Vallegrande
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 | |||||||||||||
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
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.
See also
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "índices climáticos para 149 estaciones meteorológicas en Bolivia" (in Spanish). Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ 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
- ^ Che Guevara Legacy Lives on in Bolivia BBC News, August 24, 2004
- ^ Bolivian Town Recalls Che Assassination Prensa Latina, October 8, 2008
- ^ Che Sat Here: The Making (and Marketing) of a Martyr by Alex Ayala Ugarte, Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2009 Issue
External links
- Vallegrande.org website
- Vallegrande.com.bo website
- Map of Vallegrande Province
- Vallegrande Travel Guide
- The Che Trail in Bolivia
- Che Guevara Route, Vallegrande Region
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