

mirandina the light you receive

with your morning halo aura.

Chorus

Oh titanic missionary action

primigenia Cádiz-San Miguel

in February a summer month

bloomed on a pretty orchard!

II Verse

Silva Criolla and the golden spike

always united to the green palm grove

the very Creole inspired Cantata,

four muses of the stellar plain.

Dungeon, blessed plain

Lyrics: Rafael Delgado

Music: Rafael Santamaría

Physical geography

Relief

The relief of Calabozo is flat, with certain undulations to the east (Our Lady of Los Angeles). The city is located between 86 and 138 meters above sea level. Calabozo has a flat topography, encountering geographical features in its structure, such as the low areas of the water that are floodable when the Guárico River rises excessively, leading to the opening of the gates of the Calabozo Dam to relieve the reservoir.

Climate

The climate is typical of the geographical area, typical plains, with an average annual temperature of 27.5 °C; a monthly high of 34.4°C and a low of 20°C. There are two distinct climatic periods: the dry period between the months of November and May and the rainy period between the months of May and October. The months where the temperature is highest and the heat is suffocating are: March and April and the month of September.

Temperatures and precipitation

Average climate parameters of Calabozo, Venezuela
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Average temperature (°C)	33.6	33.4	34.1	34.2	32.6.	32.5	32.2	32.1	31.9	32.8	32.7	33.2	32.9
Average temperature (°C)	27.8	28.8	27.9	27.2	26.9	26.8	26.7	27.2	27.4	27.6	28.7	28.9	27.7
Temp. medium (°C)	20.8	23.0	23.6	23.5	22.1	23.2	22.6	22.9	23.2	22.9	23.6	21.3	22.7
Total precipitation (mm)	2	1	54.4	98.7	266.9	125.7	199.6	187.9	143.4	169.6	184.4	43.3	1476.9
Source: The Weather Channel Interactive, Inc. March 2009

Hydrography

Within the Orinoco hydrographic basin, its most important rivers are the Guárico River and the Orituco River. The first passes through the northwest, with the Guárico River being born in the Carabobo town of Belén as a small stream until it becomes a medium-flow river. The waters of the river are dammed in the Guárico River Irrigation System, and the Orituco, by the southern area of the city. Calabozo also has large sources of underground water, being part of the great aquifer of the plains.

Rainfall

It has an annual rainfall of 1,476 mm, which is highly concentrated during the season of high sun (April to October).

Ecology

Fauna

The fauna of the City of Calabozo is varied, there is abundant biodiversity, there are reptiles such as the Orinoco Caiman, galapagos, anacondas, babos, which are species of small crocodiles that live in canals and rivers, rattlesnakes, corals, morronas, verdigallas, tragavenados species of boa constrictors from our plains, various species of herons (wading birds that also feed on small fish), among the mammals are: the tail-tailed species of marsupial native to South America, limpets, chiguires (capybaras), cunaguaros, deer, the araguato monkey, the palmero bear, the cachicamo (armadillo), felines such as the puma, water dolphins such as the tonina, otter or water dog, among the birds are: the turpial, jay, guacharacas, guirirí ducks, hawks, cotuas, bluebirds, cardenalitos, canaries, cristofue, owls, hawk vultures, tingo tingo, parakeets, parrots, macaws and other exotic birds, in the Generoso Capilongo Dam we find: curbinas, catfish, peacocks, and other edible species of fish.

Flora

The landscape surrounding Calabozo has allowed the rise of cattle and horse farming, despite the very marked dry and rainy seasons. The riverside lands of the Guárico River, as well as those of its tributaries, have been good for minimal grass growth, necessary to support livestock. The Orituco River, a tributary of the Guárico, was of exceptional importance. The herds were distributed throughout the plains and the owners of these production units found in Calabozo a political-administrative center, in addition to the environment that centralized commercial and social life. The problems derived from seasonal droughts were solved in 1956, with the construction of the Ing. Generoso Campilongo Reservoir near Calabozo that allows irrigation on the lands at the foot of the river terrace, both for artificial grasses and for commercial crops; It covers 23,150 ha and reaches a length of 15 km. The vegetation of Calabozo is made up of grasses spread over extensive plains, which are uninterrupted by mogotes and gallery forests on the banks of the rivers. Among the most basic formations are: the llanera forest, savanna grasses, estuaries, and morichales where the moriche palm prevails.

Demography

In 30 years, Calabozo has been radically transformed from an urban center of a traditional plains economy, to a city of varied activities, aimed at meeting the requirements of goods and services necessary for consumption. of the region of which it is its center. The parishes depend on it: Calabozo, El Calvario, El Rastro and Guardatinajas. In 1950, it counted 4,712 inhabitants; 15,738 in 1961; 38,360 in 1981, 79,578 in 1990 (92,486 for the entire municipality) and 100,559, also for the entire municipality, in 2001, and a population of 131,989 according to the 2011 Census. The projections for the year 2020 are 168 605 inhabitants, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Location

Northwest: San Carlos/ Luggage storage	North: San Juan de los Morros/ Ortiz	Northeast: The Hat/ Palo Seco
West: The Baoul		This: The Calvary/ The Mercedes
Southwest: El Socorro de Portuguesa/ Arismendi	South: Choosing/ San Fernando de Apure	Sureste: Aguaro-Guariquito National Park/ Cazorla

Transportation and communication routes

Air transport

It has a National Airport, which currently does not have commercial flights. It is easy to find and is located in the center of the city. In addition to that, it has personnel from the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC), currently the air controller and head of the Tower of said Aerodrome is Mr. CTA I David Barrios. In 1960, the first aerial terrorist attack in Venezuela occurred in the vicinity of Calabozo, the hijacking of Flight 304 of the Venezuelan Aeropostal Line.

• About us Calabozo Airport.

Access roads

Calabozo is a central pole, it is located 270 km from Caracas, connected by Trunk 2, it is the central city of the Guárico state, therefore it has an axis with the North, South, East and West, it has four entrances, the North via the Vía de Dos Caminos, the South via San Fernando de Apure, the West-North via El Sombrero and the West-South via Paso el Caballo (To go to the Aguaro National Park). Guariquito). Calabozo is one of the most important axes that the Guárico State has. Francisco de Miranda Avenue is the main avenue in the city.

Economy

Its largest economic center is the central area, where there are clothing stores, shoes, restaurants, appliance stores, clinics, residential buildings, shopping centers, etc.

Agriculture

The irrigation system has favored the cultivation of rice, corn, legumes, tobacco, tomatoes, paprika, cotton and cassava, among others such as hunting and grazing. Calabozo is one of the main rice producers in Venezuela, its lands with high pH are excellent for this crop that grows in anaerobic conditions.

Livestock

Beef breeding predominates, favored by the planting of grasses on large surfaces for feeding. Dairy farming is one of its sources, since Calabozo is one of the main cheese producers nationwide.

Economic activities

Commerce, agro-industrial companies and the irrigation system have favored the cultivation of rice, corn, legumes, tobacco, tomatoes, paprika, cotton and cassava, among others such as hunting and grazing. Calabozo is the main producer of rice in Venezuela, its lands with high pH are excellent for this crop that grows in anaerobic conditions. It is precisely the cultivation of rice that has led to being a producer of this cereal.

Gastronomy

It has a great gastronomic variety, typical dishes such as gallopinto, fish pisillo, venison, chigüire; the meat on stick, the hand cheese, the boiled beef, tripe, ground beef with spaghetti, buns with chicharrón, cross boiled, morrocoy cake, llanera grill, stewed meat, pisillo de chigüire in holy week, creole pavilion, the paloapique, Creole sweets such as jelly, preserves, catalinas, papelón etc. Mango juice, passion fruit juice, soursop, corn flour carato, chicha criolla, guarapita, fruit cocktail. And throughout the year you can find several places selling cachapas with fried pork.

Education

There are 230 Private and Public Institutions, and there are 7 University Institutions with a Total of 237 Educational Institutions.

University institutes

• Universidad Nacional Experimental Rómulo Gallegos (UNERG) — Nucleo de Calabozo.
• Instituto Universitario Monseñor Arias Blanco
• College of Administration and Marketing Archived on March 17, 2008 in Wayback Machine.
• Open National University
• Instituto Politécnico Universitario de Tecnología de los Llanos
• Sucre Mission (Sede Calabozo)

Libraries

• Public Library Ana Luisa Llovera Infocentro
• CORPOLLANOS Library
• Biblioteca Universidad Rómulo Gallegos
• Library of the Llanos University Institute of Technology
• Calabozo Athenaeum Library

Sports

Currently the city has a professional soccer team in the Third Division of Venezuela, called Arroceros de Calabozo, which carries out its practices and matches at the Alfredo Simonpietri Stadium, which has a capacity of 2,500 people. It also has an Olympic center. which is very little functional, it has a Sports Center, a baseball stadium and a dome, its improvement is expected for the sporting enjoyment of the inhabitants of said city.

Places of interest

Eng. Generoso Campilongo Reservoir

The first thing we see when we arrive at Calabozo is its impressive and immense dam named Embalse Ing. Generoso Campilongo, in honor of the engineer of Italian origin who designed and built said dam; built in 1956. This dam is one of the largest in Venezuela and all of Latin America. Later we will be able to see more about this dam built in the time of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez and that feeds the irrigation system of the area and turns these plains into enormous rice producers.

Aguaro-Guariquito National Park

In 1974, the National Government, through Decree No. 1,686 dated March 7, created the Aguaro-Guariquito National Park on an extension of land located to the South of the Guárico State, under the jurisdiction of the Francisco de Miranda and Juan José Rondón Municipality. This large plain park covers 569,000 hectares, which places it, due to its size, in fifth place among the national parks of Venezuela.

Historical sites

Metropolitan Cathedral

Built between 1754 and 1790, it is the best example of the Baroque influence on religious architecture in Venezuela. Inside we can see several rooms dedicated to the Archangels, the Eucharist, the Holy Sepulcher, etc. On the outskirts you can see what its walls are made of and although the clocks no longer work it can be seen as part of its façade. The stained glass windows as well as their sculptures are pieces of great beauty that adorn this baroque architecture from the colonial era. This is one of the few preserved in the country.

Our Lady of Las Mercedes Church

The Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes Church is one of the wonders that Calabozo keeps. With a beautiful little square in front that has in the center the statue of one of the most famous leaders of Venezuela, José Antonio Páez, in addition to preserving the golden dome.

Our Lady of El Carmen Church

The Iglesia Nuestra Señora Del Carmen church was declared a Historical Monument since 1979, named by UNESCO, it stands out for its height, its construction began in 1835 and it was blessed in 1846.

Our Lady of Los Angeles Church

This is the oldest Church in the City, far from the city center, with a colonial style with a single nave, it belonged to the old founding town called Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, corresponding to the decade of the century XVIII, is in good condition.

City Museum

Old house of the Valera family, where we can see one of the entrances to the Calabozo tunnel, this tunnel, built at the end of the century XVIII, connected the churches of Calabozo and served as an escape route for some families who had access to it at the time of the war of independence. It also has the collection of Pines from the family of Juan Vicente Torrealba. The house where the museum operates was acquired by the Municipality's Mayor's Office in 2004. After it was acquired, plans began for the prompt creation of the City Museum; an idea that had worried many Calaboceños for centuries, in recent decades Initiatives were carried out in some public spaces (House of Culture, etc.) exhibiting antique furniture, paintings, sewing machines, clothing, documents, wax, and relics that the organizers owned or borrowed from the Calaboceñas families. Many attempts were unsuccessful to the creation of this museum, until 2004, the same year of acquisition of the house.

Historic Town

Considered the largest historic center in the country, this site was declared an Zone of Historical Value on March 22, 1979. This significant area constitutes the historic center of the old Villa de Todos los Santos de Calabozo. The architectural monuments that are found there, such as the La Vianera house, the Juana María house, the house of José Luis Ascanio Ducharne, the birthplace of Luis Sanojo, the Rodríguez Landaeta house, the Ana Luisa Llovera public library and the Los Obispos and Páez squares, among others., date back to the XVIII centuries, XIX and first half of XX.

Bolivar Square

Plaza Bolívar in Calabozo is one of the most important squares in Venezuela, as it is very similar to Plaza Bolívar in Caracas and Coro, being the only ones with perimeter bars. This emblematic square, which covers a block, is located in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral and constitutes the founding nucleus of the city, dating back to 1724.

It was intervened in 1930 and then in 1993 and 1995. During the first remodeling, a metal perimeter fence and several lanterns for lighting were added to its space, while in the second intervention concrete benches and the new covering of the terracotta and cement roads, in addition to the intervention of an old kiosk to which new bars and a wooden roof with green asphalt tiles were installed.

At the intersection of the two main roads, composed of the two diagonals that start from the corner entrances, you can see the bronze equestrian statue of the Liberator Simón Bolívar made in 1930, resting on a marble podium.

House of the bishops

On Calle 4 and Carrera 14, a few blocks from Plaza Bolívar, we find the house where Boves founded a small grocery store. This allowed him to cultivate the friendship of all the llaneros. Furthermore, a man of adventurous spirit, he soon acquired all the plains customs.

Francisco Lazo Martí House of Culture

Francisco Lazo Martí House of Culture: Located in Calabozo, on Calle 5 with Carrera 13. It is a corner building built in the century XVIII, semi-detached, aligned, one story and with a facade facing north, located within the Zone of Historical Value, declared as such in 1979. Its floor plan is square, organized under a functional scheme of four corridors around a central patio; The northern corridor functions as a circulation axis, which is accessed from the street through the hallway. The different environments located around the patio are intended for cultural and administrative activities, such as exhibition and theater rooms.

Parishes

The following parishes depend on this city:

• Luggage storage
• The Rastro
• The Calvary

Notable characters

• Francisco Lazo Martí
• Antonio Estévez
• Carlos del Pozo y Sucre