Ciudad Ojeda is a city located in the northeastern shore of Lake Maracaibo

Lake Maracaibo

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...

 in Zulia State in northwestern Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. Its population as of the 2005 census was listed as 128,941.

History

Ciudad Ojeda was founded on January 19, 1937 by former president Eleazar López Contreras

Eleazar López Contreras

José Eleazar López Contreras was President of Venezuela . López was a general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez's collaborators.Eleazar López was the only child of Col. Manuel Maria López and Catalina Contreras...

 as a settlement for the inhabitants of Lagunillas de Aguas. Today, it is a major center for the oil and gas industry in the Lake Maracaibo region.

Origin of the name

Ciudad Ojeda was named in honor of Alonso de Ojeda

Alonso de Ojeda

Alonso de Ojeda was a Spanish navigator, governor and conquistador. His name is sometimes spelled Alonzo and Oxeda.-Early life:...

, the Spaniard who was the first European to discover Lake Maracaibo.

Population

Ciudad Ojeda is a medium-sized city in relation with the biggest ones in Venezuela, with a population of approximately 130,000 inhabitants. The majority of Citojenses are of Venezuelan origin. It is also home to numerous foreign communities of Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

, Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

, Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 and Arabs who have the biggest commercial businesses in the city.

Places of interests

• Iglesia de Santa Lucia (Santa Lucia's Church)
• Casa de la Cultura (Culture House)
• Muro de contencion del Lago de Maracaibo (Lago de Maracaibo's Containment Wall)
• Plaza Alonso de Ojeda (Alonso de Ojeda park)
• Plaza Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar park)
• El Mural Más Grande (The Biggest Mural)
• Traki
• Farmatodo

Colleges and universities

• Universidad Alonso de Ojeda - (Uniojeda)
• Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael María Baralt - (UNERMB)
• Instituto Universitario Pedro Emilio Coll - (IUTPEC)

Notable natives

• Denyse Floreano
  Denyse Floreano
  Denyse del Carmen Floreano Camargo is Miss Venezuela 1994 and Top 6 finalist at Miss Universe 1995.-Miss Venezuela:...
  
   - Miss Venezuela 1994
  Miss Venezuela 1994
  Miss Venezuela 1994, the 41nd Miss Venezuela pageant, was held in Caracas, on September 2, 1994, after weeks of events. The winner of the pageant was Denyse Floreano, Miss Costa Oriental....
  
  
• Eddie Pérez, former Major League Baseball player