El Tocuyo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids El Tocuyo
Shire Town
El Tocuyo Cathedral (Temple of La Concepcion)
Flag Seal
El Tocuyo Location in Venezuela
Country	Venezuela
State	Lara
Municipality	Morán Municipality
Demonym	Tocuyano
Founded	7 December 1545; 478 years ago (7 December 1545)
Area
• Total	2,231 km2 (861 sq mi)
Elevation	622 m (2,041 ft)
Population  (2001)
• Total	41,327
Demonym(s)	Tocuyano/a
postal code	3018
Area code(s)	0253
Climate	Aw

El Tocuyo is a fertile valley and city in west-central Venezuela at 622 m (2,041 ft) elevation. It is located in south-central Lara State about 60 km southwest of Barquisimeto. The town of El Tocuyo was founded by Juan de Carvajal in 1545 on the banks of the Tocuyo River and it was the administrative capital of Venezuela Province from 1546 to 1548. Its original name was Nuestra Señora de la Pura y Limpia Concepción del Tocuyo. El Tocuyo is now just the municipal seat of Morán. Its population is 41,327 (2001).

The surrounding area has good soil and an ideal climate for agriculture, dry and warm with plenty of water available from the Tocuyo River. The area has been occupied since prehistoric times. When the Spanish arrived they found the Gayones Indians, who inhabited this valley, sowing corn and other agricultural products as cotton and yucca. After the Spanish came, sugar cane was, for centuries, the biggest crop; but since 1980 vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, chiles, and potatoes are taking its place.

History

Foundation

In 1545, Philipp von Hutten, a German captain general representing the Welser bankers of Augsburg, embarked on an expedition in search of El Dorado, leaving Santa Ana de Coro, where Spanish relatives faced hardships. Juan de Carvajal, a Crown notary since around 1530, opposed the Welsers, denouncing their exploitations. Carvajal, having served in Hispaniola, returned to Coro in 1544 as lieutenant governor, and led an expedition to found a new city, El Tocuyo, in 1545, due to Coro's inhospitable conditions.

El Tocuyo Award

Formerly known as "Ruth Ocumárez Award" which being granted to those contestants in Miss Universe that was highly favored by the pageant fans to be in the semifinals but didn't made to be in the first cut. Mariam Habach is the founder of El Tocuyo Awards way back in 2016.

Miss El Tocuyo titleholders

Year	Represented	Titleholder	Age	Hometown	National title	Continent	Host city and country
2016	Venezuela	Mariam Habach	21	Lara (state)	Miss Venezuela 2015	South America	Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines
2017	Mexico	Denisse Franco	19	Culiacán	Nuestra Belleza México 2017	North America	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2018	Ecuador	Virginia Limongi	24	Portoviejo	Miss Ecuador 2018	South America	Bangkok, Thailand
2019	Argentina	Mariana Varela	23	Avellaneda	Miss Universe Argentina 2019	South America	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2020	South Africa	Natasha Joubert	23	Centurion	Miss Universe South Africa 2020 Miss South Africa 2023	Africa	Hollywood, Florida, United States
2021	Spain	Sarah Loinaz	23	San Sebastián	Miss Universe Spain 2021	Europe	Eilat, Israel
2022	Philippines	Celeste Cortesi	25	Pasay	Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Miss Philippines Earth 2018	Asia-Pacific	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
2023	Mexico	Melissa Flores	25	Venustiano Carranza	Mexicana Universal Miss Earth México	North America	San Salvador, El Salvador
2024	TBA	TBA		TBA	TBA	TBA	Mexico City, Mexico

Notable people

• Lisandro Alvarado (b. 1858 - d. 1929) - Doctor, Naturalist, Historian, Ethnologist, and Linguist
• Mariam Habach (b. 1996) - Dentist, psychologist, former Miss Venezuela 2015, and Miss Universe 2016 contestant. Founder of El Tocuyo Awards in 2016.
• Zulmarys Sánchez (b. 1987) - Venezuelan olympic sprint canoer.

See also

In Spanish: El Tocuyo para niños