Mucuchíes

Mucuchíes is a Venezuelan city, located in the Rangel municipality of the Mérida state. Located at 8°45' North latitude and 70°55' west longitude, it is located at an altitude of 2,983 m s. n. m., being one of the highest altitude towns in Venezuela, in fact it is classified as the highest altitude town in Venezuela, after San Rafael de Mucuchíes (3,080) and Apartaderos (3,500). Its patron saint festivities are celebrated during the month of December, its patron saints being Santa Lucía and San Benito de Palermo, these festivities are characterized by great color and folkloric content.

Toponymy

Her full name is Santa Lucía de Mucuchíes. Mucu, "place, site" and Chía, the moon goddess. The Spanish called the town that way because of the Indians who lived there. The name MuchuChies is pre-Columbian; "chíes" translates as "deities", not gods.

Climate

The climate of Mucuchíes is temperate high mountain oceanic climate, most of the year it is classified as warm and temperate. Mucuchies is a city with significant rainfall. This climate is considered Cfb according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The average annual temperature in Mucuchies is 11.6°C. The approximate average rainfall is 823 mm. During almost the entire year it is cold and cloudy, its temperatures usually vary as the year goes by. Depending on the time of year, the climate varies from cool, warm or temperate. The dry season begins from mid-November to February, with hot weather per day and very dry for some people, it is described as summer by its inhabitants, on the other hand its nights are cold with temperatures of up to -5 °C which cause frost at night and early morning. The rainy season begins from mid-March to October, the weather is cold and cloudy most of the time, the thermal sensation changes considerably, frosts no longer occur at night and in the same way the rains and spring begin, in the month of June, July, August, and September are the months with the greatest rainfall and snowfall in its mountains. In the Apartaderos area the climate is colder due to the higher altitude, the maximum temperature can be 12 °C and the minimum up to 4 °C. December, January and February are the coldest months where the maximum does not exceed 12 °C and the minimum can be up to -6 °C.

Average climate parameters of Mucuchí.
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	19.4	19.6	20.2	20	18.4	19	17.2	18.6	17	17.6	18.6	19	20.2
Average temperature (°C)	17.4	18.3	18.5	18.2	16.6	15.6	15.7	15.7	16	16.6	15.7	16.8	16.8
Average temperature (°C)	10.4	9.9	10.5	11.2	10.8	10.4	10.2	10.4	10.8	10.6	10.7	10	10.5
Temp. medium (°C)	1.1	3.3	5.2	5	6	6.4	5.6	6.2	5.7	5.9	5.7	3.9	5
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	0.2	2	2.2	2.6	5.4	4.6	4.4	4	4.4	4	4	1.6	0.2
Rains (mm)	2.2	0	47.3	52.2	50.8	80.3	76.2	91.5	114.1	45.4	25.7	0	585.7
Source: inameh.com

History

The Mucuchíes Indians lived in this region, whose first contact with the Spanish occurred in 1559 when Captain Fernando Cerrada, who was Juan Maldonado's lieutenant, arrived in these Andean lands. Like many settlements in the area, it was originally a town of doctrine, initially administered by the Dominicans and then by the Augustinians. Its first foundation dates back to 1586 by Captain Bartolomé Gil Naranjo with the indigenous people that the Augustinian father Bartolomé Díaz had managed to gather, at that time it was given the name of San Sebastián. In 1620 there was another founding attempt by Vásquez de Cisneros with the encomiendas that had been assigned to Miguel Trejo, Juan de Carvajal (founder of El Tocuyo), Antonio de Aranguren, Pedro Álvarez de Castrellón and Diego de Monsalve. The Indians dispersed and the town practically disappeared until 1626, when the Visitor of the province of Mérida, Pedro de Menas Albás y Toledo, refounded the town with the name Santa Lucía de Mucuchíes. Among the most illustrious of his children is Cardinal José Humberto Quintero Parra.