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Maturin
For other similarly names places, see Maturin.
Maturin is the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas. The city has a population of 500,000 people according to the 2006 census.
Geography
Maturin is located at 67 meters of altitude and 520 kilometres from the country's capital, Caracas. It is right next to the Guarapiche River and it's a crossroad for roads towards the center, the Caribbean coast and the Orinoco River
History
December 7, 1760 is the official date of the foundation of Maturin (according to the Venezuelan Academy of History) by the Franciscan missionary Lucas de Zaragoza. However, the Jesuit priest Pablo Ojer found in Spain a document which proves a previous foundation of the city in 1722. This primitive town was called San Juan de la Tornera de Maturin and its founder was the Spanish governor Juan de la Tornera y Sota. San Juan de la Tornera de Maturin had the category of city for Spaniards, but it did not survive very long because of the lack of population and little economical resources. At the beginning San Judas Tadeo de Maturin (Lucas de Zaragoza gave this name to Maturin) was a Spanish mission created for the conversion of Indians Chaimas and Waraos, who lived next to Maturin. The Spaniards decided to move to Maturin and in nineteenth century it received the category of city and the name of San Fernando de Maturin.
Maturin (as a part of the province of Cumana) was on the republican side during the declaration of the Venezuelan independence on July 5, 1811. Five battles took place in Maturin from 1813 to 1814, including the famous battle of Alto de los Godos. In this battle the Venezuelan patriots, leaded by Manuel Piar, obtained a great victory against the Spanish general Domingo Monteverde. Antonio Jose de Sucre, Jose Francisco Bermudez, Jose Tadeo Monagas, Jose Gregorio Monagas and Jose Felix Ribas were others who fought in the five battles. The last battle of Maturin (1814), however, was a defeat. Persons, who had escaped from Caracas during the military campaign of Jose Tomas Boves against the republic, came to Maturin to shelter from the Spanish troops. After the battle of Urica (where Boves died) Tomas Jose Morales, a Spanish general, decided to take the town. The republicans defended the town, but they were beaten and many of them were murdered by Morales. The town was destroyed. Some survivors of the last battle rebuilt Maturin two years later.
Maturin grew slowly during nineteenth century. The causes of this lack of population were civil wars (which destroyed the former farming and livestock richness of the region and killed many people) and fatal diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever, which were caused by mosquitoes. In 1909 Maturin became capital of the new Monagas state. Before that the town was the capital of the canton Maturin from 1856 to 1859. In twentieth century Maturin has had a quick demographic growth thanks to the discovery of petroleum fields near to the town and a health campaign done by doctors to finish with mosquitoes. Maturin is the headquarters of a catholic bishopric since 1958.
Origin of the name Maturin
Maturin was named after an Indian chief (el Indio Maturin) who lived with his tribe next to the bank of Guarapiche river. The Indian chief was murdered by a supposed Spanish captain named Arrioja during a battle of the Indians against Spaniards in the actual location of the town in 1718. Since then the place was known as el Sitio de Maturin (place of Maturin).
Some historians concluded that the name Maturin has a French root, not an Indian one. They based their opinions on the legend of a supposed French missionary who had explored this area at the end of seventeenth century. The legend says that the missionary (whose surname might have been Mathurin) baptized a young Indian and gave him the name Mathurin. This young Indian became el indio Maturin later. Besides there is a French saint who lived during fourth century whose name was St. Mathurin. The young Indian might have been named after this saint by the French missionary. However the legend of this supposed French missionary has not been proved yet. On the other hand other historians disagreed with that theory. They argued that there is a plant with the same name. Besides there are some place names of Indian roots which are very similar to the name Maturin.
Law and government
Maturin has one municipality: Maturin Municipality, Venezuelan law specifies that municipal governments have four main functions: executive, legislative, comptroller, and planning. The executive function is managed by the mayor, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven councillors, charged with the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller's office, which oversees accountancy. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality.
Mayors since 1990
Maria Elena de Canizales (1990-1992) Accion Democratica
Dr. Jose Enrique Lopez Tablero (1993-1995) COPEI, MAS
Domingo Urbina Simoza (1996-2000), (2000-2004) Accion Democratica
Prof. Numa Rojas (2004-) Movimiento Quinta Republica
Economy
Maturin is one of the most important cities in the east of the country as its strategic position serves as a bridge to the other states of the region. The city has grown during the last few years mainly because of the increase of the oil industry in the state. It is possible to travel there by land or by using Jose Tadeo Monagas International Airport. Maturin is served by Conviasa, Aeropostal and Aserca which have daily non-stop flights connecting the city with Caracas international airport at Maiquetia.
Education
A universitarian level Maturin has the following public universities:
Universidad de Oriente (UDO-Monagas).
Universidad Pedagogica Experimental Libertador (UPEL).
Universidad Nacional Abierta (UNA).
Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela (UBV).
Universidad Nacional Experimental Simon Rodriguez (UNESR).Private universities:
Universidad Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho (UGMA).
Universidad Cecilio Acosta (UNICA).
Universidad de Margarita (UNIMAR).
Universidad Santa Maria (USM).Others private institutions of higher education are:
Instituto Universitario Politecnico Santiago Marino (IUPSM).
Instituto Universitario de Tecnologia Industrial Rodolfo Loreto Arismendi (IUTIRLA).
Instituto Universitario de Tecnologia Venezuela (IUTV).
Places of Interest
Plaza Bolivar is the main town square of Maturin and also the oldest of the city. In front of it is the Palacio de Gobierno (built in 1942), where the governor of the state of Monagas carries out his duties.
The church San Simon is the oldest in Maturin. It was built between 1884 and 1887 and is located in front of the Plaza Bolivar.
The cathedral Nuestra Senora del Carmen is a catholic temple of Roman style. Its construction began in 1961 and was finished in 1981. It is located on Bolivar avenue. The church is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maturin.
Amana del Tamarindo is a small town located thirty minutes from Maturin. It received its name from a tamarind tree located in the town, like the Amana river. Under this tree, which still exists, was the birthplace of general Jose Tadeo Monagas.
Media
El Oriental (founded in 1982), la Prensa de Monagas (founded in 1998), Extra, el Sol de Maturin (founded in 1970) y el Periodico de Monagas are newspapers from Maturin.
Maturin has many radio stations. MW stations are Radio Maturin 1180 (founded in 1961), Radio Guarapiche 840 (founded in 1983) and Radio Monagas 960 (founded in 1948). FM stations are Maturin 94.7, Monagas 93.5 (founded in 1991), PDVSA 95.5, Caliente 102.5, Ritmo 104.0, La Romantica 97.1, Fiesta 102.1, Orbita 88, Rumbera, XL 106.0, Olimpica, La Mega 90.9, Onda 96.3, 92.7, Ruta de Escape 105.0.
TV Monagas, Orivision and TVO Monagas are the TV (VHF) stations of the town.
Notable natives
Andres Rojas: General during the Venezuelan independence.
Dr. Carlos Mohle: Musician, composer and dentist.
Jose Gabriel Nunez Romberg: Musician.
Jose Antonio Nunez Romberg: Mathematician, teacher and historian.
Felix Armando Nunez: Poet, teacher and dean of the University of Chile.
Idelfonso Nunez Mares: Poet and teacher.
Eloy Palacios: Sculptor.
Dr. Jose Maria Nunez: Historian.
Copa America
Maturin was chosen to be one of the nine cities where the Copa America 2007 is going to take place, Three matches will be played at Maturin at the "Estadio Monumental de Maturin" (Maturin's Monumental Stadium) corresponding to the "B" group where Brazil, Mexico, Chile & Ecuador are. This will be a brand new stadium that will have a capacity for 52.000 people, the biggest in Venezuela. After the Copa America 2007 finishes this stadium will be the home of the local soccer team that plays in the 1st division of the Venezuelan league "Monagas Sport Club"
Sources
Gonzalez Oropeza, Hermann (1985): Historia del Estado Monagas. Biblioteca de Temas y Autores Monaguenses, Caracas.
External links
[*] (Spanish)
[*] (Spanish)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Maturin
