La Vela de Coro facts for kids
La Vela de Coro is an important port town in Venezuela. It's like the main entrance to the city of Coro. Even though they are very close, La Vela and Coro are in different local areas. The Spanish founded both towns a long time ago, in the 1500s.
La Vela is famous for its special buildings. In 1993, a World Heritage Site was created to protect the old parts of both La Vela and Coro. Because La Vela is near the Dutch Caribbean islands, its buildings show both Spanish and Dutch styles. This mix makes the architecture very unique!
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A Look Back: History of La Vela
The area around Coro and La Vela has a very interesting past. During the time of Charles V, Coro became the first place in the Americas settled by Germans. In 1528, Charles V owed money to German bankers. So, he gave a banking family called the Welsers the right to explore and use the land known as the Venezuela Province. This agreement ended in 1546.
La Vela and the Venezuelan Flag
La Vela played a very important part in the story of the Flag of Venezuela. The very first version of Venezuela's flag was flown on Venezuelan land right here in La Vela. This happened when Francisco de Miranda arrived by ship in August 1806.
Miranda wanted to help the American colonies gain independence from Spain. He and his soldiers marched to Coro and took control of it. However, the people in Coro did not support him. Miranda only had a few hundred soldiers. When the Spanish army started to move against him, Miranda had to leave. He sailed to Trinidad, which was a British colony at the time. His ship, the "Leander," was sold there to help pay for the trip.
Even though Miranda's trip was not a military success, it is celebrated because of the flag. Before 2006, "Flag Day" in Venezuela was on March 12. This date marked when the flag was first flown in Haiti. But in 2006, the date was changed to August 3. This honors the day Miranda landed in La Vela de Coro in 1806. A special walkway, called the Paseo "Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda," was built to celebrate 200 years since Miranda's landing.
Coro and La Vela: A World Heritage Site
The historic areas of Coro and its port cover a total of 18.40 hectares (about 45 acres). Coro has 7.85 hectares, and La Vela has 10.55 hectares. These areas are protected because of their special history and architecture.
Some interesting buildings in La Vela include:
- The old aduana (which means customs house)
- The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Coro)
Protecting the Site: Challenges and Solutions
Many buildings in La Vela are made using traditional mud building methods. This type of construction can be hard to protect. For example, it can be easily damaged by water or other natural events. The climate in this part of Venezuela is quite dry. However, heavy rains in 2004 and 2005 still caused damage to the site. There were also worries that new buildings might not fit in with the historic area.
Because of these problems, the site was put on the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2005. It is still on this list today. However, UNESCO has said that progress is being made to fix the issues. UNESCO has asked for a good drainage plan to be put in place. This will help protect the buildings from water damage. There are also plans to change the protected area slightly. This would include a coastal path to keep the beautiful view between the town and the sea.
See also
In Spanish: La Vela de Coro para niños
