7°50′N 80°40′W / 7.833°N 80.667°W / 7.833; -80.667

Herrera Province
Provincia de Herrera
Flag of Herrera Province
Location of Herrera Province in Panama
Location of Herrera Province in Panama
CountryPanama
Founded1915
CapitalChitré
Area
 • Total
2,362 km2 (912 sq mi)
Population
 (2023 census)
 • Total
122,071
 • Density52/km2 (130/sq mi)
GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)
 • Year2023
 • Total$3.0 billion[1]
 • Per capita$26,900
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Time)
ISO 3166 codePA-6
HDI (2017)0.787[2]
high

Herrera (Spanish pronunciation: [eˈreɾa]) is a province in Panama. Named after General Tomás Herrera, the province was founded on January 18, 1915 from a division of the Los Santos province. The capital city of Herrera is Chitré, which is located near the province's coastline. Herrera is bordered on the north by the provinces of Veraguas and Coclé, on the south by the province of Los Santos, on the east by Golfo de Parita and the province of Los Santos, and on the west by the province of Veraguas.

History

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After gaining independence from Spain in 1821, the isthmus of Panama was divided into two provinces, Panamá and Veraguas. The province Panamá consisted of the districts of Natá, Portobelo, Panama and Darién. At the time, the location now occupied by the city of Chitré was inhabited by a small population of indigenous persons, near La Villa de Los Santos and was governed from Natá. It later came under the control of the Los Santos government. The province of Herrera was created in 1854 and eliminated in 1860. 55 years later, in 1915 the province was created again by the president of Panama Dr. Belisario Porras.

Chitré was founded on October 19, 1848 by Ventura Solís, Matías Rodríguez, José Ríos, José María Benavidez, Ildelfonso Pérez, Blas Tello, Eugenio Barrera, José Burgos y Carlos Rodríguez. Chitré, however, was included in the province of Los Santos. It was not until 1915 under the Porras administration that Chitré became a part of Herrera and was made the province's capital.

Economy

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Of Panama's nine provinces, Herrera ranks third in sugarcane production. Other commercial mainstays in Herrera include retail, equipment repair, banking, and domestic service. Prominent industries include dairy, cattle, commercial fishing, alcohol, ceramics, clay products, mosaics, and cement.

Culture

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The famous Festival del Manito Ocueño has its origin in the city of Ocú in Herrera. Also, the pottery work in the province is extensive, consisting mainly of high-quality reproductions of pre-Columbian artifacts. Herrera's pottery is the best-known in the country. Panama's most famous alcoholic drink, "seco" (translation: dry), is produced in Herrera, which is a sugarcane liqueur said to be drier than normal rum. Varela Hermanos, a company based in Pesé, sells seco under the trade name Seco Herrerano.

Sports

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Herrera's baseball team has won sixteen national championships, more than any other team in the country, including the 2005, 2006 and 2007 titles.

Carnival

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The best-known carnivals are celebrated in Chitré, Parita and Ocú. Chitré's carnival is one of the most popular in Panama, but those in Ocú have risen in prominence in recent years.

Administrative divisions

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Herrera Province is divided into 7 distritos (districts) and subdivided into 49 corregimientos.

Distrito Area
(km2)
Population

Estimate
2010[3]

Population

Census
2023[4][5]

Chitré 88 53,696 60,957
Las Minas 469 7,990 6,642
Los Pozos 385 7,913 6,928
Ocú 618 16,436 16,116
Parita 353 9,404 9,695
Pesé 289 13,119 13,009
Santa María 160 7,853 8,724
District
Corregimientos (Subdivisions)
Cabecera (Seat)
Chitré District Chitré, La Arena, San Miguel de Monagrillo, Llano Bonito, San Juan Bautista Chitré
Las Minas District Las Minas, Chepo, Chumical, El Toro, Leones, Quebrada del Rosario, Quebrada El Ciprián Las Minas
Los Pozos District Los Pozos, El Capurí, El Calabacito, El Cedro, La Arena, La Pitaloza, Los Cerritos, Los Cerros de Paja, Las Llanas Los Pozos
Ocú District San Sebastián de Ocú, Cerro Largo, Los Llanos, Llano Grande, Peñas Chatas, El Tijera, Menchaca, Entradero del Castillo San Sebastián de Ocú
Parita District Parita, Cabuya, Los Castillos, Llano de la Cruz, París, Portobelillo, Potuga Parita
Pesé District Pesé, Las Cabras, El Pájaro, El Barrero, El Pedregoso, El Ciruelo, Sabanagrande, Rincón Hondo Pesé
Santa María District Santa María, Chupampa, El Rincón, El Limón, Los Canelos Santa María

References

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  1. ^ "TelluBase—Panama Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  2. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  3. ^ As at 1 July 2010; adjusted for under-enumeration in 2010 Census. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.
  4. ^ "Herrera (Province, Panama) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  5. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.