Chitré Corregimiento |
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County and city | |
Coordinates: 7°58′N 80°26′W / 7.967°N 80.433°W | |
Country | Panama |
Province | Herrera Province |
Founded | 1848 |
Area | |
• Land | 12.4 km2 (4.8 sq mi) |
Elevation | 24 m (79 ft) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 9,092 |
• Density | 735.5/km2 (1,905/sq mi) |
Population density calculated based on land area. | |
Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
Website | chitre |
Chitré (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃiˈtɾe]) is a city and county, the capital of the Panamanian province of Herrera. with a population of 9,092 as of 2010 but in its metropolitan area its has a population of 80,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of Chitré District. Chitré is located about 7 km inland from the Gulf of Panama on the Azuero Peninsula. The name Chitré comes from the native tribe Chitra. In the city, there is a district, also called Chitré, which is subdivided into five corregimientos. The corregimientos are San Juan Bautista, Llano Bonito, Monagrillo, La Arena and Chitré.
Chitré was founded on October 19, 1848 as a parochial district (distrito parroquial). The Provincial Chamber of Panama ordered in their Article 1, inscription 4 to organize Chitre as a Parroquial District, in the County of Los Santos, this district was to include the towns of Chitré, Monagrillo and La Arena, separate from Los Santos District. Chitré's founders are said to be Ventura Solís, Matías Rodríguez, José Ríos, José María Benavidez, Ildelfonso Pérez, Blas Tello, Eugenio Barrera, José Burgos, and Carlos Rodríguez.
When Herrera Province was created in 1915, Chitré was named its capital. In 1941, during the presidency of Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Herrera Province was joined with Los Santos Province, with Chitré as the joint province's capital. During the presidency of Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia the two provinces were again separated (as they are today), with Chitré as the provincial capital of Herrera.
On October 19, 1948 the city had a large centennial celebration. For its commemoration, a street was renamed Avenida Centenario. Its population as of 1990 was 21,726; its population as of 2000 was 7,756.. In 2016 the city is visited by Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines
The natural vegetation of the region is tropical dry forest, although most of the forest has been cut down.