Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department
in eastern Bolivia
and the largest city in the country. Situated on the river Piray in Eastern Bolivia, the city of Santa Cruz and its metropolitan area are home to over 70% of the population of the department and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
The city was first founded in 1561 by Spanish explorer Ñuflo de Chavez about 200 km east of its current location, and was moved several times until it was finally established on the Piray River in the late 16th century. For much of its history, Santa Cruz was mostly a small outpost town, and even after Bolivia gained its independence in 1825, there was little attention from the authorities or the population in general to settle the region. It was not until after World War II
and profound agrarian and land reforms that the city began to grow at a very fast pace.
Nowadays, the city is the most populated, and the Department of Santa Cruz, rank second in total population
, produce nearly thirty five percent of Bolivia's gross domestic product, and receive over forty percent of all the foreign direct investment
in the country. This has helped make Santa Cruz the most important business
center in Bolivia and the preferred destination of migrants from all over the country.
explorers is not well documented, mostly because of the somewhat nomadic nature and the absence of a written language
in the culture of the local tribes. However, recent data suggests that the current location of the city of Santa Cruz was inhabited by an Aruwage tribe that later came to be known by the Spanish as Chane
. Remains of ceramics and weapons have been found in the area, leading researchers to believe they had established settlements in the area. Among the few known facts of these tribes, according to accounts of the first Spanish explorers that came into contact with the Chane, they had a formal leader, a cacique, called Grigota, for several years but his reign came to an end after one of the several Guarani incursions in the area.
The first Europeans to set foot in the area were Spanish conquistadores from the recently created Governorate of New Andalusia that encompassed the territories of present-day Argentina
, Uruguay
, Paraguay
, Chile
and Bolivia
.
In 1549, Captain General
Domingo Martinez de Irala
became the first Spaniard to explore the region, but it was not until 1558, when Ñuflo de Chaves
, who had arrived in Asuncion
in 1541 with Alfredo Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, led a new expedition with the objective of settling the region. After discovering that a new expedition from Asuncion was already underway, he quickly traveled to Lima
and successfully persuaded the Viceroy
to create a new province and grant him the title of governor on February 15, 1560. Upon returning from Lima, Chaves founded the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Holy Cross of the Hills) on February 26, 1561, 220 km east of its present-day location, to function as the capital of the newly formed province of Moxos
and Chaves. The settlement was named after Chaves’s home town
in Extremadura
, where he grew up before venturing to America.
Shortly after the founding, attacks from local tribes became commonplace and Ñuflo de Chaves was killed in 1568 by Itatine natives. After Chaves’s death, the conflicts with the local population as well as power struggles in the settlement forced the authorities in Peru to order the new governor, Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa to relocate the city to the west. Many of the inhabitants, however, chose to stay behind and continued living in the original location. On September 13, 1590 the city was officially moved to the banks of the Guapay Empero river and renamed San Lorenzo de la Frontera. Nevertheless, the conditions proved to be even more severe at the new location forcing the settlers to relocate once again on May 21, 1595. Although this was the final relocation of the city, the name San Lorenzo continued to be used until the early 1600s, when the settlers who remained behind in Santa Cruz de la Sierra were convinced by the colonial authorities to move to San Lorenzo. After moving, in 1622, the city was finally consolidated and took its original name of Santa Cruz de la Sierra given by Ñuflo de Chaves over 60 years before. Remnants of the original settlement can be visited in Santa Cruz la Vieja ("Old Santa Cruz"), an archeological site south of San José de Chiquitos.
to Chiquitos
and Moxos, leading to the conversion of thousands of Guaranies, Moxeños, Chiquitanos, Guarayos, and Chiriguanos that eventually became part of the racially mixed population of the modern Santa Cruz, Beni
, Pando
, and Tarija departaments of Bolivia. Another important role the small town played in the region for the Spanish Empire
was to contain the incursions of Portuguese
Bandeirantes
, many of which were repelled by the use of force over the years.
The efforts for consolidating the borders of the Empire were not overlooked by the authorities in Lima, who granted the province a great degree of autonomy. The province was ruled by a Captain General based in Santa Cruz, and, in turn, the city government was administered by two mayors and a council of four people. Citizens of Santa Cruz were exempt from all imperial taxes and the mita
system used in the rest of the Viceroyalty of Peru
was not practiced. However, in spite of its strategic importance, the city did not grow much in colonial times. Most of the economic activity was centered in the mining centers of the west and the main source of income of the city was agriculture.
Animosity towards imperial authorities began at the turn of the eigteenth century, when the new system of intendencias reached the new world. The seat of government was taken away from the city and moved to Cochabamba
, and many of the powers delegated by the viceroyalty were now in the hands of appointees of the crown. Like in many parts of Spanish America at the time, angered by the reforms the criollos
saw as a threat to their way of life, and taking advantage of the Peninsular War
, the local population, led by Antonio Vicente Seonane, revolted on September 24, 1810, overthrowing the governor delegate. In his place, a junta of local commanders took control of the government. The revolutionaries, as it was the case with most of the revolts in Spanish America, remained loyal to the King of Spain, while repudiating the colonial authorities until after the end of the Peninsular War.
By 1813, the city was once again under imperial control. At this time, by orders of General Manuel Belgrano
, the revolutionary armies of Argentina sent a small force led by Ignacio Warnes
to "liberate" Santa Cruz. After his succesful campaign, he assumed control of the government of the city. In a little over a year, Warnes was able to gather tremendous support from the population, enlisting criollos, mestizos and natives to the revolutionary army, and allying with the revolutionary leader of Vallegrande
, Alvarez de Arenales, to defeat a strong imperial force in the Battle of Florida. This victory proved to be a serious blow to Spanish forces in the region. Nevertheless, two years after the victory of Florida, imperial forces launched a new offensive in the province led by Francisco Javier Aguilera. This campaign ended with the defeat and death of Ignacio Warnes and his forces in the Battle of Pari. Triumphant, Aguilera marched into the city with orders to quell the insurrection and reinstate the Spanish governor. This proved to be a very difficult task, with several revolutionary leaders, such as Jose Manuel "Cañoto" Baca and Jose Manuel Mercado, rising up in the coming years from the city itself and elsewhere in the province. These new leaders fought colonial authorities for seven years until they finally deposed the last Spanish governor, Manuel Fernando Aramburu, in February 1825, after news of the defeat of the imperial armies in the west had reached the city.
. It is part of the province of Andrés Ibáñez and the capital of the department of Santa Cruz.
, with an average annual temperature around 23 °C (or 73.4 °F). Although the weather is generally warm all year round, cold wind patterns, called "surazos", can blow in occasionally (especially in the winter) from the Argentine
pampas making the temperature drop considerably. The months of greatest rainfall are January and February.
, and some Flemings
, Portuguese
, Germans and Italians
working for the Spanish crown.Among the first settlers there were also Sephardic Jews
recently converted to Christianity
who were persecuted in by the inquisition
in Spain. Santa Cruz has a multicultural population: 78% of the population is White of European descent, 15% is mestizo
with both Native and European ascendants and 7% Natives.
Santa Cruz offers an interesting circuit of cultural and art spaces, from natural history, to religious art up to the newest contemporary art. There is an young art market which is growing fast.
The city of Santa Cruz has benefited from a fast paced growing economy for the last 15 years. This has allowed for a multicultural and ethnically diverse city to develop. Despite its fast growth, the city preserves much of its traditions and culture. This is particularly reflected in its typical foods.
The Spaniards introduced cows, poultry
, rice
, citrus fruits (orange
s, tangerine
s and lemon
s), from southern Asia they brought sugar cane and from Africa plantain
s, banana
s and coffee
(which is cultivated in the yungas near Buena Vista. Moreover, local dishes include native vegetables such as corn
, peanut
s, yuca
and squash, and also local fish such as surubi and pacu
.
There is evidence of the influence of Jewish kosher cuisine in many traditional Santa Cruz dishes, where it is noticeable, the general absence of pork meat, and the combination of rice, yuca, corn and peanuts with either meat or milk products, but never both (at least while being cooked).
Native spices such as urucum, and native fruits (unique to the region) such as achachairu, guapuru and guabira
, add to the uniqueness of Santa Cruz rich traditional cuisine.The agricultural richness of the region allows Santa Cruz to enjoy a vast variety of flavours and ingredients. The following is a list which describes the most typical foods:
Typical Foods
Typical Drinks
Typical Pastries
It is noteworthy that in Santa Cruz there is considerable investment in the construction sector (office buildings and houses), business (large supermarket chains and mass consumption centers), the health sector (high-tech private clinics ), the fashion industry, national and international shows, agribusiness, hospitality and cuisine (highly developed), not to mention many private universities.
The airline AeroSur has its headquarters in Santa Cruz.
Five Star Hotels *****
Four Star Hotels ****
Santa Cruz Department
Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The state is one of the wealthiest states in Bolivia with huge reserves of...
in eastern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and the largest city in the country. Situated on the river Piray in Eastern Bolivia, the city of Santa Cruz and its metropolitan area are home to over 70% of the population of the department and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
The city was first founded in 1561 by Spanish explorer Ñuflo de Chavez about 200 km east of its current location, and was moved several times until it was finally established on the Piray River in the late 16th century. For much of its history, Santa Cruz was mostly a small outpost town, and even after Bolivia gained its independence in 1825, there was little attention from the authorities or the population in general to settle the region. It was not until after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and profound agrarian and land reforms that the city began to grow at a very fast pace.
Nowadays, the city is the most populated, and the Department of Santa Cruz, rank second in total population
Departments of Bolivia
Bolivia is divided into nine departments . Each of the departments is subdivided into provinces , which are further subdivided into municipalities ....
, produce nearly thirty five percent of Bolivia's gross domestic product, and receive over forty percent of all the foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
in the country. This has helped make Santa Cruz the most important business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
center in Bolivia and the preferred destination of migrants from all over the country.
Pre-Columbian Era
Like much of the history of the peoples of the region, the history of the area prior to the arrival of EuropeanEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
explorers is not well documented, mostly because of the somewhat nomadic nature and the absence of a written language
Written language
A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages....
in the culture of the local tribes. However, recent data suggests that the current location of the city of Santa Cruz was inhabited by an Aruwage tribe that later came to be known by the Spanish as Chane
Chañe
Chañe is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 710 inhabitants....
. Remains of ceramics and weapons have been found in the area, leading researchers to believe they had established settlements in the area. Among the few known facts of these tribes, according to accounts of the first Spanish explorers that came into contact with the Chane, they had a formal leader, a cacique, called Grigota, for several years but his reign came to an end after one of the several Guarani incursions in the area.
Early European incursions and Founding of the City
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
In 1549, Captain General
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
Domingo Martinez de Irala
Domingo Martínez de Irala
Domingo Martínez de Irala was a Spanish Basque conquistador.He headed for the Americas in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of Pedro de Mendoza and participated in the founding of Buenos Aires...
became the first Spaniard to explore the region, but it was not until 1558, when Ñuflo de Chaves
Ñuflo de Chaves
Ñuflo de Chaves, also: "Ñuflo de Chávez", was a Spanish conquistador. He is best known for founding the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia....
, who had arrived in Asuncion
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
in 1541 with Alfredo Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, led a new expedition with the objective of settling the region. After discovering that a new expedition from Asuncion was already underway, he quickly traveled to Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
and successfully persuaded the Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
to create a new province and grant him the title of governor on February 15, 1560. Upon returning from Lima, Chaves founded the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Holy Cross of the Hills) on February 26, 1561, 220 km east of its present-day location, to function as the capital of the newly formed province of Moxos
Moxos
Moxos may refer to:* Moxos savanna, also known as the Beni savanna, of northern Bolivia,* Moxos Province of northern Bolivia.* Moxos people and Moxos language...
and Chaves. The settlement was named after Chaves’s home town
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Spain
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Spain is a village in the province of Cáceres and autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain.-References:...
in Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
, where he grew up before venturing to America.
Shortly after the founding, attacks from local tribes became commonplace and Ñuflo de Chaves was killed in 1568 by Itatine natives. After Chaves’s death, the conflicts with the local population as well as power struggles in the settlement forced the authorities in Peru to order the new governor, Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa to relocate the city to the west. Many of the inhabitants, however, chose to stay behind and continued living in the original location. On September 13, 1590 the city was officially moved to the banks of the Guapay Empero river and renamed San Lorenzo de la Frontera. Nevertheless, the conditions proved to be even more severe at the new location forcing the settlers to relocate once again on May 21, 1595. Although this was the final relocation of the city, the name San Lorenzo continued to be used until the early 1600s, when the settlers who remained behind in Santa Cruz de la Sierra were convinced by the colonial authorities to move to San Lorenzo. After moving, in 1622, the city was finally consolidated and took its original name of Santa Cruz de la Sierra given by Ñuflo de Chaves over 60 years before. Remnants of the original settlement can be visited in Santa Cruz la Vieja ("Old Santa Cruz"), an archeological site south of San José de Chiquitos.
Colonial Santa Cruz and revolutionary war
Over the next 200 hundred years, several tribes were either incorporated under Spanish control or defeated by force. The city also became an important staging point for Jesuit MissionsJesuit Reductions
A Jesuit Reduction was a type of settlement for indigenous people in Latin America created by the Jesuit Order during the 17th and 18th centuries. In general, the strategy of the Spanish Empire was to gather native populations into centers called Indian Reductions , in order to Christianize, tax,...
to Chiquitos
Chiquitos
Chiquitos means "little ones" in Spanish. The Spanish Conquistadores chose this name for the people living in the rain savannas of what is now the eastern parts of the Santa Cruz Department in Bolivia, when they found the small doors of the Indian huts in the region.Today, this area is called Gran...
and Moxos, leading to the conversion of thousands of Guaranies, Moxeños, Chiquitanos, Guarayos, and Chiriguanos that eventually became part of the racially mixed population of the modern Santa Cruz, Beni
Beni
Beni may refer to:Places*Beni Department, Beni River and the Beni savanna, Bolivia*Beni Suef and Beni Hasan, Egypt*Beni Mellal and Beni Amir, Morocco*Beni, Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo*Beni, Nepal Culture...
, Pando
Pando
-People:*Pando of Capua , "Pando the Rapacious", Count of Capua*Gabriela Pando , Argentine field hockey player*José Manuel Pando , 29th President of Bolivia*Juan Pando , Spanish historian...
, and Tarija departaments of Bolivia. Another important role the small town played in the region for the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
was to contain the incursions of Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
Bandeirantes
Bandeirantes
The bandeirantes were composed of Indians , caboclos , and some whites who were the captains of the Bandeiras. Members of the 16th–18th century South American slave-hunting expeditions called bandeiras...
, many of which were repelled by the use of force over the years.
The efforts for consolidating the borders of the Empire were not overlooked by the authorities in Lima, who granted the province a great degree of autonomy. The province was ruled by a Captain General based in Santa Cruz, and, in turn, the city government was administered by two mayors and a council of four people. Citizens of Santa Cruz were exempt from all imperial taxes and the mita
Mita (Inca)
Mit'a was mandatory public service in the society of the Inca Empire. Historians use the hispanicized term mita to distinguish the system as it was modified by the Spanish, under whom it became a form of legal servitude which in practise bordered slavery.Mit'a was effectively a form of tribute to...
system used in the rest of the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
was not practiced. However, in spite of its strategic importance, the city did not grow much in colonial times. Most of the economic activity was centered in the mining centers of the west and the main source of income of the city was agriculture.
Cochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
, and many of the powers delegated by the viceroyalty were now in the hands of appointees of the crown. Like in many parts of Spanish America at the time, angered by the reforms the criollos
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
saw as a threat to their way of life, and taking advantage of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, the local population, led by Antonio Vicente Seonane, revolted on September 24, 1810, overthrowing the governor delegate. In his place, a junta of local commanders took control of the government. The revolutionaries, as it was the case with most of the revolts in Spanish America, remained loyal to the King of Spain, while repudiating the colonial authorities until after the end of the Peninsular War.
By 1813, the city was once again under imperial control. At this time, by orders of General Manuel Belgrano
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
, the revolutionary armies of Argentina sent a small force led by Ignacio Warnes
Ignacio Warnes
José Ignacio Warnes y García de Zúñiga was an Argentine soldier who fought in the Argentine War of Independence. Son of the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires Manuel Antonio Warnes y Durango and Ana Jacoba García de Zúñiga y Lizola...
to "liberate" Santa Cruz. After his succesful campaign, he assumed control of the government of the city. In a little over a year, Warnes was able to gather tremendous support from the population, enlisting criollos, mestizos and natives to the revolutionary army, and allying with the revolutionary leader of Vallegrande
Vallegrande
Vallegrande is a small colonial town in Bolivia, located in the Department of Santa Cruz, some 125 km southwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It is the capital of the Vallegrande Province and Vallegrande Municipality and serves as a regionally important market town...
, Alvarez de Arenales, to defeat a strong imperial force in the Battle of Florida. This victory proved to be a serious blow to Spanish forces in the region. Nevertheless, two years after the victory of Florida, imperial forces launched a new offensive in the province led by Francisco Javier Aguilera. This campaign ended with the defeat and death of Ignacio Warnes and his forces in the Battle of Pari. Triumphant, Aguilera marched into the city with orders to quell the insurrection and reinstate the Spanish governor. This proved to be a very difficult task, with several revolutionary leaders, such as Jose Manuel "Cañoto" Baca and Jose Manuel Mercado, rising up in the coming years from the city itself and elsewhere in the province. These new leaders fought colonial authorities for seven years until they finally deposed the last Spanish governor, Manuel Fernando Aramburu, in February 1825, after news of the defeat of the imperial armies in the west had reached the city.
Geography
The city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is located in the eastern part of Bolivia (17°45', South, 63°14', West) at 416 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. It is part of the province of Andrés Ibáñez and the capital of the department of Santa Cruz.
Climate
The city has a tropical savanna climateTropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories "Aw" and '"As."...
, with an average annual temperature around 23 °C (or 73.4 °F). Although the weather is generally warm all year round, cold wind patterns, called "surazos", can blow in occasionally (especially in the winter) from the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
pampas making the temperature drop considerably. The months of greatest rainfall are January and February.
Demographics
The first settlers of Santa Cruz were mainly Spaniards that accompanied Ñuflo de Chávez, as well as Guarani natives from ParaguayParaguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and some Flemings
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
, 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....
, Germans and Italians
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...
working for the Spanish crown.Among the first settlers there were also Sephardic Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
recently converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
who were persecuted in by the inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
in Spain. Santa Cruz has a multicultural population: 78% of the population is White of European descent, 15% is mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
with both Native and European ascendants and 7% Natives.
Culture and food
Museums, Cultural Centers and GalleriesSanta Cruz offers an interesting circuit of cultural and art spaces, from natural history, to religious art up to the newest contemporary art. There is an young art market which is growing fast.
- Casa de la Cultura Raul Otero Reiche
- Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum
- Teniente General German Busch Becerra National History Museum
- National and Regional Museum and Archive
- Guarani museum
- Cathedral Museum of Sacred Art
- Museum of Art and Archaeology
- Museum of Independence
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Manzana Uno (art center)
- Cultural Center Santa Cruz
- Cultural Center Simon I. Patiño
- Training Centre of the Spanish Cooperation
- Feliciana Rodriguez Cultural Center
- Franco German Cultural Center
- Art Gallery Axioma
- Gallery Kiosko
- Gallery Bhuo Blanco
The city of Santa Cruz has benefited from a fast paced growing economy for the last 15 years. This has allowed for a multicultural and ethnically diverse city to develop. Despite its fast growth, the city preserves much of its traditions and culture. This is particularly reflected in its typical foods.
The Spaniards introduced cows, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, citrus fruits (orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s, tangerine
Tangerine
__notoc__The tangerine is an orange-colored citrus fruit which is closely related to the Mandarin orange . Taxonomically, it should probably be formally named as a subspecies or variety of Citrus reticulata; further work seems to be required to ascertain its correct scientific name...
s and lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s), from southern Asia they brought sugar cane and from Africa plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
(which is cultivated in the yungas near Buena Vista. Moreover, local dishes include native vegetables such as corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, yuca
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
and squash, and also local fish such as surubi and pacu
Pacú
Pacu or pacú is the common name of several South American fishes.PACU, Pacu or pacú may also refer to:*Piaractus mesopotamicus , a South American ray-finned fish that is endemic to the Paraguay-Paraná River basin*Tambaqui , known as black pacu, black-finned pacu, giant pacu*Philippine Association...
.
There is evidence of the influence of Jewish kosher cuisine in many traditional Santa Cruz dishes, where it is noticeable, the general absence of pork meat, and the combination of rice, yuca, corn and peanuts with either meat or milk products, but never both (at least while being cooked).
Native spices such as urucum, and native fruits (unique to the region) such as achachairu, guapuru and guabira
Guabirá
Club Deportivo Guabirá is a Bolivian football club from Montero that currently plays in the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano. Their home ground is the Estadio Gilberto Parada....
, add to the uniqueness of Santa Cruz rich traditional cuisine.The agricultural richness of the region allows Santa Cruz to enjoy a vast variety of flavours and ingredients. The following is a list which describes the most typical foods:
Typical Foods
- Majao or Majadito (a risotto style plate which includes charque, duck or chicken meat.)
- LocroLocroLocro is a hearty thick stew popular along the Andes mountain range. The dish is a classic Ecuadorian cheese and potato soup from the Ecuadorian cuisine. This is also a dish in Peruvian cuisine, which at one point held the center of the Inca empire. It typical also in Argentina prepared by the...
(a very dense, rice and hen based soup containing potatoes and spiced with onion, garlic and oregano. It's common to use chicken instead of hen and it is eaten with a piece of boiled yuca) Not to be confused with an Argentinean typical food - Masaco (smashed plantain with charque(sun dried meat)Also made with yuca and charque)
- Fricase
Typical Drinks
- MocochinchiMocochinchiMocochinchi is a Bolivian drink. It is made with peaches, peeled and dried. The fruits are left in water overnight then boiled with sugar and cinnamon. This drink is served cold....
(drink consist of sun dried peaches which are boiled with honey and clove, served cold) - SomóSOMOState Oil Marketing Organization is an Iraqi National Company responsible for marketing Iraq's oil. It is headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq....
(white corn based drink, served cold as a refreshment) - ChichaChichaFor the musical genre, see Peruvian cumbiaChicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, rather often to those derived from maize and similar non-alcoholic beverages...
(non-alcoholic drink made by mixing white corn and cinnamon, very sweet).
Typical Pastries
- Cuñapé (yucaCassavaCassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
and cheese baked as small bread buns) - Zonzo (yuca and cheese, boiled and mixed in a type of mashed potato consistency, oven baked or grilled)
- EmpanadaEmpanadaAn empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...
de arroz- EmpanadaEmpanadaAn empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...
de queso - EmpanadaEmpanadaAn empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...
de jigote - EmpanadaEmpanadaAn empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...
de carne
- Empanada
- BizcochoBizcochoBizcocho is the name given in Spain and several Latin American countries to many variants of buttery flaky pastry and some cookies. Bizcochos have European origin, but have been developed and diversified in the Río de la Plata region –they are known as facturas in Argentina.-Assorted...
de trigo - Masaco de plátano
- Masaco de yuca
- ArepaArepaAn arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa...
- Queque
Economy
The city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra has utility infrastructure, roads and highways, and a lively shopping and business. The main sectors that drive the economy are the oil, forestry companies, agribusiness, and construction. Santa Cruz to more than 80% of national agricultural production, and also contributes to GDP over 35% according to recent years. It also has the country's largest airport, making it an ideal city for trade shows, international events and investments.It is noteworthy that in Santa Cruz there is considerable investment in the construction sector (office buildings and houses), business (large supermarket chains and mass consumption centers), the health sector (high-tech private clinics ), the fashion industry, national and international shows, agribusiness, hospitality and cuisine (highly developed), not to mention many private universities.
The airline AeroSur has its headquarters in Santa Cruz.
Hotels
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has one of the best infrastructures of hotels in the country.Five Star Hotels *****
- Senses Hotel Boutique, La Pascana Center
- Buganvillas Hotel Suites & Spa
- Camino Real Hotel
- Los Tajibos Hotel & Convention Center
- Yotaú All Suites Hotel
- Toborochi Suites Apart Hotel
- Gran Hotel Santa Cruz
- Paulistania Casablanca Apart Hotel
- House Inn Hotel
Four Star Hotels ****
- Hotel Canciller
- Continental Park Hotel
- Hotel Cortez
- Puerta de Hierro Hotel
- Royal Lodge Hotel
- Hotel Caparuch
- Las Palmas Hotel
- Hotel La Quinta
- Villa Magna Apart Hotel
- Lido Hotel
- Hotel Las Américas
- Urbarí Apartment Resort
Sister cities
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 Miami Dade County, Florida, USA TaichungTaichung -Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly.... , Taiwan Tainan City, Taiwan Santa Cruz de TenerifeSanta Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009... , Spain  AsunciónAsunción Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San... , Paraguay  ArequipaArequipa Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country... , Peru  AricaArica Arica is a city in northern Chile. "Arica" may also refer to:Places* Arica and Parinacota Region, Chile* Arica Airport , Chile* Arica, Amazonas, town in Colombia* Rio Aricá-açu, tributary of the Cuiabá River south of Cuiabá, BrazilOther... , Chile |
Further reading
- Gutsch, Jochen-Martin, "Im Labyrinth der Unordnung" Der Spiegel 5 December 2005, pp. 144–50.