Valera

This article is about the city in Venezuela. For other uses, see Valera (disambiguation).

Valera
Images of Valera
Flag Seal
Nickname:  La ciudad de las siete colinas (The City of the seven hills) or La novia de Venezuela
Valera
Coordinates: 9°18′45″N 70°36′25″W
Country	Venezuela
State	Trujillo
Counties	Valera Municipality
Demonym	Valerano/a
Area
• Total	226.45 km2 (87.43 sq mi)
Elevation	650 m (2,130 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	135,215
• Density	597.12/km2 (1,546.5/sq mi)
Postal code	3101
Area code	271
Climate	Aw

Valera Cathedral in Valera Bolivar Square

Downtown Valera

View of Las Acacia area

Valera is a city in Trujillo State in Venezuela, situated between the rivers Momboy and Motatán. The current mayor is José Karkom, who has had that post since 2013. The city is home to Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Colombian and Spanish communities. It is also home to the Universidad Valle del Momboy, a private university, as well as the Instituto Universitario de Tecnología de Trujillo (IUTET). Also, the Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez (UNESR), the Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL), among others.

The city is the commercial center of Trujillo state, and a gateway to the Andes region of Venezuela. It has a vibrant business community, as well as a diverse and educated workforce. As the economic and commercial center of Trujillo state, Valera is a leading distribution centre for the agricultural products in Venezuela, in which sugarcane, cacao, coffee, fruit, and grains are cultivated. Flour milling is a principal industry. The area has traditionally supplied about one-fourth of the nation's wheat. In recent years the city grew with the construction of many new buildings and new malls such as the Plaza Center (centro Comercial Plaza) which has 5 movie theaters from Cinex and other smaller malls.

History

Valera has its name from Marcos Valera. The date of its founding is not certain, although several historians agree that it was founded on 25 August 1811. Others say that it was in 1817 on land owned by Doña Mercedes Diaz de Teran and Dr. Gabriel Briceno. The location of Valera is privileged for its commercial and industrial development, because it is a point of intersection between the routes: Mérida - Maracaibo - Caracas - San Cristóbal.

Valera has modern commercial buildings, such as: Plaza mall, Arichuna mall, Centro Comercial las Acacias, CC Edivica, CC.Vigen del Carmen, CC Diego Andres, CC Canaima, Ateneo (cultural activity), Hotels, Avenues, Park of Illustrious (Parque de Los Ilustres) and Agricultural Fair Park (Parque Ferial Agropecuario), named for its founders.

Parish Seat

The municipality is composed of six parishes: Juan Ignacio Montilla, la Beatriz, la Puerta, Mendoza Fria, Mercedes Diaz and San Luis

Media

The city has three daily papers, the Diario de Los Andes, Todo Primicias and the Diario El Tiempo, [1] along with several radio stations, including Angel FM 93.7. Others include Radio Única. [2] Valera also publishes the Magazine Cars Trujillo, its first magazine about cars.

Transport

The city has a national airport, Antonio Nicolas Briceño Airport, with a 2.000 meters runway which connects the region with the capital Caracas.

Newspapers

• Diario de Los Andes (Daily)
• Weather Journal
• Diario El Tiempo (Daily)

Television

The city of Valera has three regional channels:

• Plus TV, UHF channel 48 and channel 7 on cable.
• Come TV, channel 8 on cable.
• TV Andes (in testing), channel 16 and 10 on cable.

Also is available Directv and Intercable with an extended grill with more than 50 international channels

Sports

Home of Trujillanos FC (Venezuelan soccer league) a first division soccer club that has its headquarters in the Luis Loreto Lira complex

Notable residents

• José Manuel Pirela (born 1989), baseball second baseman and outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies