Mara, Zulia, Venezuela Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of Mara ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History

 * The tribes of the Wayú and Añú ethnic groups were the first inhabitants, the first distributed among the desert plains and the others in houses built at the outlet of the Limón River on stilts.
 * In 1792 La Guajira became part of the Province of Maracaibo.
 * In 1856 most of the territory of the current municipality was part of the Maracaibo Canton, the rest was part of the Perijá Canton.
 * In 1874 it was constituted within the Maracaibo Canton as the Department of San Rafael.
 * In 1881 the municipalities of Mara and Páez (then departments of San Rafael and Sinamaica) became part of the Guajira Federal Territory separated from the State of Zulia and changed their name to the San Rafael District.
 * In 1884 it is again incorporated into the jurisdiction of Maracaibo.
 * On January 12, 1887, the Mara district was created, made up of the municipalities of San Rafael as head and Ricaurte.
 * In 1989 it became Mara Municipality.
 * The Municipality of Mara has a population of approximately 241,000 people.

Civil Registration

 * 1873-2001 Registros civiles : Carmelo, Urdaneta, Zulia, 1873-2001(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1875-2000 Registros civiles : San Rafael, Mara, Zulia, 1875-2000(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1887-2000 Registros civiles : Ricaurte, Mara, Zulia, 1887-2000(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1940-2002 Registros civiles : Luis de Vicente, Mara, Zulia, 1940-2002(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1990-2002 Registros civiles : Monseñor Marcos Sergio Godoy, Mara, Zulia, 1990-2002(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1995-2001 Registros civiles : Las Parcelas, Mara, Zulia, 1995-2001(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1996-2001 Registros civiles : La Sierrita, Mara, Zulia, 1996-2001(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Church Records

 * DATES Iglesia Católica. Nuestra Señora del Carmen (El Carmelo, Zulia) Registros parroquiales, 1889-1952(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * DATES Iglesia Católica. San Rafael Arcángel (San Rafael, Zulia) Registros parroquiales, 1843-1935 - Click on the link to see the records’ availability.

Cemeteries
Indexes of burials in the cemeteries of the Mara municipality may be found at findagrave.com
 * Cementerio Santa Cruz de Mara
 * Cementerio Municipal de Carrasquero
 * Cementerio de El Mojan