Herrera Province
Encyclopedia
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. Named after General Tomás Herrera, the province was founded on January 18, 1915 after a division of the Los Santos
Los Santos Province
Los Santos is a province of Panama. The capital city is Las Tablas, which is famous for its carnivals, the Festival Nacional de la Pollera , and the Festival of the Patron Santa Librada; and the Festival Nacional de la Mejorana in Guararé...
province. The capital city of Herrera is Chitré
Chitré
Chitré is the capital of the Panamanian province Herrera. Chitré is located about 7 km inland from the Gulf of Panama on the Azuero Peninsula The name Chitre comes from the native tribe Chitra . In the city, there is a district, also called Chitré, which is subdivided into five corregimientos...
, which is located near the province's coastline. Herrera is bordered on the north by the provinces Veraguas and Coclé, on the south by Los Santos, on the east by Golfo de Parita and Los Santos, and on the west by Veraguas.
History
After gaining independence from SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1821, the isthmus of Panama was divided into two provinces, Panamá and Veraguas. The province Panamá consisted of the districts of Natá
Nata
Nata is a small village in the Paphos area of southwest Cyprus. It is a small relatively unspoilt traditional village situated on the south-eastern hillside of the Xeros River Valley with approximately 300 residents that is slowly growing due to the number of foreigners wanting to live there. The...
, Portobelo, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Darién
Darién Province
Darién is a province in eastern Panama. It is also the largest province in Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated, having 48,378 habitants...
. At the time, the location now occupied by the city of Chitré was inhabited by a small population of indigenous persons, near La Villa de Los Santos
La Villa de los Santos
La Villa de los Santos is the capitol city of the Los Santos District of Los Santos Province in Panama. Founded as Santa Cruz in 1555 by Juan Rodriguez Monjaraz, the then-governor of the region, the city is known for its efforts in the movement to separate Panama from Spanish power in November 1821...
and was governed from Natá. It later came under the control of the Los Santos government. The province of Herrera was created in 1854 and eliminated in 1860. 55 years later, in 1915 the province was created again by the president of Panama Dr. Belisario Porras.
Chitré was founded on October 19, 1848 by Ventura Solís, Matías Rodríguez, José Ríos, José María Benavidez, Ildelfonso Pérez, Blas Tello, Eugenio Barrera, José Burgos y Carlos Rodríguez. Chitré, however, was included in the province of Los Santos. It was not until 1915 under the administration of Dr. Belisario Porras that Chitré became a part of Herrera and was made the province's capital.
Economy
Of Panama's nine provinces, Herrera ranks third in sugarcaneSugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
production. Other commercial mainstays in Herrera include retail, equipment repair, banking, and domestic service. Prominent industries include dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, commercial fishing
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
, alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s, clay products, mosaics, and cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
.
Culture
The famous Festival del Manito Ocueño has its origin in the city of Ocú in Herrera. Also, the pottery work in the province is extensive, consisting mainly of high-quality reproductions of precolombian artifacts. Herrera's pottery is the best-known in the country. Panama's most famous alcoholic drink, "seco" (translation: dry), is produced in Herrera, which is a sugarcane liqueur said to be dryer than normal rum. Varela Hermanos, a company based in Pesé, sells seco under the trade name Seco HerreranoSeco Herrerano
Seco Herrerano is considered the national alcoholic beverage of Panama Triple distilled from sugarcane, it is traditionally used straight or in mixed drinks as a replacement for rum or vodka. It is a clear liquor that is sold at seventy proof...
.
Sports
Herrera's baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team has won sixteen national championships, more than any other team in the country, including the 2005, 2006 and 2007 titles.
Carnival
The best-known carnivals are celebrated in Chitré, Parita and Ocú. Chitré's carnival is one of the most popular in Panama, but those in Ocú have risen in prominence in recent years.Districts
The province is divided into 7 districtDistrict
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s:
- Chitré DistrictChitré DistrictChitré District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 42,467.The district covers a total area of 91 km²...
. Corregimientos include ChitréChitréChitré is the capital of the Panamanian province Herrera. Chitré is located about 7 km inland from the Gulf of Panama on the Azuero Peninsula The name Chitre comes from the native tribe Chitra . In the city, there is a district, also called Chitré, which is subdivided into five corregimientos...
(capital), La Arena, MonagrilloMonagrilloMonagrillo is an archaeological site in south-central Panama with ceramics that have been shown by radiocarbon dating to have an occupation range of about 2500 BCE—1200 BCE. The site is important because it provides the earliest example of ceramics in Central America along with one of the earliest...
, Llano Bonito and San Juan Bautista. - Las Minas DistrictLas Minas DistrictLas Minas District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 7,945.The district covers a total area of 437 km²...
. Corregimientos include Las MinasLas Minas- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
(capital), ChepoChepoChepo is a town located northeast of Panama City in Chepo District, Panamá province, Panama. It is located five kilometers south of the Inter-American Highway. It is a sprawling town that is nearly a suburb of Panama City. It contains a gas station, hospital, ATM, and a variety of stores....
, Chumical, El Toro, Leones, Quebrada del Rosario and Quebrada El Ciprián. - Los Pozos DistrictLos Pozos DistrictLos Pozos District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 7,827. The district covers a total area of 383 km²...
. Corregimientos include Los Pozos (capital), El Capurí, El Calabacito, El Cedro, La Arena, La Pitaloza, Los Cerritos, Los Cerros de Paja and Las Llanas. - Ocú DistrictOcú DistrictOcú District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 15,936.The district covers a total area of 625 km²...
. Corregimientos include OcúOcúOcú is a town in the Herrera province of Panama.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
(capital), Cerro Largo, Los Llanos, Llano Grande, Peñas Chatas, El Tijera and Menchaca. - Parita DistrictParita DistrictParita District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 8,827.The district covers a total area of 364 km²...
. Corregimientos include ParitaParitaParita is a town in the Herrera province of Panama. It was founded in 1556.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
(capital), Cabuya, Los Castillos, Llano de la Cruz, París, Portobelillo and Potuga. - Pesé DistrictPesé DistrictPesé District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 12,471.The district covers a total area of 284 km²...
. Corregimientos include PeséPesé- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
(capital), Las CabrasLas CabrasLas Cabras is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Las Cabras spans an area of and has 20,242 inhabitants . Of these, 7,548 lived in urban areas and 12,694 in rural areas...
, El Pájaro, El Barrero, El Pedregoso, El Ciruelo, Sabanagrande and Rincón Hondo. - Santa María DistrictSanta María District, PanamaSanta María District is a district of Herrera Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 6,992. The district covers a total area of 158 km²...
. Corregimientos include Santa María (capital), Chupampa, El RincónEl Rincón- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
, El Limón and Los Canelos.