Clarines is a town in 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...

's Anzoátegui State, located 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) from Puerto La Cruz

Puerto la Cruz

Puerto la Cruz is a port city located in Anzoátegui State, in Venezuela. It is the seat of the Juan Antonio Sotillo Municipality. The city has road connections to the state capital, Barcelona, to Lecheria and to Guanta, and has the potential to become the largest and most important metropolitan...

, and 22 kilometres (13.7 mi). from Puerto Piritu

Puerto Píritu

Puerto Píritu is a Venezuelan city located in the north-central coast of Anzoátegui State, with a population more than 11,000. It is the capital of the Fernando de Peñalver Municipality, and located 46 km from the centre of Barcelona, the capital of the State.The current Puerto Píritu, founded...

. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality

Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality

The Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality is one of the 21 municipalities that makes up the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 32,532. The town of Clarines is...

. The estimated population is 15,000 (2007).

History

When the Franciscan monks arrived in 1650 there was already an Indian community at Clarines. It was officially founded on 7 April 1594 by Francisco de Vides, a Spanish adventurer who came from the Province of Huelva

Huelva (province)

Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva....

. Clarines did not change much until the oil boom of the 1960s. In 1852, the population of Clarines was 4,289, including 72 people identified as white and 3,321 people identified as indigenous.
Alfredo Armas Alfonzo

Alfredo Armas Alfonzo

Alfredo Armas Alfonzo was a Venezuelan writer, critic, editor and historian, well known throughout Latin America...

, Venezuelan historian and critic, was born in Clarines in 1921.
Jaime Lusinchi

Jaime Lusinchi

Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...

, former president of Venezuela, was born in Clarines in 1924.

Attractions

The Museo de Clarines (museum) has items of historical interest including a collection of armaments.

Economy

The local population practices subsistence farming growing plantains, yuca, beans, china, cotton, cassava, and corn. Until the exploitation of oil, the only exports were cattle and mules. Nowadays, many small companies that service the oil fields operate out of Clarines.