Portoviejo

Portoviejo (Spanish pronunciation: [poɾtoˈβjexo]), also known as San Gregorio de Portoviejo, is a city in Ecuador, and the capital of the Province of Manabí, located about 30 km (19 mi) from the Pacific coast. It is still known as the city of the "Royal Tamarind Trees" due to the former Tamarind plantations in the area. It serves as the main political and economical centre of the Portoviejo River valley, which also includes the cantons of Santa Ana and Rocafuerte, where about 110 km2 (42 square miles) are cultivated every year. The city, which was affected by economic crisis in the eighties and nineties, is now recovering but severe budget limitations and a huge unemployment rate present difficulties for local authorities. Founded on March 12, 1535, it is one of the oldest cities in Ecuador and is the eighth largest of the country. Portoviejo is important for the cultivation of coffee, cattle and fishing and has a thriving agricultural-processing industry, with good road connections to Quito and Guayaquil.