Barquisimeto
| Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto | |||
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| Nickname(s): "Capital musical de Venezuela" (English: " Musical capital of Venezuela) " " Ciudad Crepuscular" (English: "Twilight City") | |||
 Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto
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| Coordinates: 10°03′49″N 69°20′05″W / 10.06361°N 69.33472°WCoordinates: 10°03′49″N 69°20′05″W / 10.06361°N 69.33472°W | |||
| Country |
 Venezuela
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| State | Lara | ||
| Municipality | Iribarren | ||
| Founded | 1552 | ||
| Founded by | Juan de Villegas | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Alfredo Ramos (La Causa Radical) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 276 km2 (107 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 566 m (1,857 ft) | ||
| Population (2011) | |||
| • Total | 1,995,770 | ||
| • Density | 324.6/km2 (841/sq mi) | ||
| • Demonym | Barquisimetano(a) | ||
| Time zone | VST (UTC-4:30) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC-4:30) | ||
| Postal code | 3001 | ||
| Area code(s) | 0251 | ||
| Website | Local Government Website (Spanish) | ||
| The area and population figures are for the municipality | |||
Barquisimeto (Spanish pronunciation: [barkisiˈmeto]) is a city in Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of the country, recognized as the fourth-largest city by population and area in Venezuela after Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia.
Barquisimeto was founded in 1552 by Juan de Villegas, as a headquarters and to have better control of the territory believed to be rich in gold. Its original name was "Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto".
This city had four settlements due to ignorance of the physical environment of the region. The first one was in 1552 nearby Buría River, but moved in 1556 due to frequent floods suffered by inhabitants. The second one was in the valley of the Turbio River where the city stayed until Lope de Aguirre burned it down in 1561. Its rebuilding was made 102 km (63 mi), but in 1562 they asked for permission to move to another site due to strong winds blowing in the place. Finally, Barquisimeto was located on the north plateau of the Turbio River in 1563.
During the country's independence, Barquisimeto joined the liberation movement and its deputy José Ángel Álamo signed the Independence Act on July 5, 1811.
In 1929, the city went through a modernization program carried out by General Juan Vicente Gomez. He fixed the streets and avenues and buildings were built, like the Jacinto Lara Headquarters, the Government Palace and the Ayacucho Park.
According to the German adventurer Nikolaus Federmann, the Caquetío aborigines used to call it Variquicimeto, which translates as "ash-colored river", the name with which the natives distinguished the water stream near the city. This river was named "Turbio River" by the Spanish conquerors, a name that is still in use today. Another possible name origin is due to a red dye called bariquí.
When Juan de Villegas founded it, he named the city "Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto", but years later it became just "Barquisimeto", a word popularized by Oviedo y Baños in his book History and Conquest of the Venezuelan Population.
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Wikipedia