The Teques

Los Teques is the capital city of Miranda State and Guaicaipuro Municipality. It is located in the Capital Region in north-central Venezuela. Specifically, to the SW of Caracas, at 10° 21' 00" latitude N and at 67o 02' 30" longitude W of Greenwich, at a height of 1,169 m above sea level. It is located in the Coastal Range, on the banks of the San Pedro River, which descends from lands located to the NE. Los Teques has a population for 2016, according to the National Institute of Statistics, of 252,242 inhabitants. The city is recognized as part of the agglomeration called Greater Caracas.

Toponymy

It was the territory of the Teques Carib Indians. Its chief was Guaicaipuro, an indigenous person who led the resistance to Spanish penetration in the north-central region of Venezuela. The voice "Teque" seems to be onomatopoeic (teque-teque), which could have its origin in a form of communication of the aborigines of the area, even coming from the sound they emitted when walk the necklaces and pendants that the natives used as personal adornment.

History

Fifty-two years after the death of Guaicaipuro, the city of San Diego de los Altos was founded in 1620, being the first city after the founding of Caracas. The founders were mostly of peninsular Spanish origin who arrived with Diego de Losada, perhaps from there its name derives in memory of the founding captain of Caracas. By the year 1600, Los Teques was part of an encomienda and the conquered territories in the area that currently includes Los Teques were assigned to Andrés González, who was a companion of Francisco Fajardo and Francisco Tostado de la Peña. Then they pass to Captain Juan de Ascanio and Correa de Benavides, the tradition of the property continues with Diego de Miquilena who sells it in 1684 to Doña Melchora Ana Tovar Ibáñez, widow of Captain Juan de Ascanio. Seventy years later these same lands were the patrimony of Juan de Ascanio and Correa de Benavides and by the end of that century the so-called lands of the highlands that made up a good part of what is today the Guaicaipuro Municipality were owned by Diego de Miquilena.

From the year 1772, the Spanish inhabitants of San Pedro de Los Altos progressively moved to a hamlet that had only 99 inhabitants, later being founded as the city of Los Teques on October 21, 1777, by the bishop Mariano Martí while on a pastoral visit, the name of the city is in memory of the Teques Indians, in its vicinity other hamlets: Pueblo Nuevo, Retamal, San Corniels and Corozal.

The neighboring tribes settled in the territory were: Cumanagotos, Arahuacos, Tacariguas, Quiriquires, Caruaos, Tomuzas, Meregotes, Caracas. All these ethnic groups lived from hunting, agriculture, and a commercial exchange, called barter. They also built houses called huts, ranches or trojas made with materials found in the areas.

In 1781 there were already 1,500 inhabitants, Alejandro de Humboldt mentioned it as "a miserable town" in 1800, and by 1805 it already had 2,800 inhabitants. At the end of 1810 and after a long dispute, the towns of San Pedro de los Altos and Carrizal separated civilly from Los Teques, to which they belonged.

In 1891, the current territory of the municipality was divided into 2: the Los Teques municipality, made up of the neighborhoods of El Guarataro, El Trigo, El Alambique, El Barbecho, El Rincón, Río Arriba, Santa Rosa, and Quebrada de la Virgen, Las Lagunetas, La Francia and Las Guamas; and the municipality of San Juan, which included La Mata, Vueltalarga, La Cañada, Retamal, El Corozal, Camatagua, Corozalito, Puertas Morochas, Guayas, Guayitas, El Jabillal, Chacao (sic), Guaremal and Naigua, and according to the census of that year, all together had a population of 5,012 inhabitants, with 2,919 inhabitants. for Los Teques.

Between September and October 1892, when the so-called Legalist Revolution was taking place, the site of Los Colorados, near Los Teques, was the scene of one of its bloodiest combats, when the forces of General Joaquín Crespo, commanded by the General Ramón Guerra, with the troops of General José Ignacio Pulido, who represented the tottering government of Raimundo Andueza Palacio.

The Teques in 1940

Administratively, Los Teques reached the rank of state capital in 1927, long after the creation of the state of Miranda by the Constitution of March 29, 1901; Before that, Petare (1900-1904) and Ocumare del Tuy (1904-1927) had been capitals and for this it was necessary for General Juan Vicente Gómez to constitute the Federal District and the Guaicaipuro district to be attached to the state of Miranda in 1909.

In 1912 the Salesians founded the San José high school, with a long teaching career, and in 1940 the Francisco de Miranda high school was established. In 1950 the National Guards Training School was established and in 1965 the vicar general of Los Teques was elevated to a bishopric, its first bishop being Monsignor Juan José Bernal, with jurisdiction over 37 parishes. In 1970, the Scientific and Technological Institute of the National Petroleum Industry (INTEVEP) was installed in lands close to the Quebrada de la Virgen, and in 1971 the University College of the capital region began its activities. In October 1979, the Ateneo de Los Teques was founded.

Geography

Hydrography

The main river of Los Teques is called San Pedro, clean and cold at its headwaters (Macarao Park). This flows into the Guaire de Caracas river.

Relief

The city of Los Teques is located on a portion of broken territory, at 1,168 meters above sea level. In its mountainous relief, large hills and hills stand out in the south-west part of the central foothills of the Litoral branch.

Vegetation

This aspect also suffers from the variations of relief, climate, soil and human activity, in this sense we find mountain vegetation characterized mainly by cloud forests, deciduous forests, gallery forests and others. Trees like the Enea, Guamo, Majagua, Yagrumo, Jobo, Laurel, Cypresses and Pines. Shrubs such as the Spurge, Japanese Loquat, Bromeliads, Herbaceous, Grasses and Gamelotes. Floriculture stands out in the vegetation of the region as an activity of great commercial importance. A tree of great importance in the area is the Eucalyptus, which is currently found in two species: the traditional tree and the garden Eucalyptus.

Climate

In Los Teques there are two marked seasons: Dry Season (December – March). During this season the temperatures are milder, between 10 °C and 23 °C. The other season is the rainy season (April – November). The beginning of this season is marked by high temperatures of up to 29 °C with humid nights and unstable weather; the rest of the year the temperature varies between 18 °C and 24 °C. In the areas furthest from the center of the city, and less populated, the climate is milder.

Economy

Industry, commerce and agricultural production

Los Teques began to prosper in the 17th century, along with the rise of sugarcane cultivation, the cocoa, tobacco and coffee in Venezuela. Later, the city became a residential and tourist area for Caracas, but by the 1970s it had developed industrially, benefiting from cheap land and easy access to imported raw materials due to its proximity to Puerto Cabello.

In the agricultural sector, the following are harvested:

• Coffee
• Flowers
• Vegetables
• Tube
• Fruits

In the mining sector:

• Marble: Caracas - Los Teques, San Pedro and Agua Fría.
• Calizas: Los Teques and San Pedro.
• Nickel: The Iron Loma, an important nickel mineral deposit shared by Miranda and Aragua, via Altagracia de la Montaña.
• Asbestos: is located in San Pedro and Cold Water.
• Graphite: in Laguneta de la Montaña and between San Diego and Carrizal.
• Gold: was exploited at the beginning of the colony and existed in Tácata, Los Teques and Paracotos.

Transportation

Road transport

Its main means of communication are the Pan-American Highway, with an extension of 29 kilometers that connects the Miranda capital with the city of Caracas, the old Las Adjuntas road, commonly called the "Old Highway", double channel track, built at the beginning of the XX century by inmates of the regime of General Juan Vicente Gómez, today it is It continues to use to communicate the South West of Caracas (Macarao, Ruiz Pineda, Adjuntas, Caricuao, Antímano), it houses in its surroundings a large number of poor neighborhoods with precarious constructions on the slopes of the mountains or hills (Shanties). The Pan-American Highway continues its journey to the West and connects the towns of Paracotos and Tejerías, the latter giving access to the Autopista Regional del Centro and adjoins the State of Aragua. The El Jarillo road, an agricultural and tourist town, is another access road to Los Teques, this road connects Colonia Tovar (Aragua State) and El Junquito (La Guaira State), this road has undergone structural transformations today are concrete slabs and paved sections, with pronounced curves and very pronounced precipices.

Metro de Los Teques.

Another widely used route is the "Butterfly" - "Las Mayas", which is a two-way highway and crosses the towns of Carrizal, San Diego and San José, the road is mountainous with several sharp curves. This road links the municipalities of Guaicaipuro, Los Salias and Carrizal in Miranda State.

Rail transport

Since 2006, it communicates with the Caracas Metro through the Los Teques Metro system, in operation since November 2006. The Los Teques Metro company is building line three of this system with its route to San Antonio de Los Altos and Caracas; later (Vía la Mariposa) along the Pan-American Highway.

Urbanism

Los Teques presents a serious planning problem. From a small valley of mountains, streams and farms, it became a city with serious traffic and urban planning problems. Today the people of Tequens struggle between overpopulation, insufficient sources of employment for their population the vast majority work in Caracas), the lack of recreation sites, traffic and the constant contamination of its mountains and rivers.

Among some of the problems caused by urban planning are the high rates of insecurity, the scarcity of spaces for recreation, environmental and sonic pollution, among others.

Health

Victorino Santaella General Hospital

In 1980, the construction of the Victorino Santaella General Hospital was completed, an 11-story building with a capacity of 300 beds. It was inaugurated by the then President of the Republic Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1988, at the beginning of his second mandate. It is located on Bicentennial Avenue. The facility was designed with a capacity for 440 beds. The building has a ground floor, eleven floors and a basement, in which the outpatient and emergency services, dentistry, laboratory and blood bank, X-rays, dietary and social services, epidemiology, traumatology, pathological anatomy and psychiatry, a library and legal advice. This hospital has not yet been fully operational today.

Culture

Monuments and places of interest

In Los Teques you can still find some buildings dating from the late XVI century and early XX, as well as contemporary buildings, such as the Cathedral, where the bishopric resides, the house of the painter Arturo Michelena, the Territorial Polytechnic University of Los Altos Mirandinos Cecilio Acosta, the Liceo San José, created by the Salesian parents; At first education was given to men and then it went to the mixed mode; It has large tracts of land. There is also a building where higher-level Philosophy classes are taught at the Padre Ojeda Salesian University Institute (IUSPO) and an extension of the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB), Intevep (Venezuelan Petroleum Research Institute), the Experimental University of the Armed Forces (UNEFA) has a nucleus in the old Gillette factory that it shares with the state government, El Ateneo de los Teques, pole of cultural development of the Tequens people; The School of National Guards of Venezuela, which is located in the mountains of Ramo Verde, as well as the G.N Cap(f) Pedro María Ochoa Morales Military High School.

Bolivar Square in Los Teques

Equestrian statue of Plaza Bolívar de Los Teques

It honors the Liberator Simón Bolívar and was inaugurated on July 5, 1911. Its main characteristic is that it only has one corner and the first sculpture that was erected in this place was a standing statue of the Liberator. Later it is remodeled and the pedestrian statue was changed for an equestrian sculpture and the date of its reopening was set for December 17, to celebrate the centenary of the death of the Liberator.

It barely occupies half a block, it has a single corner, and this is because it is defined by two elongated bodies in an "L" shape, which since 1928 has occupied the government building, known since long ago as the house of the 49 windows. Around it are also the Government Palace, the Yellow House and the San Felipe Neri Cathedral.

Religious buildings

St. Philip Neri Cathedral

The Cathedral of San Felipe Neri or Los Teques Cathedral is the largest temple of the city, due to its history and location, and is the seat of the Diocese of Los Teques. It is located in the historic center of the city in front of the Plaza Bolívar in Los Teques.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish

It is located in front of Plaza Miranda, on Cecilio Acosta street and Roque street. Its construction began in 1905, using materials from the basin of the ravine under the Castro bridge. It was inaugurated on July 16, 1956, but it was not until a year later, in July 1957, that the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Parish was created, and its first parish priest was Father Luis Rafael Tinoco.

St. John Bosco Parish

Built at the end of the 80s by the Salesian community, it is located on Jorge Lösh avenue, in front of the Liceo San José and in the Simón Bolívar urbanization. It was inaugurated in 1989 and its first parish priest was the Salesian priest Ángel Bertapelle. In addition to the religious service, it has a job training service for young people and adults in the area.

Other places of interest

Knoop Park or "Los Coquitos"

Knoop Park

Knoop Park, known as Parque Los Coquitos, was the first botanical garden in Venezuela, being, in turn, a natural lung of the city of Los Teques. It was the result of the passage of the Railroad through Los Teques, the company contracted for the construction of its layout took care of planting many trees from other latitudes.

"El Encanto" Park

This park, El Encanto, was reached by rail on the train that left La Estación en route to the valleys of Aragua, Valencia and Puerto Cabello. It was a journey of about twenty minutes where we could appreciate the greenery of the hills, the forests and the natural beauties that surrounded Los Teques.

Hill of the Cross

From that height, the highest in the area, 1600 meters, they could see all the surroundings, from the roads that came from Valles del Tuy, those from Aragua via La Laguneticas and from Caracas via Macarao.

Guaicaipuro Stadium

Located in the El Barbecho sector just behind the Miranda state police headquarters.

The Indian Cave

This is another of the sites closely linked to the customs and traditions of the Tequeños. Full is the memory of legends, sayings and stories about this sector. This small cavity called the Cueva del Indio has more traditional than speleological value.

San José High School

founded by J. J. Arocha, " El Tigre " In 1910. Venezuelan illustrious passed through their classrooms. Run until 1935 by the arocha until it was acquired by Salesian parents, five years after the death of Tigre Arocha. His first director was Father Isaías Ojeda and among his teachers were Romulo Gallegos, Fernando Paz Castillo, Ignacio Burk. Pascual Venegas and Pedro Itriago Chacín. Among the students who went through their classrooms stand out Pedro León Zapata; Arturo Uslar Pietri, Miguel Otero Silva, Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, Renato Rodríguez, Román Chalbaud, Renny Ottolina, Francisco Tamayo Yepes, Carlos Alberto Moros Ghersi, J. J. Moros, Rosalio José Castillo Lara, Raúl Biord Castillo, Reinaldo Bolívar among others.

BUEVARD LAMAS

Paseo Lamas

Formerly known as Pasaje Gómez, it is the space that separates the building of the House of Culture and the buildings of the Parish House, Lamas Theater (Lamas Concert Hall) and where the San Felipe Neri School used to work and was also located for many years (until the late 90s) the Cecilio Acosta Library. The House of Culture built by the then Governor Esteban Agudo Freites has served for years as a center for the promotion of culture in the city.

Consuelo Marturet Crib House

It is one of the few remaining buildings in Los Teques from more or less a hundred years ago, the Casa Cuna Consuelo Marturet works there, founded in honor of and by a donation from that family.

Athenaeum of Los Teques

Founded in October 1979 by the then State Governor, Dr. José Rafael Unda Briceño, who granted it its current headquarters in the "Cecilio Acosta Cultural Complex", built in what was known as the Children's Colony, in Quinta San José, located in La Hoyada. Since its foundation, it has been developing cultural promotion programs in different areas such as theater, music, plastic arts, literature, and at the same time it maintains permanent workshops for the development of the artistic potential of children and young people. In June 2019, it was dissolved and its spaces were evicted by the Bolivarian Government of Miranda State, leaving its spaces occupied by personnel from the Bolivarian Mayor's Office of Guaicaipuro, leaving dozens of children without their artistic and cultural education programs.

Los Teques Colonial Museum

Rescued by the Ateneo de Los Teques and the collections of ceramics, religious images and other pieces of colonial industrial crafts were rescued, it was taken to the headquarters of the Ateneo where it functioned for more than two years, until, at the initiative of the institution, it was he was able to relocate it to a more appropriate house and a Director was appointed. This museum began in the sixties, they took on the task of rescuing some valuable pieces of religious imagery and others of archaeological and historical value.

Castro Bridge

Name that according to some authors General Cipriano Castro gave to that iron structure in the year that Los Teques was the seat of the Presidency of the Republic. At that time, the Castro family resided in Los Teques, fitting out the existing mansions, which were occupied by their closest friends. Later the Gómez would also reside in Los Teques when Juan Vicente Gómez took power.

Customs and traditions

Festivities

• Holy Week.
• Burn Judas.
• Feast of the May Cross.
• Aguinaldo Masses.
• Carnivals.
• Joropos parties.
• The Coleed Bulls.
• Coco's bankruptcy.

Music

• Joropo Tuyero
• Golpe Mirandino

Festivals

• Miranda State Coral Festival.
• Festival de Teatro de Los Teques

Gastronomy

Ephemeris

Media

Newspapers and magazines

• Diario La Región
• Daily Preview

Radio stations

Los Teques has an outstanding historical characteristic within radio broadcasting, in the 70s Radio Miranda began operating with its headquarters on Ayacucho street in the Radio Miranda building and on April 11, 1984 the first broadcast began AM STEREO station from Latin America: Radio Metropolitana 1550 AM. This event revolutionized the sound of modulated amplitude radio, since until that year commercial transmissions in modulated frequency had not yet started in Venezuela, which allowed it to compete with stations from Caracas with the same style and target (youth). Similarly, ten years later the first FM station in Los Altos Mirandinos was born, which was also part of the same concessionaire. Thus, in 1994, TOP 105.9 FM began broadcasting, a station that would later have to change dials for technical reasons and would later become Metropolitana 97.1 FM.^{[citation required]}

Currently, neither of the two pioneering stations in Los Teques is on the air due to the cessation of the concession and closure by CONATEL. The only stations that transmit their signal in modulated frequency with studios in the capital of the state Miranda are:

• Panamericana 88.3 FM (Popular - Commercial)
• Época 88.7 FM (Popular - Commercial)
• P falseP 89.9 FM (Sport - Commercial)
• Plenary 90.9 FM (Community - Christian)
• Paraipa 94.7 FM (San Pedro de los Altos Community)
• Frequency Feeling 97.1 FM (Contemporary - Commercial)
• Urquia 97.5 FM (Deportiva - Community)
• Latina 98.7 FM (Tropical - Commercial)
• Radio Nacional Venezuela 99.7 FM (Informative - Del Estado)
• Eagle Song 100.5 FM (Community - Christian)
• RV 102.1 FM (Youth/Adult - Commercial)
• The Voice of Guaicaipuro 102.9 FM (Community)
• Antenna 103.7 FM (Tropical/Urbano - Commercial)