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Population: 2001 census 850,000 Maracay and the "metropolitan" area in 2005 - estimated 1,367,217 Maracay was officially established on March 25, 1701, by Bishop Diego de Baños y Sotomayor in the valleys of Tocopio and Tapatapa (what is known today as the central valley of Aragua) in northern Venezuela. It was named Maracay after a local indigenous chief. Today, Maracay is known as the "Garden City of Venezuela" because it has more green areas than any other city in the country. Today Maracay is a modern city with a large manufacturing park. Main products are paper, textiles and chemicals. Maracay is also the home of the local baseball team "Tigres de Aragua". Maracay is known in Spanish as "Ciudad Jardín", or "Garden City." Maracay was the name of a Cacique (Caribe Indian Chief) of the indigenous people that lived in the area before the Spanish discovery of America. |
 Maracay
is the cradle of Venezuelan aviation. It is home to the two
largest Air Force bases in the country, in addition to other military
facilities including an Army Armor division and the Venezuelan
Paratroopers main base and training center. Maracay is a
military city.Maracay has good transportation facilities and infrastructure that effectively connects it to the rest of the country. It is linked to most other important localities by the Autopista Regional del Centro (Central Regional Highway). It also has good access to the only, small railway system in the country. The city boasts the national Hidroplane airport, located on the shore of the Lago de Valencia (Lake of Valencia). One of the most important cities in Venezuela, Maracay is primarily an industrial and commercial center. The city produces textiles, paper, cement, tobacco, cattle derived foods, such as milk or meat conserves, as well as soap and perfumes. Even though it is an industrial center, the area surrounding Maracay is agricultural where sugarcane, tobacco, coffee and cocoa stand out as the main products. There are also cattle-herding and timber-cutting activities. |
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Maracay was affected by a rapid growth during Juan Vicente Gómez's dictatorship, from 1908 to 1935. (The year of his death in this city.) Gómez saw Maracay as a suitable place to make his residence during his rule. His mere presence caused the city to grow very quickly. During his stay at Maracay, Gómez ordered the construction of an Arc of Triumph, a bull plaza (a near replica of the one in Seville, Spain), an Ópera, and, most notably, the Hotel Jardín (Garden Hotel), a majestic, tourist attraction with very large gardens. The Hotel Jardin is now the Government Palace (or seat of the Government of Aragua). The city is home to the Mausoleo de Gómez (Gómez's mausoleum), where the dictator's remains are stored; it also houses the Faculty of Veterinarians and Agronomy of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, as an extension of the Universidad de Carabobo.
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Maracay,
the capital and
most important city of Aragua State, is in central Venezuela. It is the
county
seat of Girardot County. 
On
the north side of Maracay, the mountains that separate it from the coast,
make up the Henri Pittier National Park, named after the
Swiss naturalist that studied them. The park is a very lush rainforest, with a great
variety of ferns. Two very winding roads cut through the park over the
mountains to the coast. One, beginning at the North-Central part of the
city known as Urbanización El Castaño, goes to the beach town of Choroní. The other, beginning at the North-Western part of the city known as Urbanización El Limón, goes to Ocumare de la Costa and the beaches of Cata
and Catica.