city, northwestern Miranda estado (state), in the central highlands of northern Venezuela. The city originated from a grant of land to a conquistador in the 16th century. By 1621 there were several Spanish landowners in the area, and they formed a settlement, with a church and a Franciscan friar to minister to their Indian workers. Formerly a commercial centre in a fertile agricultural area producing coffee, cacao, and sugarcane, the city has become a residential suburb of the national capital and a part of the Caracas metropolitan area. It has struggled to protect and preserve its colonial core and an 18th-century church containing colonial paintings. Cardboard is manufactured in the city. Expressways lead from Petare to downtown Caracas, approximately 10 miles (16 km) to the west-northwest. Pop. (2001) 369,000.