Santa Cruz, << `sahn` tah KROOS >> (pop. 1,135,526), is Bolivia’s largest city. Officially named Santa Cruz de la Sierra, it is the capital of Santa Cruz department (state). The city lies on a tropical lowland plain in eastern Bolivia. It centers around the September 24 Plaza, named for the date in 1810 when the city joined Bolivia’s independence war. Municipal buildings and a cathedral surround the plaza. Avenues called anillos (rings) circle the older part of the city. Anillos near the city center have apartment buildings, cafes, restaurants, and other businesses. Poorer neighborhoods lie along the outer anillos.
The people of Santa Cruz, called Cruceños, consider themselves distinct from Bolivians of the Andes Mountains to the west. They take pride in their particular dialect of Spanish and in their regional customs. Many are descended from Bolivia’s indigenous (native) peoples, but most are of mestizo (mixed indigenous and European) or Spanish ancestry. Croatian, German, Japanese, Lebanese, and other immigrants also live in the city.
Spanish explorers founded Santa Cruz in 1561. Before then, the area was home to indigenous groups, including the Guaraní, Besiro, and Guarayu. In the 1950’s, agricultural development attracted many western Bolivians to the Santa Cruz region. Today, the city’s economy is based on processing and exporting agricultural products, including soy products, and the production of ceramics, minerals, steel, and timber. Oil and natural gas are other important products. Despite its prosperity, Santa Cruz has suffered from high levels of crime, poverty, and unemployment. In the early 2000’s, some Cruceños demanded greater autonomy (self-government).
