La Palma, Cuba

La Palma on the map of Cuba

La Palma is a city and municipality in the Cuban province of Pinar del Río. It is bordered on the north by the Straits of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico and to the south by the Municipalities Consolation del Sur and Los Palacios. In the city of 34.920 inhabitants ( 2012) living in an area of 641.89 km ², which corresponds to a population density of 54,40 inhabitants per km ². The area of La Palma was already populated by the indigenous natives of Cuba. Of them, 79 settlement remains have been found. On January 2, 1959, the Cuban revolutionaries took over the command of the city.

Geography

The landscape in the municipality has a varied relief, the heights vary from 0.5 meters above sea level to 500 meters above. The mountains are characterized by numerous caves.

Several rivers run through the area, including the Río Jaugua, Guacamaya, Juan Moreno and La Leña. To the territory of the Municipalities are also smaller offshore islands in the sea ( Cayos ), with an area of ​​7.53 km ².

Economy and infrastructure

The city has 12 municipal companies, three of them in agriculture and three in the manufacturing industry. In addition, there are 26 cooperatives (as of 2011 ). 53 percent of the approximately 16,600 workers are employed in the service sector, 40 percent in agriculture and almost 2 per cent in the industry. Crops are mainly vegetables, rice, corn, roots and tubers. From staple crop vegetables approximately 15,500 tons were harvested in 2011 (2005: 6,200 ). In addition, milk and meat is produced.

In the city, a tourism sector, which consists of 57 properties and in 2011 was home to nearly 6,000 tourists there.

In the municipality there are 21 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 6 daycare. The health system has 21 facilities. There are also numerous cultural institutions such as theaters, cultural centers and theater groups.