City Parks in Santa Cruz

City parks in Santa Cruz, Bolivia reflect the tropical, outdoor culture of this region. Parks, gardens and plazas are bursting with color and sounds, shady trees and park benches.

Parks also may have other entertainment options. For example, the Parque Autonómico (Autonomy Park) is one of the newest (and also the hugest and prettiest) city park in Santa Cruz. Here you can bike, rollerblade, skateboard (it has ramps too), grill, play volleyball, soccer and more. The Parque Arenal has a small lake, paddleboats for kids and families, and a museum in addition to a skateboarding ramp and small playground. Parque Los Mangales II has chessboards painted onto picnic tables, a soccer field and sand volleyball court, and barbeque pits where you can grill for your picnic.

The Parque Urbano (which literally means "city park") is the oldest and largest green area in Santa Cruz, and of course now there are several other city parks so it can be confusing because all of them are actually "parques urbanos". So when someone refers to THE Parque Urbano, they are referring to the one in the Southeastern section of Santa Cruz across from San Roque Catholic Church. All other parques urbanos are called by names they have been given like Los Mangales II and Arenal. The Parque Urbano has no other name - it just IS THE Parque Urbano.

Parks are usually used for other venues such as concerts, bazaars and fairs, and other public events. In addition, they aren't necessarily the central gathering place of a city or neighborhood - that is, of course, what the plaza is for.

In colonial times, plazas were the foundation of social and political life. Cities and towns were built on all four sides, and expanded concentrically out from there. On weekends, it was where high society promenaded, dressed to the hilt, walking and conversing slowly around and around the plaza with the express purpose of simply being seen. (This is similar to "cruising" in the U.S. and in some towns it is still a custom, although most young people now prefer to drive around the plaza in cars or on motorcyles - which gets noisy!)

City parks, on the other had, may be located anywhere there is a green spot available and are made to entertain. So parks and plazas have different uses and their locations are decided upon using different criteria as well. Santa Cruz has several pretty parks and also has privately-owned parks and playgrounds which usually charge a nominal entry fee.

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