Maracaibo

{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2023}}

The name Maracaibo is said to derive from the brave cacique (indigenous chief) Mara, a young native who valiantly resisted the Spaniards and died fighting them.

Legend says that when Mara fell, the Coquivacoa shouted "Mara cayó!" ("Mara fell!"), thus originating the city name—although it would be strange for them to shout in Spanish. Other historians say that the first name of this land in the local language was "Maara-iwo" meaning "Place where serpents abound".

File:Royal Coat of Arms of New Zamora of Maracaibo.svg.]]

The first indigenous settlements were of Arawak and Carib origin. Around the main group were the Añu tribe who built rows of stilt houses all over the northern riviera of Lake Maracaibo.{{cite web|url=http://www.efemeridesvenezolanas.com/html/maracaibo.htm|title=Error|author=Irama Iglesias|work=efemeridevenezolana}} The first Europeans arrived in 1499.

The city was founded three times: the first time was during the Klein-Venedig period (1528–1546), when the Welser bankers of Augsburg received a concession over Venezuela Province from Charles I of Spain. In August 1529, the German Ambrosius Ehinger made his first expedition to Lake Maracaibo, which was bitterly opposed by the indigenous Coquivacoa. After winning a series of bloody battles, he founded the settlement on 8 September 1529. Ehinger named the settlement New Nuremberg ({{langx|de|Neu-Nürnberg}}) and the lake after the valiant chieftain Mara of the Coquivacoa, who had died in the fighting. The city was renamed Maracaibo after the Spanish took possession.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wasistwas.de/geschichte/alle-artikel/artikel/link//aafd6793cf/article/das-imperium-der-welser/-7c05c71e06.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422023929/http://www.wasistwas.de/geschichte/alle-artikel/artikel/link//aafd6793cf/article/das-imperium-der-welser/-7c05c71e06.html|url-status=dead|title=Das Imperium der Welser|archivedate=April 22, 2012}} The lack of activity in the zone made Nikolaus Federmann evacuate the village in 1535 and move its population to Santa Marta near the then capital of Venezuela Province, Santa Ana de Coro.

A second attempt by Captain Alonso Pacheco in 1569 suffered a brief setback when the city had to be evacuated in 1573 due to ferocious attacks by native local tribes. The European settlement returned a short while later, in 1574, however, for which it was re-founded by Captain Pedro Maldonado under Governor Diego de Mazariegos's command and assuming the name of Nueva Zamora de Maracaibo. "Nueva Zamora" comes from Mazariego's place of birth, Zamora, in Spain. Since its definite foundation, the town began to develop as a whole. It is based on the western side of Lake Maracaibo, the dominant feature of the oil-rich Maracaibo Basin. Favored by prevailing winds and a protected harbour, the city is located on the shores of the lake where the narrows, which eventually lead to the Gulf of Venezuela, first become pronounced.

File:Castillo San Carlos de la Barra 12.jpg

The Dutch corsair Henrik de Gerard plundered Maracaibo in 1614, and in 1642 the city was attacked by the British pirate William Jackson. In 1667, l'Olonnais with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of six hundred pirates sacked Maracaibo and Gibraltar. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship, which he captured, along with its rich cargo of cacao, gemstones and more than 260,000 pieces of eight.

In March 1669, Henry Morgan sacked Maracaibo, which emptied when his fleet was first spied and moved on to the Spanish settlement of Gibraltar on the inside of Lake Maracaibo in search of more treasure. A few weeks later, when he attempted to sail out of the lake, Morgan found an occupied fort blocking the inlet to the Caribbean, along with three Spanish ships. These were the Magdalena, the San Luis, and the Soledad. He destroyed the Magdalena and burned the San Luis by sending a dummy ship full of gunpowder to explode near them, after which the crew of the Soledad surrendered. By faking a landward attack on the fort, thereby convincing the Spanish governor to shift his cannon, he eluded their guns and escaped.Harry Morgan's Way, (AlisonPress, 1977), Dudley Pope, {{ISBN|978-1842324820}}Caribbean, James A.Michener, Guild Publishing, 1989, ASIN: B00EFKMICY

In June 1678, Michel de Grammont, the French commander of six ships and 700 men, captured Maracaibo then followed the plundering of several smaller towns as Gibraltar, penetrating as far inland as Trujillo.

File:Batalla del Lago de Maracaibo 1823.jpg

In 1810, the province of Maracaibo did not join the First Republic of Venezuela and remained loyal to the Spanish crown. Maracaibo then held the seat of the Captaincy General of Venezuela.

In 1821, uprisings in favor of independence began to lead to warfare and hostility. The royalists, led by Francisco Tomás Morales, fought against the patriots, led by Rafael Urdaneta, to take back control over the province in the Juana de Ávila Battle, and Morales brought back Spanish rule in 1822 until he was defeated in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, culminating Venezuela's struggle for independence.

For about 380 years, Maracaibo remained isolated and separated from the rest of the country. Transportation to the area was possible through the lake via boats and ferries. Commerce and culture flowed between Maracaibo and the Caribbean Sea, particularly the Dutch Antilles, Colombian coastal cities, Cuba, Hispaniola and later on Miami, New York and Hamburg.

This isolation from the rest of Venezuela was both a challenge and an advantage. The very nature of the city's location made for a population known for their independent thought and character. The history of this region is rife with stories about the creation of an independent and sovereign nation apart from Venezuela, a nation called {{lang|es|La República Independiente del Zulia}}, 'the Independent Republic of Zulia', but this has never come to be.

Come the 20th century, cars, buses, and lorries, with their constant flow of manufactured goods and agricultural product to and from the city port, depended on ferry services between the city and the eastern shore which was poorly connected to the country's motorway system. Maracaibo and the Lake Maracaibo region's economy was more linked to Colombia and the Caribbean than to eastern Venezuela due to the natural route available through Lake Maracaibo then leading to the sea.

In January 1903, as the naval blockade of Venezuela continued during the negotiations with presidente Cipriano Castro, the German gunboat {{SMS|Panther|1901|6}} attempted to enter Lake Maracaibo, which was a center of German commercial activity. On 17 January, it exchanged fire with the settlement of Fort San Carlos, but withdrew after half an hour, as shallow waters prevented it getting close enough to the fort to be effective. The Venezuelans claimed this as a victory, and in response the German commander sent the protected cruiser {{SMS|Vineta|1897|6}}, with heavier weapons, to set an example. On 21 January, Vineta bombarded the fort, setting fire to it and destroying it, with the death of 25 civilians in the nearby town.

In 1908, the Friesland, Gelderland and Jacob van Heemskerck

were sent to patrol the Venezuelan coast during the second Castro crisis. Friesland guarded the entry way to Maracaibo.{{cite web |url=http://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl/knowledgebase/calendar%7C1908 |publisher=Hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl |title=Maritieme kalender 1908 |access-date=2013-07-01 |archive-date=2017-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109191410/https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl/knowledgebase/calendar%7c1908 |url-status=dead }}

File:Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Maracaibo.jpg

{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2021}}

The dictatorial regime of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 1950s set as a goal the construction of a bridge connecting the two lake shores. Various bridge projects for the spanning of the Lake Maracaibo narrows near the city were in the works. The general's government had decided that this "city of independent thought" should be more "connected" to the rest of the country.

Proposals for a bridge design that included rail transport and tourist facilities were seriously considered. The fall of the Pérez Jiménez regime on January 23, 1958, quickly led to a less elaborate design project that was approved and funded by a democratic and more financially responsible government.

The building of {{lang|es|El Puente sobre el Lago de Maracaibo "General Rafael Urdaneta"}} ('General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge over Lake Maracaibo') named after the distinguished general and war of independence hero was opened to public traffic in 1962 connecting the city to its opposite shore neighbors and the rest of the country through a new system of highways. The project was completed on schedule in 40 months.

This bridge construction project was a remarkable feat. Built under very difficult conditions, when completed, it became the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the world. The structure is in constant use and remains today as the most important link between Maracaibo, along with much of the state of Zulia, and the rest of Venezuela.

File:Teatro Baralt I.JPG

François de Pons, an agent to the French government in Caracas, provides some historical insight into the people of Maracaibo in his travel journal {{Harv|de Pons|1806}}. The following excerpts describe the local population of Maracaibo:

:"They perform coasting, or long voyages, with equal facility; and when all trade is suspended by the operations of war, they enter privateers. Bred up in the neighbourhood of the lake, they are mostly all expert swimmers and excellent divers. Their reputation stands equally high as soldiers. Those who do not enter into the sea service, form plantations, or assist in cultivating those that belong to their fathers. Nothing proves better their aptitude for this kind of occupation, than the immense flocks of cattle with which the savannas of Maracaybo {{sic}} are covered."

He also notes the appreciation of literature, the arts, education, and culture among the people of Maracaibo:

:"But what confers the greatest honour on the inhabitants of Maracaibo, is their application to literature; in which, notwithstanding the wretched state of public education, they make considerable progress....They likewise acquired the art of elocution, and of writing their mother tongue with the greatest purity; in a word, they possessed all the qualities that characterise men of letters."

Maracaibo has become a large metropolitan city, comprising two municipalities: the municipality of Maracaibo proper, and the municipality of San Francisco, established in 1995, to the south. In recent years, due to political/economic and cultural reasons, many have moved to Maracaibo from rural areas and other cities (including Caracas).

Maracaibo also boasts one of the best universities in the country, the state university, La Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) is well renowned for its excellent law, medical and engineering schools as many other disciplines. Other universities and schools include Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín (URBE) and Universidad Rafael Urdaneta, with one of the country's leading psychology schools. However, recent political instability has led to the decline of the universidad.{{Cite news |last=Otis |first=John |date=2023-10-31 |title=Why one family is joining a historic wave of Venezuelans migrating to the U.S. |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/10/31/1207963084/venezuela-migrants-to-us |work=National Public Radio}}

The Diocese of Maracaibo (23 July 1965) was elevated to Archdiocese on 30 April 1966 by Pope Paulus VI.{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmara.html#hist|title=Maracaibo (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|author=David M. Cheney|work=catholic-hierarchy.org}} Maracaibo was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1985.{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960297,00.html?promoid=googlep|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022085600/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960297,00.html?promoid=googlep|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 22, 2012|title=Religion: Si to a Demanding Friend|date=11 February 1985|work=Time}}{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmara.html|title=Maracaibo (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|author=David M. Cheney|work=catholic-hierarchy.org}} Since November 2000, its Archbishop has been Ubaldo Ramón Santana Sequera.

In 2019, power outages and widespread poverty caused a citywide wave of violence and looting,{{Cite news |last=Kuntz |first=Katrin |date=2019-09-03 |title=Venezuela: City of Maracaibo in Ruin as Economy Plunges |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/venezuela-city-of-maracaibo-in-ruin-as-economy-plunges-a-1284073.html |access-date=2024-02-19 |work=Der Spiegel |language=en |issn=2195-1349}} resulting in mass emigration, most of which was headed to the United States.

Zulia's main income comes from oil extraction and refining, agriculture (coffee, rice, maize, cassava, cocoa, sugar cane),

livestock production, and mining (clay, limestone, coal and sand{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}).

The municipality of Maracaibo is divided into 18 parishes as follows:

|}

{{hlist|Venancio Pulgar|Idelfonso Vázquez|Coquivacoa|Barrio 18 de Octubre|Juana de Ávila|El Naranjal|San Jacinto (La Marina)|Mara Norte|La Trinidad|Las Tarabas|La Estrella|Maracaibo I|Maracaibo II|Lago Mar Beach|Antonio Borjas Romero|San Isidro|Francisco Eugenio Bustamante|San Rafael|Ziruma|San Miguel|Luis Hurtado Higuera|Manuel Dagnino|Cristo de Aranza|Cecilio Acosta|Cacique Mara|El Amparo|Raúl Leoni|Caracciolo Parra Pérez|Los Olivos|Chiquinquirá|Santa Lucía|Santa Rosa|Bolívar|Bella Vista|Historic zone of Maracaibo|El Saladillo|Isla Dorada}}

Maracaibo is one of the hottest cities in Venezuela and all of South America as well. The rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta gives the city a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh){{Cite web|url=https://es.meteocast.in/forecast/ve/maracaibo/|title=Pronóstico del tiempo para Maracaibo - precisa y detallada previsión del tiempo en Maracaibo para el día de hoy, de mañana y de la semana. Maracaibo, Estado Zulia, Venezuela|website=es.meteocast.in}}

Attenuated only by the moderating influence of the lake; Maracaibo's average historical temperature is {{convert|29|C|F|1}}. In the past, the climate of the city, indeed all along the coast of Lake Maracaibo, was unhealthy due to the combination of high temperatures with high humidity. Today, control of plagues and the effects of urban development has largely eradicated these health problems. The registered high temperature of the city is {{convert|43.6|C|F|1}}, and the lowest is {{convert|18.8|C|F|1}}.

{{Weather box

| location = Maracaibo (1991–2020, extremes 1961–2020)

| metric first = Yes

| single line = yes

| Jan record high C = 36.7

| Feb record high C = 39.4

| Mar record high C = 39.0

| Apr record high C = 40.0

| May record high C = 39.8

| Jun record high C = 39.6

| Jul record high C = 39.4

| Aug record high C = 42.2

| Sep record high C = 39.0

| Oct record high C = 39.9

| Nov record high C = 37.0

| Dec record high C = 39.5

| year record high C = 42.2

| Jan high C = 33.1

| Feb high C = 33.3

| Mar high C = 33.7

| Apr high C = 34.0

| May high C = 34.2

| Jun high C = 34.5

| Jul high C = 34.8

| Aug high C = 35.1

| Sep high C = 34.2

| Oct high C = 33.1

| Nov high C = 32.7

| Dec high C = 32.9

| year high C = 33.8

| Jan mean C = 27.0

| Feb mean C = 27.3

| Mar mean C = 27.9

| Apr mean C = 28.7

| May mean C = 28.7

| Jun mean C = 29.4

| Jul mean C = 29.4

| Aug mean C = 29.8

| Sep mean C = 28.9

| Oct mean C = 27.9

| Nov mean C = 27.0

| Dec mean C = 27.3

| year mean C = 28.3

| Jan low C = 23.1

| Feb low C = 23.4

| Mar low C = 24.1

| Apr low C = 25.2

| May low C = 25.7

| Jun low C = 25.7

| Jul low C = 25.6

| Aug low C = 25.9

| Sep low C = 25.5

| Oct low C = 24.9

| Nov low C = 24.6

| Dec low C = 23.8

| year low C = 24.8

| Jan record low C = 19.2

| Feb record low C = 18.8

| Mar record low C = 20.3

| Apr record low C = 20.7

| May record low C = 20.5

| Jun record low C = 20.2

| Jul record low C = 21.0

| Aug record low C = 20.2

| Sep record low C = 20.2

| Oct record low C = 19.8

| Nov record low C = 20.1

| Dec record low C = 18.9

| year record low C = 18.8

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 5.8

| Feb rain mm = 3.6

| Mar rain mm = 11.4

| Apr rain mm = 41.1

| May rain mm = 85.5

| Jun rain mm = 48.6

| Jul rain mm = 31.3

| Aug rain mm = 70.1

| Sep rain mm = 114.9

| Oct rain mm = 122.9

| Nov rain mm = 82.3

| Dec rain mm = 31.8

| year rain mm = 649.3

| unit rain days = 1.0 mm

| Jan rain days = 1.1

| Feb rain days = 1.0

| Mar rain days = 1.5

| Apr rain days = 4.4

| May rain days = 7.2

| Jun rain days = 5.4

| Jul rain days = 4.1

| Aug rain days = 6.8

| Sep rain days = 10.5

| Oct rain days = 11.1

| Nov rain days = 7.0

| Dec rain days = 2.9

| year rain days = 63.0

| Jan humidity = 69.0

| Feb humidity = 68.5

| Mar humidity = 68.0

| Apr humidity = 71.5

| May humidity = 73.5

| Jun humidity = 71.0

| Jul humidity = 69.0

| Aug humidity = 69.5

| Sep humidity = 72.0

| Oct humidity = 75.0

| Nov humidity = 73.0

| Dec humidity = 72.0

| year humidity = 71.0

| Jan sun = 266.6

| Feb sun = 240.8

| Mar sun = 244.9

| Apr sun = 183.0

| May sun = 179.8

| Jun sun = 201.0

| Jul sun = 244.9

| Aug sun = 232.5

| Sep sun = 192.0

| Oct sun = 182.9

| Nov sun = 204.0

| Dec sun = 238.7

| year sun = 2611.1

| Jand sun = 8.6

| Febd sun = 8.6

| Mard sun = 7.9

| Aprd sun = 6.1

| Mayd sun = 5.8

| Jund sun = 6.7

| Juld sun = 7.9

| Augd sun = 7.5

| Sepd sun = 6.4

| Octd sun = 5.9

| Novd sun = 6.8

| Decd sun = 7.7

| yeard sun = 7.2

| source 1 = NOAA (sun 1961–1990){{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240210154149/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-3-WMO-Normals-9120/Venezuela/CSV/Maracaibo_80407.csv

| archive-date = 10 February 2024

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-3-WMO-Normals-9120/Venezuela/CSV/Maracaibo_80407.csv

| title = Maracaibo Climate Normals 1991–2020

| work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 10 February 2024}}{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240210153811/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REGIII/VN/80407.TXT

| archive-date = 10 February 2024

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REGIII/VN/80407.TXT

| title = Maracaibo Climate Normals 1961-1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 10 February 2024}}

| source 2 = Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (humidity 1970–1998){{cite web|url=http://www.inameh.gob.ve/documentos/ESTADISTICOS_BASICOS_TyHR_EXTREM.pdf |title=Estadísticos Básicos Temperaturas y Humedades Relativas Máximas y Mínimas Medias |work=INAMEH |language=es |url-status=dead |access-date=2 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615065531/http://www.inameh.gob.ve/documentos/ESTADISTICOS_BASICOS_TyHR_EXTREM.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.inameh.gob.ve/documentos/ESTADISTICOS_BASICOS_TyHR_MEDIAS.pdf |title=Estadísticos Básicos Temperaturas y Humedades Relativas Medias |work=INAMEH |language=es |url-status=dead |access-date=2 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615085231/http://www.inameh.gob.ve/documentos/ESTADISTICOS_BASICOS_TyHR_MEDIAS.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}

}}

File:Rectoradoluz.jpg

Several universities are based in the city:

• Universidad del Zulia - (LUZ)
• Nacional Experimental de la Fuerza Armada UNEFA
• Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín - (URBE)
• Universidad Rafael Urdaneta
• Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta
• Universidad Dr. José Gregorio Hernández
• Universidad Bolivariano de Venezuela sede Zulia
• Universidad Nacional Abierta (UNA) Centro Local Zulia

• Escuela Bella Vista (American school)
• Colegio Alemán de Maracaibo, formerly Colegio Alemán del Zulia (German school)

File:JPPachenchoRomero-16.jpg]]

Due to the regionalistic nature of Marabinos, they strongly support their native teams. Maracaibo, and the rest of Zulia, are represented in baseball by the Águilas del Zulia, a Venezuelan winter league team that plays in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, and is based in the Estadio Luis Aparicio El Grande. The city's basketball team is Gaiteros del Zulia, which plays in the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto de Venezuela. Its home is the 5.000-people Pedro Elías Belisario Aponte stadium. Other teams include the Unión Atlético Maracaibo and the Zulia FC in football, the Maracaibo Rugby Football Club and the Zulianos Rugby Club.

In the 2000 Little League World Series, the Sierra Maestra Little League of Maracaibo, Venezuela defeated Bellaire Little League of Bellaire, Texas in the championship game of the 54th Little League World Series. The Coquivocoa Little League team from Maracaibo placed third in the 1974 Little League World Series.

Rugby in Venezuela was first played in Maracaibo, thanks to the influence of the English community based on the Zulia State

Team:

• Baseball: Águilas del Zulia BBC.
• Basketball: Gaiteros del Zulia
• Soccer: Unión Atlético Maracaibo, Zulia FC
• Rugby: Maracaibo Rugby Football Club "Oil Blacks", Zulianos Rugby Club

File:Monumento a la Chinita I.JPG

Culture in Maracaibo maintains strong Indigenous influences, from its gaitas, desserts, style, and other customs. Most major houses of advertising in Venezuela acknowledge how different the culture of Maracaibo is from that of Caracas. Studies of both prove, for example, that Caracas' leading soft drink brand is Coke, while in Maracaibo it is Pepsi. This has made many brands create special localized advertising of their products (including several Pepsi commercials spoken by local celebrities).{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

The Gaita is a style of Venezuelan folk music from Maracaibo. According to Joan Corominas, it may come from gaits, the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the "furro" instrument. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro, charrasca and tambora (Venezuelan drum). Song themes range from humorous and love songs to protest songs. The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa and merengue in the 1970s. Famous gaita groups include Maracaibo 15, Gran Coquivacoa, Barrio Obrero, Cardenales del Éxito, Koquimba, Melody Gaita, Guaco, Estrellas del Zulia, Saladillo, and many others.

File:Centro de arte de Maracaibo Lía Bermúdez detalle exterior.jpg

• Zulia Contemporary Art Museum (MACZUL)
• General Rafael Urdaneta Museum
• "Balmiro León" Municipal Graphic Arts Museum
• Maracaibo's Fine Arts Centre
• Maracaibo's "Lía Bermúdez" Art Centre
• Baralt Theatre
• Museum of Gaita

• Public Library of Zulia
• "Arturo Uslar Pietri" Public Library
• "Dr. Pedro Alciro Barboza de la Torre" Library
• "Simón Palmar" Public Library
• Biblioteca Pública "Luís Guillermo Pineda Belloso" (De carácter público, bilingüe y circulante)
• "Pedagógica" Specialized Public Library
• "SEDINI" Specialized Public Library
• "Dr. Nectario Andrade Labarca" Private Library

{{Div col}}

• Tito Abbo, Jr. - coffee trader, entrepreneur
• Wilyer Abreu - baseball player
• Teolindo Acosta - baseball player
• José Andrés Martínez - professional MLS soccer player
• Gustavo Aguado - musician, singer and leader of Guaco music band
• Ricardo Aguirre - composer and singer
• Daniel Alvarado - singer and actor
• Wilson Álvarez - Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher
• Ernesto Aparicio - former shortstop in Venezuelan League Baseball
• Luis Aparicio - shortstop, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
• Rafael Maria Baralt - diplomat, writer, philologist, historian
• Jessica Barboza Schmidt - model and beauty pageant
• Omar Barboza- politician
• Huascar Barradas - flutist
• Evert Bastet - Canadian sailor. He won a silver medal in the Flying Dutchman Class at the 1984 Summer Olympics
• José Bracho - baseball pitcher
• Lionel Belasco - pianist, composer and bandleader, best known for his calypso recordings
• Marisela Berti - actress, singer, show host and beauty queen
• Silvino Bracho - baseball pitcher
• Antonio Briñez - first manager to win a National Amateur Baseball championship to Venezuela
• María Calcaño - poet
• José Antonio Casanova - baseball player and team manager
• Abel Castellano Jr. - jockey
• Javier Castellano - jockey Eclipse Award 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. Hall of Fame
• Leopoldo Castillo - journalist. TV host
• Gustavo Chacín - baseball player
• Jackson Chourio - baseball player
• Fernando Chumaceiro - lawyer and politician
• Johana Clavel - cook and entrepreneur
• Luis Contreras - baseball player
• Gilberto Correa - TV host
• David Cubillan - basketball player
• Chiquinquirá Delgado - actress and TV host
• Elías Díaz - MLB baseball player
• Xabier Elorriaga- actor
• Heraclio Fernández - pianist and composer
• Lupita Ferrer - actress
• Juan Fuenmayor - soccer player
• Manuel Gogorza- military
• Betulio González - boxer
• Carlos González - baseball player
• Geremi González - Major League Baseball player for several teams
• Inés González Árraga - chemist and former political prisoner
• Mariana González Parra - fencer
• Ulises Hadjis - singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist
• Alejandro Hernández - Internet comedian
• Jonathan Herrera - baseball player
• Wilmer Herrison - painter
• Fred Hoos – Canadian field hockey player
• Ender Inciarte - MLB baseball player
• Daniela Larreal - cyclist sprinter
• Ninibeth Leal - Miss Venezuela World 1991, Miss World 1991
• Tulio Enrique León - blind organist, composer, and arranger
• Sandy León - MLB baseball player
• Carlos López Bustamante - journalist, known for his opposition to Juan Vicente Gómez
• Eduardo López Bustamante - journalist, lawyer, and poet
• Teresa López Bustamante - journalist, founder of the Catholic Venezuelan newspaper
• Eduardo López Rivas - editor and journalist
• Roberto Lückert León - Roman Catholic prelate
• Betty Cecilia Lugo - philanthropist
• Julio Machado - Major League Baseball pitcher
• Carlos Ramírez MacGregor - journalist, politician and writer
• Domingo Marcucci - shipbuilder and shipowner in San Francisco, California
• Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla - philosopher, rector of Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela)
• Armando Molero - songwriter
• Carlos Molina Tamayo - navy militar
• Ricardo Montaner - Venezuelan musician
• Carmen Maria Montiel - Miss Venezuela 1984, Miss Universe 1984 2nd runner-up
• Carlos Caridad-Montero - film producer
• Humberto Fernández Morán - research scientist, founded the Venezuelan scientific research institute
• Lila Morillo - actress and singer
• Francisco Ochoa - first President of the Universidad del Zulia
• Rougned Odor - MLB baseball player
• Gastón Parra Luzardo- Economist president of PDVSA in 2002
• Gerardo Parra- MLB baseball player
• Nestor Perez Luzardo - lawyer and singer
• Felipe Pirela - singer
• Nick Pocock - former cricketer, ex-captain of Hampshire County Cricket Club
• Oswaldo Álvarez Paz - First elected Governor
• L. Rafael Reif - electrical engineer and the 17th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Graciela Rincón Calcaño - poet
• Rafael Romero Sandrea - track and field athlete
• Daniel Sarcos - Telemundo TV host
• Jefferson Savarino - footballer
• Monica Spear - Miss Venezuela 2004, Miss Universe 2005 4th runner-up, actress
• Orlando Urdaneta - actor
• Rafael Urdaneta - hero of the Latin American war for independence
• Vivian Urdaneta - Miss Venezuela International 2000, Miss International 2000
• Patricia Van Dalen - painter
• Patricia Velásquez - actress and international top model
• Leonardo Villalobos - actor and television personality

{{Div col end}}

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in South America#Venezuela|l1=List of twin towns and sister cities in Venezuela}}

Maracaibo is twinned with:Sister Cities designated by [http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/usa/LA Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217231154/http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/usa/LA |date=February 17, 2008 }}. Retrieved June 8, 2006.

{{colbegin}}

• {{flagicon|GER}} Bremen, Germany{{cite web|url=http://www.rathaus.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen54.c.2259.de|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110718204253/http://www.rathaus.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen54.c.2259.de|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-07-18|title=Bremen - Referat 32 Städtepartnerschaften / Internationale Beziehungen|trans-title=Bremen - Unit 32 Twinning / International Relations|access-date=2013-08-09|last=Frohmader|first=Andrea|work=Das Rathaus Bremen Senatskanzlei [Bremen City Hall - Senate Chancellery]|language=de}}
• {{flagicon|RSA}} Durban, South Africa
• {{flagicon|USA}} Honolulu, United States
• {{flagicon|USA}} New Orleans, United States
• {{flagicon|ROM}} Ploiești, Romania
• {{flagicon|TUR}} Istanbul, Turkey

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{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{Citation |last=de Pons |first=François|title=A Voyage to the Eastern Part of Terra Firma, or the Spanish Main, in South-America, during the years 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804 |publisher=I. Riley and Company |location=New York City |year=1806}}

{{Portal|Venezuela}}

{{Commons category|Maracaibo}}

• {{wikivoyage inline|Maracaibo}}
• {{in lang|es}} [http://www.panodi.com Panorama Digital] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603003559/http://panodi.com/ |date=2020-06-03 }} - Largest Maracaibo based newspaper
• {{in lang|es}} [http://www.laverdad.com La Verdad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129152747/http://www.laverdad.com/ |date=2021-01-29 }} - Maracaibo-based newspaper

{{State capitals of Venezuela}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Zulia

Category:Municipalities of Zulia

Category:Lake Maracaibo

Category:Port cities in the Caribbean

Category:Port cities in Venezuela

Category:Populated places established in 1529

Category:Ports and harbours of Venezuela