Vallegrande

This article is about the town in Bolivia. For the dry lakebed in New Mexico, see Valle Grande, New Mexico. For other uses, see Valle Grande.
Vallegrande
Jatunquichua
Town
Flag of Vallegrande
Flag
Vallegrande is located in Bolivia
Vallegrande
Vallegrande
Location in Bolivia
Coordinates: 18°29′S 64°06′W / 18.483°S 64.100°W / -18.483; -64.100
Country Bolivia
Department Santa Cruz Department
ProvinceVallegrande
MunicipalityVallegrande
CantonVallegrande
Elevation
6,660 ft (2,030 m)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total
6,000
Time zoneUTC-4 (BOT)
ClimateCwb

Vallegrande (Spanish: "Big Valley") is a small colonial town in Bolivia, located in the Department of Santa Cruz, some 125 km (bee-line) southwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It is the capital of the Vallegrande Province and Vallegrande Municipality and serves as a regionally important market town.

The town was the first burial site of revolutionary Che Guevara, after his 1967 execution.

Geography

Overview

The town lies in a big valley (hence the name) at an altitude of 2,030 m (6,660 ft) and has approximately 6,000 inhabitants. It has a mild temperate climate due mainly to its valley location, altitude, and the cold winter fronts the sweep the plains of Santa Cruz known as "Surazo".

Climate

Vallegrande has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwb). Temperatures are relatively temperate annually, with high levels of diurnal temperature variation due to the altitude. Precipitation falls mainly during summer storms, while winter is marked by a drying period.

Climate

Climate data for Vallegrande (Capitán Av. Vidal Villagomez Toledo Airport), elevation 2,030 m (6,660 ft)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.5
(94.1) 		30.2
(86.4) 		28.2
(82.8) 		27.4
(81.3) 		27.5
(81.5) 		31.4
(88.5) 		28.0
(82.4) 		28.0
(82.4) 		35.5
(95.9) 		34.3
(93.7) 		31.8
(89.2) 		31.2
(88.2) 		35.5
(95.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 23.4
(74.1) 		22.8
(73.0) 		22.4
(72.3) 		21.4
(70.5) 		20.4
(68.7) 		20.3
(68.5) 		19.8
(67.6) 		21.4
(70.5) 		23.0
(73.4) 		23.7
(74.7) 		23.9
(75.0) 		23.8
(74.8) 		22.2
(71.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 18.4
(65.1) 		17.9
(64.2) 		17.7
(63.9) 		16.5
(61.7) 		14.9
(58.8) 		14.3
(57.7) 		13.4
(56.1) 		14.7
(58.5) 		16.4
(61.5) 		17.8
(64.0) 		18.3
(64.9) 		18.7
(65.7) 		16.6
(61.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 13.5
(56.3) 		13.1
(55.6) 		12.9
(55.2) 		11.6
(52.9) 		9.5
(49.1) 		8.3
(46.9) 		7.1
(44.8) 		8.0
(46.4) 		9.7
(49.5) 		11.9
(53.4) 		12.6
(54.7) 		13.6
(56.5) 		11.0
(51.8)
Record low °C (°F) 5.5
(41.9) 		7.2
(45.0) 		4.0
(39.2) 		1.2
(34.2) 		−2.0
(28.4) 		−8.0
(17.6) 		−5.0
(23.0) 		−4.5
(23.9) 		−1.5
(29.3) 		−0.4
(31.3) 		3.1
(37.6) 		5.3
(41.5) 		−8.0
(17.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 154.7
(6.09) 		119.4
(4.70) 		84.6
(3.33) 		37.3
(1.47) 		16.9
(0.67) 		10.8
(0.43) 		9.8
(0.39) 		12.0
(0.47) 		20.1
(0.79) 		45.6
(1.80) 		70.0
(2.76) 		108
(4.3) 		689.2
(27.2)
Average precipitation days 12.0 10.4 9.0 6.8 5.1 3.7 2.9 2.4 3.0 6.2 6.4 9.4 77.3
Average relative humidity (%) 73.2 75.5 74.8 76.0 74.7 73.3 69.5 65.6 63.0 67.0 68.5 70.9 71.0
Source: Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia[1][2]

Economy

The main industries in the area revolve around agriculture and its derived products. The region is mainly dedicated to the production of grains such as corn and wheat, and fruits such as peaches, apples, grapes, pears, chirimoyas and plums. Among the value added products the most important are homemade bread, chamas, fruit liquor, wine, handmade rugs, and other handcrafts.

Transport

Vallegrande can be accessed via a spur road branching off the (old, southern) Santa Cruz to Cochabamba highway and has an airstrip off Av Circunvalación 2do Anillo.

Personalities

Site where Che Guevara was formerly buried

Che Guevara

On October 8, 1967, the Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was captured by the CIA-assisted Bolivian Army nearby La Higuera, where he was killed the next day. The body was buried in Vallegrande, on an airstrip near Av. Circunvalación 2do Anillo, and was returned to Cuba in October 1997, where he was buried in a mausoleum in Santa Clara. A "Che Guevara Mausoleum" is located in Vallegrande on the former burial site and can be visited by tourists.[3][4][5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Base de datos Sistema Meteorológico–SISMET" (in Spanish). Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ "índices climáticos para 149 estaciones meteorológicas en Bolivia" (in Spanish). Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. ^ The Local Deity: Bones or Not, Vallegrande's a Must Stop on the Che Route Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine by Joshua Hammer, Newsweek, 1997
  4. ^ Che Guevara Legacy Lives on in Bolivia BBC News, August 24, 2004
  5. ^ Bolivian Town Recalls Che Assassination[permanent dead link‍] Prensa Latina, October 8, 2008
  6. ^ Che Sat Here: The Making (and Marketing) of a Martyr by Alex Ayala Ugarte, Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2009 Issue
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