Santa Cruz de la Sierra

[5] The city was first founded in 1561 by Spanish explorer Ñuflo de Chavez about 200 km (124 mi) east of its current location, and was moved several times until it was finally established on the Pirai River in the late 16th century.[citation needed] After discovering that a new expedition from Asuncion was already underway, he quickly traveled to Lima and successfully persuaded the Viceroy to create a new province and grant him the title of governor on February 15, 1560.[citation needed] Upon returning from Lima, Chavez founded the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Holy Cross of the Hills) on February 26, 1561, 220 km (137 mi) east of its present-day location, to function as the capital of the newly formed province of Moxos and Chaves.After Chaves's death, the conflicts with the local population as well as power struggles in the settlement forced the authorities in Peru to order the new governor, Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa to relocate the city to the west.[citation needed] The city also became an important staging point for Jesuit missions to Chiquitos and Moxos, leading to the conversion of thousands of Guaranies, Moxeños, Chiquitanos, Guarayos and Chiriguanos that eventually became part of the racially mixed population of the modern Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija departments of Bolivia.[citation needed] The province was ruled by a Captain General based in Santa Cruz, and, in turn, the city government was administered by two mayors and a council of four people.[citation needed] Like in many parts of Spanish America at the time, angered by the reforms the criollos saw as a threat to their way of life, and taking advantage of the Peninsular War, the local population, led by Antonio Vicente Seonane, revolted on September 24, 1810, overthrowing the governor delegate.These new leaders fought colonial authorities for seven years until they finally deposed the last Spanish governor, Manuel Fernando Aramburu, in February 1825 after news of the defeat of the imperial armies in the west had reached the city.Santa Cruz is an example of the influence of continentality (reflecting the thermal amplitude) in the tropics, without the four well-defined seasons of the year but greater deviations of temperature than other places in the coast or island.[12][13] Although the weather is generally very warm all year round, cold winds called "surazos" can blow in occasionally (particularly in the winter) from the Argentine pampas making the temperature drop considerably.However, in the last 60 years, large migrations from the western regions of Bolivia to Santa Cruz have transformed the demographics of the city and department redefining its social and ethnic spectrum.[20] The airline ceased operations in May 2012 and has been replaced by Boliviana de Aviación, which flies from Santa Cruz to Miami, Madrid, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Lima.