Portoviejo

Portoviejo
—  City  —
San Gregorio de Portoviejo
Portoviejo
Coordinates: 1°3′22.25″S 80°27′18.78″W / 1.0561806°S 80.4552167°W / -1.0561806; -80.4552167Coordinates: 1°3′22.25″S 80°27′18.78″W / 1.0561806°S 80.4552167°W / -1.0561806; -80.4552167
Country	Ecuador
Province	Manabí
Canton	Portoviejo
Founded	March 12, 1535
Founder	Francisco Pacheco
Urban parishes	List of parishes 12 de Marzo 18 de Octubre Andrés de Vera Colón Francisco Pacheco Picoaza Portoviejo San Pablo Simón Bolívar
Government
- Mayor	Patricia Briones Fernández
Elevation	53 m (174 ft)
Website	http://www.portoviejo.gov.ec/

Portoviejo is a city of Ecuador, and the capital the Province of Manabí distant 30 km from the Pacific coast. (Population: about 250,000). Also known as the city of the "Royal Tamarind Trees" for the beautiful trees found in the area. Portoviejo is the main political and economical centre of the river Portoviejo valley, which also includes the cantons of Santa Ana and Rocafuerte, where about 110 square kilometres are cultivated every year. The valley is rich in the production of tomatoes, onion, pepper, banana, mangoes and other tropical fruits. The city, which was affected by the economical crisis in the eighties and nineties, is now recovering but severe budget limitations and huge unemployment rate make things difficult for local authorities. Portoviejo is a large commercial center for the province, there is a shopping mall center which holds a large hypermarket, 8 movie theaters, food court, and several other stores. There is a large flea market in downtown. Locals are very friendly and very well educated. The city is home of cancer's treatment Hospital "Dr Julio Villacreses Colmont" serving the provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas. Portoviejo is the perfect place to enjoy the traditional Manabí cuisine, of great fame in Ecuador, usually at country side restaurants located on the side of the Portoviejo-Crucita roadway. The local airport is used for domestic flights.

This large city is the capital of Manabi Province and is important for coffee, cattle and fishing. Founded on March 12, 1535, it is one of the oldest cities in Ecuador and is the sixth largest.

Portoviejo has a thriving agricultural-processing industry and is an important commercial center, with good road connections to Quito and Guayaquil.

This city houses close to 200,000 inhabitants and is the capital of Manabi province as well as the main center for commercial activity such as coffee, fishing and cattle ranching, it also is infamous for Kapok mattresses and pillows made from the ceibo seed case and is a good place to buy hammocks. You can stroll around the city easily by foot and visit the Parque Eloy Alfaro which faces the local cathedral. An interesting nearby village to visit is Sosote just a few minutes from Portoviejo, it's worth visiting because of its tagua workshops. The main street has several stalls selling tagua figures.

History

Founded March 12, 1535 by the Spanish captain Francisco Pacheco as "Villa Nueva de San Gregorio de Portoviejo".

One of the greatest poets to come from Portoviejo was Vicente Amador Flor, who wrote many poems about the city.

The Cathedral

In this city was born Miss Ecuador 2009 Sandra Vinces

External links

• Official website (Spanish)

v • d • e Provincial capitals in Ecuador Within regions, north to south Insular Puerto Baquerizo Costa Esmeraldas · Portoviejo · Babahoyo · Guayaquil · Santa Elena · Santo Domingo · Machala Sierra Tulcán · Ibarra · Quito · Latacunga · Ambato · Guaranda · Riobamba · Azogues · Cuenca · Loja Oriente Lago Agrio · El Coca · Tena · Puyo · Macas · Zamora

Coordinates: 1°03′00″S 80°27′00″W / 1.050°S 80.450°W / -1.050; -80.450