Between 1534 and 1542 Margarita Island belonged to Nueva Cadiz (Cubagua).
The King of Spain ordered the priest of Cubagua, Francisco Villacorta,
to deed land to the Guaiquerí Indians, who inhabited Margarita Island.
The priest was named Protector and sailed to Margarita Island on
November 13, 1534, to found a village where now San Antonio is. The
natives would not have it, so he opted to found the "Pueblo de la Mar"
naming it "Villa de Espiritu Santo" (Village of the Holy Ghost) and
built a Church there.
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Porlamar had no Coat of Arms besides the one decreed in recent years by
the Mayor's Office of Porlamar. The only ancient Coats of Arms in
Margarita Island are the ones of Cubagua (Nueva Cadiz) and La Asunción.
The Villa de Espiritu Santo was attacked by pirates and corsarios
and forced the inhabitants to escape to the mountains. Captain Pedro
Gonzalez de Albornoz gathered the dispersed inhabitants and led them to
Valle of Santa Lucia, nowadays La Asunción.
This action did not dissolve the Village, but divide it into two
sections: Pueblo de la Mar (Porlamar nowadays) at the shore and Pueblo
Viejo (Valle de Espirtu Santo nowadays).
In 1891, the Island was divided into several counties, being Porlamar the capital of the county Mariño.
The city of Porlamar is considered now the capital of commerce,
entertainment and social and public life on Margarita Island. It is in
this city where most of the merchandise imported under Free Port decree
is commercialized, where most of the inhabitants live and work and
where the largest variety of restaurants, bars, nightclubs,
discothèques and Bingo Halls are located. One of the two casinos of the
Island is also in Porlamar.
Porlamar is the birthplace of many heroes of the independence
movement, writers and poets and great reporters. In this rising city
several newspapers have been founded, being El Sol de Margarita, La
Hora, el Caribe and El Caribazo the most important ones.
The symbol of Porlamar is El Faro (the light house) inaugurated in
1891. The monument La Sirenea (the mermaid) salutes the visitors at the
entrance to the city on the highway form the airport.
The international airport Santiago Mariño allows easy access for
the fast growing affluence of national and international tourists to
the island; many of them charmed by the island and visit it over and
over again.
The city of Porlamar is a charming mixture of the traditional and
the modern, with plenty of Colonial buildings and new high-rise,
throbbing with life and excitement.
This city is and ideal parting point to visit the villages and
beaches of the island, easily accessed by paved highways and road.
It is also the place to do some Free Port Shopping in its modern
Malls, commercial streets like Santiago Mariño, Avenida 4 de Mayo,
Boulevard Guevara and Boulevard Gomez..
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Isla Margarita 
