Guanare (originally called Villa del Espíritu Santo del Valle de San Juan de Guanaguanare), is the capital of the state of Portuguesa, in Venezuela. It was founded on November 3, 1591 by the Portuguese Juan Fernández de León. In 1786, when the General Command of Barinas was created, it was part of it, being included in the Province of Caracas. In 1824, the cantons of Guanare, Ospino and Araure were separated from the Province of Caracas and reincorporated to Barinas, which had acquired the rank of Province. In 1851, the Province of Portuguesa was created with the cantons of Guanare, Araure, Guanarito and Ospino. In April 1881, Portuguesa, Cojedes and Zamora merged into the Great Southern State of the West; this union lasted until 1909, Guanare was designated as the capital of the State by decree of President Eleazar López Contreras until the present. This city, besides being the first to be founded in the State of Portuguesa, is one of the few cities in America that preserves the founding act.

Guanare is located at 183 meters above sea level, in the Andean foothills, specifically in the watershed of the Portuguesa and Guanare rivers, where the state government has among its functions to distribute resources equitably according to their population, in all municipalities of the region. According to the INE for the year 2020, Guanare has a population of 241050 inhabitants.