Monteagudo, Bolivia



Monteagudo is a small town in South Eastern Bolivia. Its name is dedicated to Bernardo de Monteagudo Cáceres (1789-1825) who took part in the Chuquisaca revolution of 25 May 1809.

Location
Monteagudo is administrative center of the Hernando Siles Province in the Chuquisaca Department. It is located in the Monteagudo Municipality on the mouth of Río Sauces into Río Bañado, framed by mountain ridges running from North to South abounding with vegetation.

Climate
Monteagudo is situated in the humid, sub-Andean Chaco of Bolivia. The months of July to September in the area are characterized by a distinct dry season, while December and January can have heavy rainfalls.

History
Monteagudo was originally named Sauces and was prominent in the frequent wars between Creole (white and mixed blood) settlers, the Spanish Empire, and the independent country of Bolivia against the Eastern Bolivian Guarani people (more commonly called Chiriguanos). In 1728, a Chiriguano army attacked Sauces, burned the church, and captured 80 Spaniards. On March 29, 1892, Apiaguaiki Tumpa the last Chiriguano war leader was executed in Monteagudo.

Infrastructure
To the west, Monteagudo is connected with the capital of Sucre by the inner-Bolivian highway Ruta 6. As less than one third of the road is paved, coaches take eight hours for the distance of 326 km in dry weather, while in rainy weather the outcome of the journey is uncalculable.

To the north-east, Monteagudo is connected with Santa Cruz, the capital of the neighboring Santa Cruz Department. The unpaved Ruta 6 goes east to Ipati (104 km) and connects the town with highway Ruta 9, which leads north to Santa Cruz over another 255 km of paved road.

Population
The population of Monteagudo has increased over the past decade, from 5,130 inhabitants (1992 census) to 7,285 (2001 census). Estimations about the population figures in 2008 differ strongly, from 7,500 to 10,501 inhabitants.