Valle de la Pascua is a valley and city in the state of Guárico in central 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...

. It is the seat of Leonardo Infante municipality. Its economy is based on agriculture and cattle ranching. Valle de la Pascua is the economic capital of Guárico

Guárico

Guárico State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros. Guárico State covers a total surface area of 64 986 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 745,100.-Municipalities and municipal seats:...

 state, and is often referred as: "La Princesa del Llano" (Princess of the Plains).
Population: 86.000 (est. 2001)

History

Valle de la Pascua was founded in the 17th Century as part of the colonization and expansion of the Spanish presence on to the Alto Llano de Caracas, the name given to the central plains of the then Province of Venezuela, whose capital was Caracas.

In 1726, with the authorization of the government in Caracas, Capitán Francisco Carlos de Herrera, the regional administrator, granted the town of La Aguada de Valle de la Pascua together with the large cattle ranch called Santa Juana de la Cruz, to José Zamora. However the origins of Spanish settlement started with cattle ranches founded by Francisco Zamora Granados and his brother-in-law, Gabriel Sánchez Sajonero, who, the year previously, had arrived from Altagracia de Orituco and settled in the valley with their families, equipment and cattle.

The Law of Territorial Division of Gran Colombia, dated 25 June 1824, divided the Province of Caracas, of the Department of Venezuela, into twelve cantons (counties). Valle de la Pascua was placed in Chaguaramas canton. In 1848, by the presidential order of General José Tadeo Monagas

José Tadeo Monagas

José Tadeo Monagas Burgos was President of Venezuela 1847-1851 and 1855–1858, and a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence...

, the Province of Caracas was redivided into four cantons and twenty-seven parishes. The parish of Valle de la Pascua was placed together with the canton capital of Chaguaramas

Chaguaramas, Venezuela

- References :...

, and the parishes of Chaguramal del Peral, Santa María de Ipire, Altamira, Altagracia de Iguana, Espino, Cabruta and Santa Rita de Manapire into Chaguaramas canton. In 1853 the canton of Chaguaramas was divided in two: Chaguaramas and Unare. Chaguaramas kept the town of Chaguaramas, Valle de la Pascua, Espino, Cabruta

Cabruta

Cabruta is a fishing town on the Orinoco river in Las Mercedes Municipality, Guárico State, site of a Jesuit mission, and the site of a proposed bridge across the Orinoco to Caicara, Bolívar State.-History:...

and Santa Rita de Manapire.

Candlemas Fairs

In the winter of 1939-1940 during their Candlemas Fiesta, Valle de la Pascua held a Candlemas Fair. That year they had over 15,000 visitors. The fairs provide both entertainment and the opportunity to show the products from the region.

External links

• Valle de la Pascua MiPunto.com in Spanish;